Magnesium-26

Properties and data of the isotope ²⁶Mg.

Contents

General data

Name of the isotope:Magnesium-26; Mg-26Symbol:²⁶Mg or 2612MgMass number A:26 (= number of nucleons)Atomic number Z:12 (= number of protons)Neutrons N:14Isotopic mass:25.9825930(2) u (atomic weight of Magnesium-26)Nuclide mass:25.9760101 u (calculated nuclear mass without electrons)Mass excess:-16.21452 MeVMass defect:0.232616208 u (per nucleus)Nuclear binding energy:216.68060205 MeV (per nucleus)
8.33386931 MeV (average binding energy per nucleon)Separation energy:S_N = 11.09308(4) MeV (first neutron)
S_P = 14.1457(12) MeV (first proton)Half-life:stableSpin and parity:
(nuclear angular momentum)0+Charge radius:3.0337(18) femtometer fmMirror nucleus:Silicon-26Year of discovery:1920

Parent Nuclides

Direct parent isotopes are: ²⁶Al, ²⁶Na, ²⁷Na.

Occurrence

Comparison of the natural Magnesium isotopes including isotopic abundance (mole fraction of the isotope mixture in percent):

	Atomic Mass m_a	Quantity	Half-life	Spin
Magnesium Isotopic mixture	24.305 u	100 %
Isotope ²⁴Mg	23.98504170(9) u	78.965 % [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+

Isotones and Isobars

The following table shows the atomic nuclei that are isotonic (same neutron number N = 14) and isobaric (same nucleon number A = 26) with Magnesium-26. Naturally occurring isotopes are marked in green; light green = naturally occurring radionuclides.

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