Technetium

radioactive · synthetic element · transition metal

All radioactive. Technetium is the lightest element where every single form of it is radioactive, meaning all its atoms naturally break apart over time. This makes it super special and unique among the lighter elements.

Human made only. There is no technetium just sitting around in nature waiting to be mined. Every bit of technetium we have was created by scientists in laboratories or nuclear reactors.

Ultra rare in nature. Tiny, tiny traces of technetium do exist naturally in uranium and thorium ores, created when these heavy elements spontaneously split apart. But the amounts are so small that we have to make it ourselves.

Sits between neighbors. On the periodic table, technetium squeezes in between the elements manganese and rhenium, and its chemical behavior is right in the middle of the two. It's like the bridge connecting two different types of metals.

Medical superstar. Technetium-99m is used in thousands of medical scans every year to help doctors see inside people's bodies and find diseases. It's one of the most useful radioactive elements in hospitals.