Isotopes of magnesium

Magnesium (₁₂Mg) naturally occurs as three stable isotopes: , , and . There are also 19 artificial radioisotopes that have been discovered, ranging from to (with the exception of ). The longest-lived of them is with a half-life of 20.915 hours. The isotopes lighter than the stable ones mostly decay to isotopes of sodium, while those heavier decay to isotopes of aluminium.

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

List of isotopes

|-id=Magnesium-18 | | style="text-align:right" | 12 | style="text-align:right" | 6 | | | 2p | | 0+ | | |-id=Magnesium-19 | | style="text-align:right" | 12 | style="text-align:right" | 7 | | | 2p | | 1/2−# | | |-id=Magnesium-20 | rowspan=2| | rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 12 | rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 8 | rowspan=2| | rowspan=2| | β⁺ () | | rowspan=2|0+ | rowspan=2| | rowspan=2| |- | β⁺p () | |-id=Magnesium-21 | rowspan=4| | rowspan=4 style="text-align:right" | 12 | rowspan=4 style="text-align:right" | 9 | rowspan=4| | rowspan=4| | β⁺ () | | rowspan=4|5/2+ | rowspan=4| | rowspan=4| |- | β⁺p () | |- | β⁺α () | |- | β⁺pα () | |-id=Magnesium-22 | | style="text-align:right" | 12 | style="text-align:right" | 10 | | | β⁺ | | 0+ | | |-id=Magnesium-23 | | style="text-align:right" | 12 | style="text-align:right" | 11 | | | β⁺ | | 3/2+ | | |-id=Magnesium-24 | | style="text-align:right" | 12 | style="text-align:right" | 12 | | colspan=3 align=center|Stable | 0+ | colspan=2 align=center|[,&nbsp;] |-id=Magnesium-25 | | style="text-align:right" | 12 | style="text-align:right" | 13 | | colspan=3 align=center|Stable | 5/2+ | colspan=2 align=center|[,&nbsp;] |-id=Magnesium-26 | | style="text-align:right" | 12 | style="text-align:right" | 14 | | colspan=3 align=center|Stable | 0+ | colspan=2 align=center|[,&nbsp;] |-id=Magnesium-27 | | style="text-align:right" | 12 | style="text-align:right" | 15 | | | β^− | | 1/2+ | | |-id=Magnesium-28 | | style="text-align:right" | 12 | style="text-align:right" | 16 | | | β^− | | 0+ | | |-id=Magnesium-29 | | style="text-align:right" | 12 | style="text-align:right" | 17 | | | β^− | | 3/2+ | | |-id=Magnesium-30 | rowspan=2| | rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 12 | rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 18 | rowspan=2| | rowspan=2| | β^− (> ) | | rowspan=2|0+ | rowspan=2| | rowspan=2| |- | β^−n (< ) | |-id=Magnesium-31 | rowspan=2| | rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 12 | rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 19 | rowspan=2| | rowspan=2| | β^− () | | rowspan=2|1/2+ | rowspan=2| | rowspan=2| |- | β^−n () | |-id=Magnesium-32 | rowspan=2| | rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 12 | rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 20 | rowspan=2| | rowspan=2| | β^− () | | rowspan=2|0+ | rowspan=2| | rowspan=2| |- | β^−n () | |-id=Magnesium-33 | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 12 | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 21 | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3| | β^− () | | rowspan=3|3/2− | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3| |- | β^−n () | |- | β^−2n ? | ? |-id=Magnesium-34 | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 12 | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 22 | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3| | β^− (> ) | | rowspan=3|0+ | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3| |- | β^−n () | |- | β^−2n (< ) | |-id=Magnesium-35 | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 12 | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 23 | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3| | β^−n () | | rowspan=3|(3/2−,&nbsp;5/2−) | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3| |- | β^− () | |- | β^−2n ? | ? |-id=Magnesium-36 | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 12 | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 24 | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3| | β^− () | | rowspan=3|0+ | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3| |- | β^−n () | |- | β^−2n ? | ? |-id=Magnesium-37 | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 12 | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 25 | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3| | β^− ? | ? | rowspan=3|(3/2−) | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3| |- | β^−n ? | ? |- | β^−2n ? | ? |-id=Magnesium-38 | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 12 | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 26 | rowspan=3|# | rowspan=3|3.1(4&nbsp;(stat), 2&nbsp;(sys))&nbsp;ms | β^−n (81%) | | rowspan=3|0+ | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3| |- | β^− (9%) | |- | β^−2n (9%) | |-id=Magnesium-40 | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 12 | rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 28 | rowspan=3|# | rowspan=3|1#&nbsp;ms [> ] | β^− ? | ? | rowspan=3|0+ | rowspan=3| | rowspan=3| |- | β^−n ? | ? |- | β^−2n ? | ? |-

See also

Daughter products other than magnesium

• Isotopes of aluminum
• Isotopes of sodium
• Isotopes of neon
• Isotopes of fluorine
• Isotopes of oxygen

References