Editing Synthetic element (section)

{{short description|Chemical elements that do not occur naturally}}
[[File:Redgreen colorblind changed version of Synthetic Mod.png|thumb|441x441px|{{legend|#CC00FF|Synthetic elements}}{{legend|#A1FB8E|Rare radioactive natural elements; often produced artificially}}
{{Legend striped|#C9181F|#C9181F|Common radioactive natural elements}}]]
A '''synthetic element''' is a known [[chemical element]] that does not occur naturally on [[Earth]]: it has been created by human manipulation of [[fundamental particle]]s in a [[nuclear reactor]], a [[particle accelerator]], or the explosion of an [[atomic bomb]]; thus, it is called "synthetic", "artificial", or "man-made". The synthetic elements are those with atomic numbers 95–118, as shown in purple on the accompanying [[periodic table]]:<ref name=kulkarni>{{cite web |last1=Kulkarni |first1=Mayuri |title=A Complete List of Man-made Synthetic Elements |url=https://sciencestruck.com/synthetic-elements |website=ScienceStuck |date=15 June 2009 |access-date=15 May 2019}}</ref> these 24 elements were first created between 1944 and 2010. The mechanism for the creation of a synthetic element is to force additional protons into the [[Atomic nucleus|nucleus]] of an element with an [[atomic number]] lower than 95. All known (see: [[Island of stability]]) synthetic elements are unstable, but they [[radioactive decay|decay]] at widely varying rates; the [[half-lives]] of their longest-lived isotopes range from microseconds to millions of years. 

Five more elements that were first created artificially are strictly speaking not ''synthetic'' because they were later found in nature in trace quantities: [[Technetium|<sub>43</sub>Tc]], [[Promethium|<sub>61</sub>Pm]], [[Astatine|<sub>85</sub>At]], [[Neptunium|<sub>93</sub>Np]], and [[Plutonium|<sub>94</sub>Pu]]; though they are sometimes classified as synthetic alongside exclusively artificial elements.<ref>See periodic table [https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/06/09/national/science-health/name-nihonium-chosen-thank-japanese-public-support-physicist-says/ here] for example.</ref> The first, technetium, was created in 1937.<ref>{{cite web |title=WebElements Periodic Table » Technetium » historical information |url=https://www.webelements.com/technetium/history.html |website=www.webelements.com |publisher=Webelements |access-date=7 November 2019}}</ref> Plutonium (Pu, atomic number 94), first synthesized in 1940, is another such element. It is the element with the largest number of protons (atomic number) to occur in nature, but it does so in such tiny quantities that it is far more practical to synthesize it. Plutonium is known mainly for its use in atomic bombs and nuclear reactors.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bradford |first1=Alina |title=Facts About Plutonium |url=https://www.livescience.com/39871-facts-about-plutonium.html |website=LiveScience |date=8 December 2016 |access-date=16 May 2019}}</ref>

No elements with atomic numbers greater than 99 have any uses outside of scientific research, since they have extremely short half-lives, and thus have never been produced in large quantities.