A Scientific Power Couple! Fortune Descends! Artificial Radioactivity! Uncle Bruce, I Did It!

France, Radium Institute.

Irène's current research subject was radioactivity.

The radioactivity she studied went far beyond what had been researched in Marie Curie's era.

For instance, she often liked asking people a question that seemed very simple.

"In the Periodic Table, what kind of elements can be called radioactive elements?"

Many people found it unbelievable upon hearing this.

Did that even need asking?

"Of course, elements that emit radiation are radioactive elements."

Whenever that happened, Irène would patiently explain:

"Wrong!"

"Before the concept of isotopes emerged, that statement still made sense."

"But now, it is incorrect."

"We know that in the Periodic Table, nearly every element has its own isotopes."

"So-called isotopes are elements that occupy the same position."

"Because isotopes differ only in their number of neutrons while having the same number of protons, they occupy the same position on the Periodic Table."

"For example, element number 6, carbon, has several isotopes, such as C12, C13, and C14."

"Element number 88, radium, has even more isotopes."

"Interestingly, carbon's isotope C14 is also radioactive, yet we do not call carbon a radioactive element."

"Why is that?"

"Because only elements with no stable isotopes are called radioactive elements."

"For instance, radium's isotopes are all unstable and all radioactive, so it is a radioactive element."

"Although carbon has the radioactive isotope C14, C12 and C14 are stable isotopes, so it is not a radioactive element."

After hearing her explanation, everyone finally understood.

In the Periodic Table of later generations, there were a total of 118 elements.

Among them, element 43, technetium, element 61, promethium, and every element above number 83, bismuth, were radioactive elements.

And beginning with element 95, americium, all of them were artificial elements, nonexistent in nature.

Note that artificial elements and artificial isotopes were not the same concept.

Although