Technetium: The First Radioelement on the Periodic Table

Abstract

The radioactive nature of technetium is discussed using a combination of introductory nuclear physics concepts and empirical trends observed in the chart of the nuclides and the periodic table of the elements. Trends such as the enhanced stability of nucleon pairs, magic numbers, and Mattauch’s rule are described. The concepts of nuclear binding energies and the nuclear shell model are introduced and used to explain the relative stability of radionuclides and, in particular, the isotopes of technetium.