What happens in the artificial transmutation of an element? Can you give an example?
In artificial transmutation, the nucleus of an atom is altered by bombarding it with high-energy particles, such as protons or neutrons. This process can involve changing the number of protons or neutrons in the nucleus, resulting in a different element. It is commonly achieved in particle accelerators or nuclear reactors.
One example of artificial transmutation is the production of technetium-99m, which is used extensively in nuclear medicine. Technetium-99m is not naturally abundant and has a short half-life, so it cannot be stockpiled. It is created by bombarding molybdenum-98 isotopes (Mo-98) with neutrons in a nuclear reactor. The transmutation occurs as Mo-98 absorbs a neutron and becomes molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), which is radioactive and decays to technetium-99m through a subsequent radioactive decay process.
This example demonstrates how artificial transmutation can be used to create isotopes of elements that have important applications in various fields, such as medicine, industry, and research.
In artificial transmutation, a high energy (high speed) particle (alpha or beta or neutron) are "shot" at the target. You can read all about it here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation