Mercury-188

Properties and data of the isotope ¹⁸⁸Hg.

Content

General data

Name of the isotope:Mercury-188; Hg-188Symbol:¹⁸⁸Hg or 18880HgMass number A:188 (= number of nucleons)Atomic number Z:80 (= number of protons)Neutrons N:108Isotopic mass:187.967577(13) u (atomic weight of Mercury-188)Nuclide mass:187.9236954 u (calculated nuclear mass without electrons)Mass excess:-30.20183 MeVMass defect:1.594236488 u (per nucleus)Nuclear binding energy:1485.02172315 MeV (per nucleus)
7.89905172 MeV (average binding energy per nucleon)Separation energy:S_N = 10.155(19) MeV (first neutron)
S_P = 4.463(25) MeV (first proton)Half-life:3.25(15) minDecay constant λ:0.0035546009259484 s^-1Specific activity α:1.144722324969 × 10⁺¹⁹ Bq g^-1
309384412.15381 Ci g^-1Spin and parity:
(nuclear angular momentum)0+Charge radius:5.4085(40) femtometer fmYear of discovery:1960

Radioactive Decay

Half-life T_½ = 3.25(15) min (minutes) respectively 1.95 × 10² seconds s.

Decay mode	Daughter	Probability	Decay energy	γ energy (intensity)
α	¹⁸⁴Pt	trace	4.707(16) MeV
EE/β⁺	¹⁸⁸Au	> 99.9999 %	2.169(13) MeV

Parent Nuclides

Direct parent isotopes are: ¹⁹²Pb, ¹⁸⁸Tl.

Nuclear Isomers

Nuclear isomers or excited states with the activation energy in keV related to the ground state.

Nuclear Isomer	Excitation Energy	Half-life	Spin
^188mHg	2724.1(4) keV	154(20) ns	12+

Isotones and Isobars

The following table shows the atomic nuclei that are isotonic (same neutron number N = 108) and isobaric (same nucleon number A = 188) with Mercury-188. Naturally occurring isotopes are marked in green; light green = naturally occurring radionuclides.

OZ	Isotone N = 108	Isobar A = 188
66	¹⁷⁴Dy
67	¹⁷⁵Ho
68	¹⁷⁶Er
69	¹⁷⁷Tm
70	¹⁷⁸Yb
71	¹⁷⁹Lu	¹⁸⁸Lu
72	¹⁸⁰Hf	¹⁸⁸Hf
73	¹⁸¹Ta	¹⁸⁸Ta
74	¹⁸²W	¹⁸⁸W
75	¹⁸³Re	¹⁸⁸Re
76	¹⁸⁴Os	¹⁸⁸Os
77	¹⁸⁵Ir	¹⁸⁸Ir
78	¹⁸⁶Pt	¹⁸⁸Pt
79	¹⁸⁷Au	¹⁸⁸Au
80	¹⁸⁸Hg	¹⁸⁸Hg
81	¹⁸⁹Tl	¹⁸⁸Tl
82	¹⁹⁰Pb	¹⁸⁸Pb
83	¹⁹¹Bi	¹⁸⁸Bi
84	¹⁹²Po	¹⁸⁸Po
85	¹⁹³At
86	¹⁹⁴Rn