An artificial radioisotope refers to an isotope that does not exist naturally in the environment since there is no natural mechanism to produce it, or it is a radioisotope that is so unstable that it disintegrates over a very short half-life. Artificial radioisotopes have been produced since the early 20th century; Frédéric Joliot-Curie and Irène Joliot-Curie were the first to discover this phenomenon in 1934. Since then, radionuclides have been produced by means of a particle accelerator or a material test reactor.
