Technitium
Basic Characteristics:
Atomic Number: 43 Technetium (Tc) Radioactive Transition
Metal
Formation Process - Technetium is an element with no stable
isotopes. Which means that it is not naturally found on
Earth in significant amounts. Instead, it’s typically created
artificially in nuclear reactors or particle accelerators
Discovery Timeline - Was first discovered in 1937 by
scientists Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segrè
PLutonium
Basic Characteristics
Plutonium (Pu)
Atomic Number: 94
A radioactive chemical element that is known for its high
radioactivity and lack of stable isotopes.
Dense, silvery-white metal with a low melting point, highly
reactive with oxygen, and can exist in multiple crystal structures.
Is used as a fissile material in nuclear weapons and reactors.
Formation Process - when a uranium-238 nucleus captures a
neutron, it results in plutonium-239, a key material in nuclear
reactions. The uranium-239 that forms after the neutron capture
changes into neptunium-239 by releasing an electron and an
antineutrino, and then neptunium-239 further transforms into
plutonium-239 through another process called beta decay
(Lenntech, 2023).
Discovery Time - Plutonium was first made in December 1940 at
Berkeley, California, by Glenn Seaborg, Arthur Wahl, Joseph
Kennedy, and Edwin McMillan (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2023).
Neptunium
Basic Characteristics - Neptunium (Np) Atomic number: 93 Chemically it is
extremely reactive and is attacked by oxygen, steam, and acids, but not by
alkalis. Neptunium is a ductile, silvery, radioactive metal. Neptunium forms
numerous chemical compounds.
Formation Process - Neptunium is a synthetic radioactive element with the
atomic number 93, the element is formed through nuclear reactions. It
begins with irradiating uranium-238 in a nuclear reactor or particle
accelerator, causing uranium-238 to capture a neutron and transform into
neptunium-239 through beta-minus decay. Neptunium-239 is then isolated
and can further decay into plutonium-239. Neptunium is primarily used for
research purposes and has applications in nuclear science and technology.
Timeline Discovery - In 1940, Neptunium was initially synthesized in
Berkeley, California, by Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson. They achieved
this by bombarding a uranium target with slow neutrons, leading to the
emission of distinctive beta-rays that signaled the existence of a novel
element, ultimately confirmed by Abelson.
Curium
Basic Characteristics - Atomic Number: 96 Symbol: Cm Curium is a
hard, brittle, silvery radioactive metal that tarnishes slowly and can
only be produced in nuclear reactors. Curium is an actinide metal
Formation Process - Curium is a synthetic, highly radioactive element
formed through a process called nuclear transmutation. Typically,
uranium-238 or plutonium-239 is irradiated with neutrons in a nuclear
reactor or particle accelerator, leading to the conversion of these
materials into curium isotopes through neutron capture. After
irradiation, curium is separated from other products, purified, and
stored in shielded containers due to its extreme radioactivity.
Discovery Timeline - The isotope 242Cu was produced in 1944 by
Glenn T. Seaborg, Ralph A. James, and Albert Ghioso by bombarding
239Pu with alpha particles in the 60-inch Cyclotron at Berkeley
University in the US.
Americium
Basic Characteristics - Atomic Number: 95
Symbol: Am
radioactive element
Formation Process - Americium is a synthetic element, created
artificially in labs by bombarding plutonium-239 with
neutrons in nuclear reactors, resulting in various americium
isotopes. It doesn't occur naturally on Earth.
About 73,500 results (0.40 seconds)
Discovery Timeline - Americium was first made late in 1944 at
the University of Chicago by a team that included Glenn
Seaborg, Ralph James, Leon Morgan, and Albert Ghiorso. The
americium was produced by bombarding plutonium with
neutrons in a nuclear reactor. This produced isotope
americium-241, which has a half-life of this is 432 years.