Isotopes of magnesium

Isotopes of magnesium (₁₂Mg)
Standard atomic weight Ar°(Mg)
	[24.304, 24.307]; 24.305±0.002 (abridged);
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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]

^ 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.
^ "Standard Atomic Weights: Magnesium". CIAAW. 2011.
^ 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.
^ glennroberts (2019-02-07). "New Measurements of Exotic Magnesium Suggest Surprising Shape-Shift". Berkeley Lab News Center. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
^ "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.

[NUBASE2020-1] 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.

[CIAAW2021-3] 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] roberts (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.

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