Element 43 shouldn't be radioactive

Radioactive elements are usually heavy, with high atomic weights. So why is the 43rd element in the periodic table radioactive? Find out here as we dive into the nuclear physics behind the periodic table.
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Research Paper:
www.osti.gov/pages/servlets/p...
Image credits:
Black periodic table:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
Itub, CC BY-SA 3.0, creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Os Nrg level:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Fr Nrg level:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Bonding diagram:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Electrons and reactivity:
mammothmemory.net/chemistry/p...
Energy Levels of Nucleons in a Smoothly-Varying Potential Well:
www.flickr.com/photos/mitopen...
Empirical shell gap:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Shell model graphic:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Shells diagram:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Chart of nuclides:
www.flickr.com/photos/nsclmed...
Manhattan project Factory:
www.npca.org/articles/22-pres...
Manhattan project test device:
lps.library.cmu.edu/ETHOS/art...
Mushroom cloud:
hti.osu.edu/history-lesson-pl...
Promethium isobar chart:
www.sciencedirect.com/topics/...

[@MrCubFan415]

Technically bismuth is radioactive, but its half-life is longer than the universe’s estimated age

[@PanktracTobias]

hahahah

[@Dazdigo]

Using this definition, even hydrogen is radioactive, aka tritium.

[@Choroalp]

​@@DazdigoNo its not. For an element to be considired radioactive ALL of its isotopes have to be radioactive. Bismuth has no stable isotopes while Hydrogen got Protium(Hydrogen-1) and Deuterium(Hydrogen-2) which are both stable

[@liquid_dihydrogen_monoxide]

This is true for everything beyond (I think) Dysprosium. Mathematically they shouldn't have stable isotopes, just that they're so stable, decay has not been observed

[@user-pr6ed3ri2k]

​​​​​@@liquid_dihydrogen_monoxideSamarium (62) and Europium (63) are predicted to also be unstable to alpha decay, and Tungsten (74) seems to be particularly "radioactive" in theory. It's also technically possible for literally every isotope with atomic mass ≥93 to decay via spontaneous fission. Zirconium, with atomic number 40, has "stable" isotopes below and above this line. While Niobium (41) only has ⁹³Nb, Molybdenum (42) sneaks in yet again with the stable isotope ⁹²Mo, which allows it to resist fission too. As far as I can tell, while we would be missing Iodine (53), humans and other life could in theory survive in a world where every possible decay mode has happened already, and nothing above Molybdenum exists.

[@mmmusa2576]

How does this guy keep changing his face? Its crazy

[@imperatacylindrica8993]

Maybe he doesn't have a stable isotope either

[@user-ox4ii2bw6x]

because of science. that's why.

[@1d10tcannotmakeusername]

He's a time lord

[@Ggdivhjkjl]

Valar morghulis.

[@purple-47]

it's kenjaku

[@tk423b]

My father would not tolerate nucleus talk at the dinner table. Electron energy level discussion was ok.

[@jaimeduncan6167]

🤣

[@Archanfel]

Can imagine how angry he was in cases if someone dare to mention quarks...

[@ericdew2021]

I guess you didn't have a stable nuclear family. But at least the chemistry among you guys was all right.

[@drmodestoesq]

@@ericdew2021 True and as I always say....If you're not part of the solution.....you're part of the precipitate.

[@ianweckhorst3200]

0:35 he’s mogging us

[@JSpin-js4vr]

KZbin: Would you like to see what is likely a school project about a random radioactive element? Me: ... ... Sure, why not?

[@ethervagabond]

that's certainly what it feels like.

[@ch1pnd413]

It’s really well done, if I was handed this video by these guys, I would have a hard time not giving them 100% and also possibly letters of recommendation. The production level is good, it feels just like an excellent school project.

[@JSpin-js4vr]

@@ch1pnd413 Oh yeah, no disagreement here.

[@fondbeebboop9705]

The channel description says they are 3 collage engineers so yep

[@jambott5520]

The style of this video is wacky in a good way. The constant switching between multiple people with a complete lack of acknowledgement is just so out of left field, I respect the shit out of it.

[@grnbrg]

I got a strong "class project" vibe. :) Well done, in any event....

[@sleepdeep305]

@@grnbrgThey actually are all students that go to the same university

[@aylen7062]

Only now noticed there were more than 2 people in the video.

[@NickAndriadze]

Plus the video still flows surprisingly well and is coherent thematically.

[@markmayonnaise1163]

It feels like an intervention

[@kwokhardy2512]

So basically molybdenum and ruthenium took all the stable isobars for themselves without leaving some for technetium

[@nitehawk86]

Greedy

[@zen_ith]

LOOOOOL

[@annoyingbstard9407]

Meaning a cold front coming in from the west.

[@lloydgush]

Whole physics department joined in. With the chemists...

[@drmodestoesq]

And it almost turned into a Donnybrook. Chemist: ITS A HYDROGEN ION!!! Physicist: NO!!! ITS A PROTON!!!! Luckily there were a couple of large botanists there to separate them before things escalated too much.

[@oskarbremer5406]

@@drmodestoesq in organic chem we often refer to hydrogens as protons, due to NMR shenanagains 😎

[@Mulmgott]

@@drmodestoesq We also call them "Proton" in Germany since "Wasserstoffion" is a little more inconvenient to say.

[@drmodestoesq]

@@Mulmgott I'm sympathetic. To the outside observer, the German language has a habit of creating 9 kilometre long words.

[@nicholasneyhart396]

​@@MulmgottEh, it isn't that bad to say.

[@steijnvanb4634]

this was a school project wasn't it. Its just so good noone notices

[@ethervagabond]

no... I noticed.

[@allisterhale8229]

Everyone noticed. Noone cares (aside from wanting confirmation)

[@Anthonythechickenman]

interesting how the 2 outliars (43 and 61) have a prime number of protons

[@mr.cauliflower3536]

Outliers* they don't lie (speak falsehoods), they lie outside things

[@crackedemerald4930]

​@@mr.cauliflower3536 my cat is more of an inliar, it doesn't go out much.

[@eggsbox]

​@@mr.cauliflower3536at least 36 people understood what OP was saying perfectly fine so i don't think there's any need for this prescriptive needling

[@mr.cauliflower3536]

@@eggsbox I just wanted to make sure they know how to spell it.

[@leonides4377]

Yoooo

[@eddywolton6397]

Damn this is a really good video, it answers everything really well. idk why I couldn't see anyone else who had covered this

[@user-kf4mu8br5n]

Summary: There is a valley of stability on a chart showing proton number vs. neutron number. The only 2 isotopes of technetium that fall in this range (for reasons) are Tc-97 and Tc-99. But, another law states that along an "isobar" of the same atomic weight drawn along the graph, no 2 adjacent elements along the isobar can both have stable isotopes. For this reason, Tc-97 and Tc-99 are unstable - they conflict with the adjacent elements. Same with promethium. And yes, I typed that all out. I hope it helps.

[@The-Devils-Advocate]

Technetium, not promethium, in the second sentence, but otherwise well done.

[@user-kf4mu8br5n]

@@The-Devils-Advocate Fixed!

[@The-Devils-Advocate]

@@user-kf4mu8br5n nice

[@G0ldbl4e]

no 2 adjacent* elements in an isobar

[@user-kf4mu8br5n]

@@G0ldbl4e fixed

[@JoeMama-ep9kv]

Great video, even better jaw lines.

[@RKNGL]

Its only Techneicly radioactive.

[@Mp57navy]

GET. OUT.

[@SolTheIdiot]

​@@Mp57navy No no, he can stay, that was good.

[@atlas_19]

The change of presenters keeps it interesting and entertaining, while also making it clear that it isn't one person that has done the work and research for this subject but rather a team. Great format.

[@kennethferland5579]

The higher neutron to proton count in high elements that LET them be stable, not what makes them unstable, the Protons are what push the nucleus apart so having neutrons present adds binding force without adding repulsive force. That's why the valley of stability bends down away from the line of equal protons and neutrons, and the statement 'atoms with more neutrons will decay by electron emmision' is incorrect because the valley of stability dose not follow the line of equality. What you ment to say is that isotopes below the valley of stability decay by electron emmission.

[@sweetlane1813]

I remember my excitement when I arranged the known isotopes from a book from 1950s I found in the attic, and discovered that no stable isotopes are at the adiacent squares. I was 13 years old then. And then, I discovered that Mattauch did the same but more than half a century before me. What a blow!

[@KSMvidcast]

Just came across this channel for the first time. Love the tag-team format! Y'all made a subject that would otherwise be boring super entertaining!

[@axi4605]

"The number of known radio-isotopes exploded" Ironic

[@drmodestoesq]

Ironic or simply causal?

[@eggsbox]

​@@drmodestoesqdramatic irony, a favorite of english poets and bards

[@andyfensham-smith3304]

This is a great video - nicely paced and advanced enough that someone with some scientific education could follow.

[@aporifera]

This video deserves more views snd likes. Well done!

[@davidsasse40]

Anything can be radioactive if you shove enough neutrons into the nucleus.

[@tcoren1]

Technically it's possible for two adjecent isobars to both be stable if they're mass difference is less than the electron mass

[@noneofyoubusiness4895]

All right then, let's rephrase the question ... Why do Molybdenum and have so many overlapping stable isotopes (so as to prevent Technetium from having any) ? It doesn't happen anywhere else on the periodic table.

[@nielskorpel8860]

This is still my question too. How come this scenario - where no element has a most stable immediate surroundings on its isobar - happen with technetium, and only technetium? Are there other sports that should be like this but aren't? That is another question: there is now more room for anomalies. 😋 Do all nuclides behave?

[@nielskorpel8860]

Overall though: amazing video

[@japanpanda2179]

It has to do with odd numbers of protons being less stable than even numbers of protons. Most even numbered elements have far more stable isotopes than odd numbered elements, like tin has 10 stable isotopes while potassium (the odd-numbered element with the most isotopes) has only THREE. Technetium just got really unlucky.

[@SocialDownclimber]

@@nielskorpel8860 Promethium is in a similar situation to technetium. They even mention it in the video.

[@sp4cef0rc37]

42. That's the answer. It's the answer to everything. (Molybdenum is the 42nd element on the periodic table)

[@Dan_the_man-ls5vb]

Very good production and educational value, good job!

[@berylman]

Great stuff! I had wondered about this and Technetium for a long time and you delivered the answer

[@Deylayed_]

0:40 bro might actually be Minecraft Steve

[@MrSparkefrostie]

0:04, looks like there is one non radioactive element on the bottom row? Nt sure if i am missing something

[@anonymousperson5853]

That is the repesentationof actinoid which is represented at the bottom of the table

[@MrSparkefrostie]

@@anonymousperson5853 think I get it, it's to make sure the table isn't too wide, thank you

[@anonymousperson5853]

@@MrSparkefrostie actually, fblock elements are situated at the bottom of the table (if you do not know what is that, then youll need to study quantum model of atom

[@anonymousperson5853]

@@MrSparkefrostie also yeah, they do that for a less wide table

[@wcsxwcsx]

A good, clear explanation, and I like the overall style of the video.

[@rarebeeph1783]

this video was the first time i noticed promethium was also an outlier

[@sage5296]

This is some high quality stuff, well explained and illustrated, to the point

[@roboltamy]

Really interesting video, glad it got recommended

[@StreetSurfersAlex]

KZbin promotes this video right now

[@godemperorletoatreidesii6971]

It’s cause of Terrence Howard despite how much criticism he’s getting we got to give him props for getting people to look at science again

[@pmmeurcatpics]

This is the first video I saw from your channel, and i really liked the way the presenters take turns throughout the video:)

[@Ryeera]

I have been wondering this for years now and I kept looking sometimes, trying to find an answer for why this specific element it radioactive. Thanks for finally giving me an answer ^^

[@Kebabrulle4869]

Nice video. I really liked that you showed that this was a collaboration. If feels more like science that way :)

[@skyjumper4097]

i was always curious why Technetium was radioactive, and now i get a video about elemnt 43 in my recommendations. excited to watch :3

[@Yawyna124]

A shame the algorithm swooped you up 2 years after you guys stopped making videos.

[@sonicwaveinfinitymiddwelle8555]

0:33 blud really said "⛏⬛"

[@NoGeometryDashSongs]

let steve cook

[@alex.g7317]

Where can I get that skin? I can’t find it anywhere on the marketplace.

[@MrHerhor67]

Yeah they used the Random button in character creation for all these people

[@blacklight683]

Took me a sec💀

[@essegd]

willne

[@SocialDownclimber]

Good video! I think it is also very useful to visualise a nucleus decaying across the table of nuclides to see where the nearby stable nuclei are.

[@alangivre2474]

Excelent video!!! I hope you get many views!!

[@sporeman2334]

this is very well made and gave me a big insight into the topic

[@Nxck2440]

I didn't even realise this was a school project video it was so good lol, hope you guys won

[@politicstoday8002]

You did not include Bismuth as beeing radioactive...

[@drmodestoesq]

It's was out gathering nectar for the hive.

[@chriss3404]

I really like the style of video where multiple share information with the viewer. It would be cool if certain people shared specific categories of information though (or if it was more obvious and I missed it haha). Not that it would have to be entirely strict or anything, but one person being "the history presenter" another being "the hypothesis presenter", and the final person being the "hypothesis scrutinizer" (for example) (probably per-video) would enable the viewer to use the current presenter as a shorthand/clue for what information they are receiving. It would be as if each person is an expert on the topic, but coming from a different domain or perspective.

[@scottbogfoot]

I wish the teachers of Newfoundland in the 80s and 90s were half as educated as these young folks here! My teachers didn't understand the material they were teaching so nothing was ever put into terms that a gifted individual could actually learn anything from.

[@cantbepixil]

this channel is incredible

[@evoluxman9935]

I've been trying to understand why Technetium was unstable, but besides some vague infos about Magic Numbers I never found an explanatin than I (a non physicist) could understand. This is a very well made video, good job guys!

[@SuperBlackReality]

The periodic table looks a little bit weird with Lanthanum and Actinium in both the main table and the f block

[@jimsvideos7201]

Good show. Your speaker at 4:48 etc has a particularly good speaking voice; I'd be happy to listen to audiobooks he reads.

[@orchdork775]

What happened to this channel?

[@VanBurenOfficial]

Paraguayan SpecOps took them out, RIP

[@kitemg]

That is incredible, thank you!!!

[@gjbansal]

this is lovely

[@egohicsum]

great video thank you

[@CreaturesOrigins]

Really great video

[@procentsd5561]

Great video

[@spencerderosier6649]

Very well done

[@nicholasgad2781]

The periodic table shows Lawrencium as having a stable isotope. Is that correct?

[@nickush7512]

Nice one guys.

[@anothisflame8266]

.... I do not have the education level on this topic to understand more than the most basic ideas and concepts this video and paper discuss... and that is okay because you made it easy to understand the main points even for me. Good work.

[@reedr7142]

I would love to hang out with these dudes over some beers and talk science.

[@player_3]

Gets recommended an interesting video. 😁 Sees that it was uploaded 2 years ago.💀💀💀

[@penguinscanfly5796]

what does this mean

[@player_3]

@@penguinscanfly5796 NO MORE NEW VIDEOS FROM THE KZbinR/CHANNEL.

[@ololotrololo1710]

nice video good job guys

[@blacklistnr1]

43 seems to be somewhat of a 13 division-wise: just a number but so many factors align such that 12 is divisible by 1,2,3,4,6 and none are left for 13 (as opposed to e.g. 21, 25, 27 which have a few)

[@NobodyYouKnow01]

It's rare to see this many presenters in one video, and I think you guys handled it quite well! Very informative video as well. I always wondered about this!

[@canuckguy0313]

Technetium is my favourite element, has been since I was a kid, and this is another reason why!

[@NickAndriadze]

Very insightful little video, it does make sense why Technetium's radioactivity isn't that much of an anomaly when looking at the science of it, however its positioning on the table of elements still a little strange.

[@hurricanemeridian8712]

If proton decay is real then technically everything is radioactive....it just takes way too long

[@NaifAlqahtani]

Hey man. Great videos and even better channel. But please invest in a better mic.

[@StreetSurfersAlex]

Everytime I find a great channel it's already dead =/

[@jaredjohnson3436]

We passing the class with this one 💯

[@foo0815]

The entire 7th group is quite unstable (except Mn) Tc, Re (one unstable isotope), Pm, and Np, when you count s,d,f shells together.

[@VeteranVandal]

Huh. A better explanation than last time I searched for it. At least it's way more concise and coherent.

[@wdwadindwatri]

which of you really understood what he was talking about, and which not?

[@aoyuki1409]

i think its more accurate to say that every element eventually decays to nuclear pasta when they lose energy as the universe approaches max entropy, just some are inconceivably long that we can consider them stable. technetium just happens to be on the wrong end of the equation

[@thomasrad5202]

changes in speaker can be a useful trick to keep attention, but in this case it was too frequent and became tiresome to listen to. I couldn't personally continue the video. I think it's a good idea to decide natural break points, such as change speaker when there is a change of subtopic instead of mid sentence

[@paulgoldstein5467]

Cool video

[@tacomonster5]

It's so strange seeing the title of this video after all these years... I asked myself this very question over 10 years ago regarding element 43 and also element 61. In my opinion they seem to be outliers, as if something to take note of or a hint from the universe about how decay and stability works, and no one had a satisfying answer for me other than "because of its half-life 🤓" You have done a great deed for life-long learners and people like me 😶‍🌫 I will nominate you for a Nobel Peace Prize for this

[@maxwell6881]

"Technetium is not a hat" - xkcd

[@ianbelletti6241]

These people fail to realise that there are multiple periodic tables. Each one was built organizing the elements based on selected characteristics. The one we most commonly use is based around electrons and the energy shells which is very useful for predicting chemical reactions. However, there are periodic tables that are arranged in fashions that would help understand the likelihood of any particular element being radioactive.

[@FishSticker]

I kept thinking the background music was the cruelty squad menu theme

[@kaikai8748]

This is completely empirically motivated. We found a lot of nice patterns, but why are the binding energies so low?

[@atoma_5176]

is that steve from minecraft with a white hoodie??

[@thorvaldspear]

Ok but why did the second guy swallow a shovel

[@SchadenfreudeUY]

3:00 my boy didn't wanna rememeber his name

[@marshallc6215]

The natural followup question is "ok, so why is technetium the only element that runs into this purported logical consequence?"

[@martinellis38]

Actually I loved this one. It gave me something of an intuition into nuclear stability and changing presenters kept it interesting without being too distracting.

[@Otacanthus]

Good video. Though I can't help but feel it's high school class project coded

[@king_james_official]

2:23 me leaving the apple store with iphone 15 pro in my mouth

[@martinrademacher1059]

Very interesting

[@7177YT]

Cool! Thx!

[@danheidel]

Am I the only person that's wondering why they have a painting of a woman holding Strongbad's severed head?

[@castlebarron1788]

I didn’t understand a word that came out of their mouths, but the constant face changing was kinda cool?

[@Minstorm34]

cool video

[@hurricanemeridian8712]

The entire uni just got up and said yeah we making a video

[@emepantti]

What leads to the fact that the molybdenum and/or ruthenium isotopes 97 and 99 are more tightly bound than the corresponding technetium nuclei though? Or would it be a 5-hour video to explain 😄

[@jonbold]

Please explain Phosphorus and its radioactivity.

[@FloydMaxwell]

The real question is "Why aren't there more "island of instability" elements?"

[@jacob_90s]

One thing I've always wondered is that when you have atoms with such a long half life, how is the half life determined? It seems like it should be impossible to empirically measure the half life by watching it decay l, which would mean we would need an alternate way to measure or even calculate the half life

[@juhajuntunen7866]

Are atoms like group of people, more protons and neutrons and they start to argue and split to smaller groups? Sometimes nucleus only kick out trouble makers.

[@timrogers2638]

Technicium...the "Neo" anomaly of the "Atomic Matrix" that makes it all work.