Silicon-23 is a radioisotope of the chemical element silicon, which has 9 neutrons in its atomic nucleus in addition to the element-specific 14 protons; the sum of the number of these atomic nucleus building blocks results in a mass number of 23. The very short-lived, only artificially produced, unstable and thus radioactive nuclide has no practical significance; the study of 23Si is exclusively for academic purposes and experimental research.
According to a report from 1986, the radioactive nuclide was first observed and identified during the fragmentation of a nickel template by irradiation with calcium-40 ions of an energy of 77.4 MeV/u [1].
See also: List of individual Silicon isotopes (and general data sources).
Half-life T½ = 42.3(4) ms respectively 4.23 × 10-2 seconds s.
| Decay mode | Daughter | Probability | Decay energy | γ energy (intensity) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC/β+ | 23Al | 8 % | 17.202(500) MeV | |
| ε, p | 22Mg | 88.4 % | 16.880 MeV | |
| ε, 2p | 21Na | 3.6 % | 11,378 MeV |
| Z | Isotone N = 9 | Isobar A = 23 |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 12Li | |
| 4 | 13Be | |
| 5 | 14B | |
| 6 | 15C | |
| 7 | 16N | 23N |
| 8 | 17O | 23O |
| 9 | 18F | 23F |
| 10 | 19Ne | 23Ne |
| 11 | 20Na | 23Na |
| 12 | 21Mg | 23Mg |
| 13 | 22Al | 23Al |
| 14 | 23Si | 23Si |
| 15 | 24P |
[1] - M. Langevin, A. C. Mueller, D. Guillemaud-Mueller et al.:
Mapping of the proton drip-line up to Z = 20: Observation of the TZ = -52 series 23Si, 27S, 31Ar and 35Ca.
In: Nuclear Physics A, 455, 1, (1986), DOI 10.1016/0375-9474(86)90348-9.
[2] - F. M. Maier et al.:
Exploring isospin symmetry breaking in exotic nuclei: High-precision mass measurement of 23Si and shell-model calculations of T = 5/2 nuclei.
In: Physical Review C, 112, 014329, (2025), DOI 10.1103/14s5-17gj.
Last update: 2025-12-23
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