technetium

noun

tech·​ne·​tium tek-ˈnē-sh(ē-)əm 

: a radioactive metallic element obtained especially from nuclear fuel as a product of uranium fission and used as a diagnostic radiopharmaceutical see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of technetium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That would solve the problem of technetium escaping. —Valerie Brown, Discover Magazine, 28 Sep. 2018

But that’s not what all the technetium did: A considerable percentage formed a still-unidentified compound that the ion exchange columns don’t capture. —Valerie Brown, Discover Magazine, 28 Sep. 2018

Luckily, that technetium decays into a type of ruthenium, which is stable. —Bill Andrews, Discover Magazine, 4 Sep. 2018

The international team of authors suggests that an isotope of technetium with 98 neutrons and protons (^98Tc) might be this missing piece of the neutrino puzzle. —Bill Andrews, Discover Magazine, 4 Sep. 2018

Still, Lawrence’s cyclotrons allowed element hunters to take trillions of shots, and by 1937 one of his devices had created technetium (element No. —Neima Jahromi, The New Yorker, 27 Dec. 2019

Like all elements first born in cyclotrons, technetium was radioactive. —Neima Jahromi, The New Yorker, 27 Dec. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Greek technētós "artificial" (verbal adjective of technáomai, technâsthai "to make with skill, contrive cunningly," verbal derivative of téchnē "art, skill, proficiency in an art or craft, (in plural) wiles, cunning") + -ium; so named because it was the first element to be synthesized artificially — more at technical entry 1

Note: The element was named by the Italian mineralogist Carlo Perrier (1886-1948) and the Italian-American physicist Emilio Segrè (1905-89), who had earlier isolated isotopes; see C. Perrier and E. Segrè, "Technetium: the element of atomic number 43," Nature, vol. 159, no. 4027, January 4, 1947, p. 24.

First Known Use

circa 1946, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

technetium

noun

tech·​ne·​tium tek-ˈnē-sh(ē-)əm 

: a radioactive metallic element obtained especially from nuclear fuel as a product of uranium fission see element

Medical Definition

technetium

noun

tech·​ne·​tium tek-ˈnē-sh(ē-)əm 

: a metallic element that is obtained by bombarding molybdenum with deuterons or neutrons and in the fission of uranium and that is used in medicine in the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals

—symbol Tc see pertechnetate Chemical Elements Table