Isotopes of magnesium

Isotopes of magnesium (12Mg)
Main isotopes[1] Decay
abun­dance half-life (t1/2) mode pro­duct
24Mg 79% stable
25Mg 10% stable
26Mg 11% stable
Standard atomic weight Ar°(Mg)

Magnesium (12Mg) naturally occurs in three stable isotopes: 24
Mg
, 25
Mg
, and 26
Mg
. There are 19 radioisotopes that have been discovered, ranging from 18
Mg
to 40
Mg
(with the exception of 39
Mg
). The longest-lived radioisotope is 28
Mg
with a half-life of 20.915(9) h. The lighter isotopes mostly decay to isotopes of sodium while the heavier isotopes decay to isotopes of aluminium. The shortest-lived is proton-unbound 18
Mg
with a half-life of 4.0(3.4) zeptoseconds.

A precise measurement of the neutron-rich 40Mg in 2019 showed the unexpected difference in its nuclear structure, compared to the lighter neighboring isotopes.[4][5]

The abundances of the naturally occurring isotopes of magnesium.
  1. ^ Kondev, F. G.; Wang, M.; Huang, W. J.; Naimi, S.; Audi, G. (2021). "The NUBASE2020 evaluation of nuclear properties" (PDF). Chinese Physics C. 45 (3): 030001. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/abddae.
  2. ^ "Standard Atomic Weights: Magnesium". CIAAW. 2011.
  3. ^ Prohaska, Thomas; Irrgeher, Johanna; Benefield, Jacqueline; Böhlke, John K.; Chesson, Lesley A.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Ding, Tiping; Dunn, Philip J. H.; Gröning, Manfred; Holden, Norman E.; Meijer, Harro A. J. (2022-05-04). "Standard atomic weights of the elements 2021 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure and Applied Chemistry. doi:10.1515/pac-2019-0603. ISSN 1365-3075.
  4. ^ glennroberts (2019-02-07). "New Measurements of Exotic Magnesium Suggest Surprising Shape-Shift". Berkeley Lab News Center. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  5. ^ "NP A Change in Structure for a S... | U.S. DOE Office of Science(SC)". science.osti.gov. 2019-08-01. Retrieved 2023-09-10.