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Technetium-99 (Tc) is a synthetic radioactive metal and the most common isotope of the element technetium. It is produced in large quantities as a byproduct of nuclear reactors. Technetium-99 has a half-life of 211,000 years. While technetium metal resembles platinum, it is typically found as a gray powder.1

A related isotope, technetium-99m, with a much shorter half-life of six hours, is widely used in medical imaging to study the structure of organs. Technetium itself is chemically similar to rhenium and can exist in various oxidation states. It is not found naturally on Earth due to its relatively short half-lives, but it has been detected in stars, providing insights into stellar evolution.12

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