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| General | |
|---|---|
| Symbol | 32P |
| Names | phosphorus-32, 32P, P-32 |
| Protons (Z) | 15 |
| Neutrons (N) | 17 |
| Nuclide data | |
| Natural abundance | trace |
| Half-life (t1/2) | 14.267 d |
| Isotope mass | 31.973907274 amu Da |
| Spin | 1+ |
| Excess energy | −24304.88 keV |
| Decay products | 32S |
| Decay modes | |
| Decay mode | Decay energy (MeV) |
| Beta emission | 1.70912 |
| Isotopes of phosphorus Complete table of nuclides | |
Phosphorus-32 (32P) is a radioactive isotope of phosphorus. The nucleus of phosphorus-32 contains 15 protons and 17 neutrons, one more neutron than the most common isotope of phosphorus, phosphorus-31. Phosphorus-32 only exists in small quantities on Earth as it has a short half-life of 14 days and so decays rapidly.
Phosphorus is found in many organic molecules, and so, phosphorus-32 has many applications in medicine, biochemistry, and molecular biology where it can be used to trace phosphorylated molecules (for example, in elucidating metabolic pathways) and radioactively label DNA and RNA.