synthetic element

English

Noun

synthetic element (plural synthetic elements)

  1. A chemical element that does not occur naturally (on Earth) and must be synthesized (manufactured).

Usage notes

May or may not include elements that occur naturally on Earth, but in such small amounts that they are, for most practical purposes, synthetic: technetium, promethium, astatine, francium, neptunium, and plutonium. Also, actinides up to and including at least einsteinium have been detected in Przybylski's Star.

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