Mercury-172

Properties and data of the isotope ¹⁷²Hg.

Contents

See also: List of individual Mercury isotopes (and general data sources).

General data

Name of the isotope:Mercury-172; Hg-172Symbol:¹⁷²Hg or 17280HgMass number A:172 (= number of nucleons)Atomic number Z:80 (= number of protons)Neutrons N:92Isotopic mass:171.99886(16) u (atomic weight of Mercury-172)Nuclide mass:171.9549784 u (calculated nuclear mass without electrons)Mass excess:-1.0619 MeVMass defect:1.424314832 u (per nucleus)Nuclear binding energy:1326.74072012 MeV (per nucleus)
7.71360884 MeV (average binding energy per nucleon)Separation energy:S_N = 12.61(34) MeV (first neutron)
S_P = 0.79(15) MeV (first proton)Half-life:231(9) μsDecay constant λ:3000.6371452811 s^-1Specific activity α:1.056740325055 × 10⁺²⁵ Bq g^-1
2.856054932581 × 10⁺¹⁴ Ci g^-1Spin and parity:
(nuclear angular momentum)0+Year of discovery:1999

Radioactive Decay

Half-life T_½ = 231(9) μs respectively 2.31 × 10^-4 seconds s.

Decay mode	Daughter	Probability	Decay energy	γ energy (intensity)
α	¹⁶⁸Pt	ca. 100 %	7.524(6) MeV

Isotones and Isobars

The following table shows the atomic nuclei that are isotonic (same neutron number N = 92) and isobaric (same nucleon number A = 172) with Mercury-172. Naturally occurring isotopes are marked in green; light green = naturally occurring radionuclides.

Z	Isotone N = 92	Isobar A = 172
53	¹⁴⁵I
54	¹⁴⁶Xe
55	¹⁴⁷Cs
56	¹⁴⁸Ba
57	¹⁴⁹La
58	¹⁵⁰Ce
59	¹⁵¹Pr
60	¹⁵²Nd
61	¹⁵³Pm
62	¹⁵⁴Sm
63	¹⁵⁵Eu
64	¹⁵⁶Gd
65	¹⁵⁷Tb	¹⁷²Tb
66	¹⁵⁸Dy	¹⁷²Dy
67	¹⁵⁹Ho	¹⁷²Ho
68	¹⁶⁰Er	¹⁷²Er
69	¹⁶¹Tm	¹⁷²Tm
70	¹⁶²Yb	¹⁷²Yb
71	¹⁶³Lu	¹⁷²Lu
72	¹⁶⁴Hf	¹⁷²Hf
73	¹⁶⁵Ta	¹⁷²Ta
74	¹⁶⁶W	¹⁷²W
75	¹⁶⁷Re	¹⁷²Re
76	¹⁶⁸Os	¹⁷²Os
77	¹⁶⁹Ir	¹⁷²Ir
78	¹⁷⁰Pt	¹⁷²Pt
79	¹⁷¹Au	¹⁷²Au
80	¹⁷²Hg	¹⁷²Hg