Technetium
Atomic Number: 43
Technetium is the 43rd element in the periodic table and it is a is a silver-gray, radioactive transition metal. It is the lightest element whose isotopes are all radioactive. None of the technetium isotopes are stable exept technetium-97. It is extremely dangerous to work with, and breathing in a bit of technetium can have serious cancer risks. Technetium is very corrosion resistant and therefore is used in steel (also other metal alloys). Scientist believe that technetium can be found in small amounts in the earth's crust along side with other radioactive elements. Though, it has never been found on earth. It is found in certain types of stars. Technetium was discovered by Emilio Segrè in 1937 in Italy. Technetium is the first man-made element but it is found in the universe a bit more often. It can be made by bombarding molybdenum atoms with deuterons that had been accelerated in a device called the cyclotron (a type of particle accelerator). This element was discovered in 1937 and was named after the greek word for "artificial".
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