Magnesium-26 is a stable isotope of the chemical element magnesium, which has 14 neutrons in its atomic nucleus in addition to the element-specific 12 protons; the sum of the number of these atomic nucleus building blocks results in a mass number of 26.26Mg is one of the three isotopes that make up the earth's natural magnesium deposits (see below).
In 1920, the physicist Arthur Jeffrey Dempster described the isotopic composition of magnesium for the first time. For his experiments, he used an apparatus for positive ray analysis; the cylindrical anode contained the magnesium and was irradiated with electrons [1].
See also: list of Magnesium isotopes.
Direct parent isotopes are: 26Al, 26Na, 27Na.
Atomic Mass ma | Quantity | Half-life | Spin | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Magnesium Isotopic mixture | 24.305 u | 100 % | ||
Isotope 24Mg | 23.98504170(9) u | 78.965(49) % [78.88 - 79.05 %] | stable | 0+ |
Isotope 25Mg | 24.9858370(3) u | 10.011 % [9.988 - 10.034 %] | stable | 5/2+ |
Isotope 26Mg | 25.9825930(2) u | 11.024 % [10.96 - 11.09 %] | stable | 0+ |
Z | Isotone N = 14 | Isobar A = 26 |
---|---|---|
5 | 19B | |
6 | 20C | |
7 | 21N | |
8 | 22O | 26O |
9 | 23F | 26F |
10 | 24Ne | 26Ne |
11 | 25Na | 26Na |
12 | 26Mg | 26Mg |
13 | 27Al | 26Al |
14 | 28Si | 26Si |
15 | 29P | 26P |
16 | 30S | 26S |
17 | 31Cl | |
18 | 32Ar | |
19 | 33K | |
20 | 34Ca |
[1] - A. J. Dempster:
Positive Ray Analysis of Lithium and Magnesium.
In: Physical Review, 18, 415, (1921), DOI 10.1103/PhysRev.18.415.
Last update: 2024-11-06
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