Everything about Isotopes Of Iron totally explained
Naturally occurring
iron (
Fe) consists of four
isotopes: 5.845% of radioactive
54Fe (half-life: >3.1×10
22 years), 91.754% of stable
56Fe, 2.119% of stable
57Fe and 0.282% of stable
58Fe.
60Fe is an extinct
radionuclide of long
half-life (1.5 million years).
Much of the past work on measuring the isotopic composition of Fe has centered on determining
60Fe variations due to processes accompanying
nucleosynthesis (for example,
meteorite studies) and ore formation. In the last decade however, advances in
mass spectrometry technology have allowed the detection and quantification of minute, naturally occurring variations in the ratios of the
stable isotopes of iron. Much of this work has been driven by the
Earth and
planetary science communities, although applications to biological and industrial systems are beginning to emerge.
The isotope
56Fe is of particular interest to nuclear scientists. A common misconception is that this isotope represents the most stable nucleus possible, and that it thus would be impossible to perform fission or fusion on
56Fe and still liberate energy. This isn't true, as both
62Ni and
58Fe are more stable, being the most stable nuclei. However, since
56Fe is much more easily produced from lighter nuclei in nuclear reactions, it's the endpoint of fusion chains inside
extremely massive stars and is therefore common in the universe, relative to other
metals.
In phases of the meteorites
Semarkona and
Chervony Kut a correlation between the concentration of
60Ni, the
daughter product of
60Fe, and the abundance of the stable iron isotopes could be found which is evidence for the existence of
60Fe at the time of formation of the solar system. Possibly the energy released by the decay of
60Fe contributed, together with the energy released by decay of the radionuclide
26Al, to the remelting and
differentiation of
asteroids after their formation 4.6 billion years ago. The abundance of
60Ni present in material may also provide further insight into the origin of the
solar system and its early history.
Of the stable isotopes, only
57Fe has a nuclear
spin (−1/2).
Standard atomic mass: 55.845(2)
u
Table
nuclide
symbol |
Z(p) |
N(n) |
isotopic mass (u)
|
half-life |
nuclear
spin |
representative
isotopic
composition
(mole fraction) |
range of natural
variation
(mole fraction) |
| excitation energy |
| 45Fe |
26 |
19 |
45.01458(24)# |
4.9(15) ms [3.8(+20-8)ms] |
3/2+# |
|
|
| 46Fe |
26 |
20 |
46.00081(38)# |
9(4) ms [12(+4-3)ms] |
0+ |
|
|
| 47Fe |
26 |
21 |
46.99289(28)# |
21.8(7) ms |
7/2-# |
|
|
| 48Fe |
26 |
22 |
47.98050(8)# |
44(7) ms |
0+ |
|
|
| 49Fe |
26 |
23 |
48.97361(16)# |
70(3) ms |
(7/2-) |
|
|
| 50Fe |
26 |
24 |
49.96299(6) |
155(11) ms |
0+ |
|
|
| 51Fe |
26 |
25 |
50.956820(16) |
305(5) ms |
5/2- |
|
|
| 52Fe |
26 |
26 |
51.948114(7) |
8.275(8) h |
0+ |
|
|
| 52mFe |
6.81(13) MeV |
45.9(6) s |
(12+)# |
|
|
| 53Fe |
26 |
27 |
52.9453079(19) |
8.51(2) min |
7/2- |
|
|
| 53mFe |
3040.4(3) keV |
2.526(24) min |
19/2- |
|
|
| 54Fe |
26 |
28 |
53.9396105(7) |
STABLE [>3.1E+22a] |
0+ |
0.05845(35) |
0.05837-0.05861 |
| 54mFe |
6526.9(6) keV |
364(7) ns |
10+ |
|
|
| 55Fe |
26 |
29 |
54.9382934(7) |
2.737(11) a |
3/2- |
|
|
| 56Fe |
26 |
30 |
55.9349375(7) |
STABLE |
0+ |
0.91754(36) |
0.91742-0.91760 |
| 57Fe |
26 |
31 |
56.9353940(7) |
STABLE |
1/2- |
0.02119(10) |
0.02116-0.02121 |
| 58Fe |
26 |
32 |
57.9332756(8) |
STABLE |
0+ |
0.00282(4) |
0.00281-0.00282 |
| 59Fe |
26 |
33 |
58.9348755(8) |
44.495(9) d |
3/2- |
|
|
| 60Fe |
26 |
34 |
59.934072(4) |
1.5(3)E+6 a |
0+ |
|
|
| 61Fe |
26 |
35 |
60.936745(21) |
5.98(6) min |
3/2-,5/2- |
|
|
| 61mFe |
861(3) keV |
250(10) ns |
9/2+# |
|
|
| 62Fe |
26 |
36 |
61.936767(16) |
68(2) s |
0+ |
|
|
| 63Fe |
26 |
37 |
62.94037(18) |
6.1(6) s |
(5/2)- |
|
|
| 64Fe |
26 |
38 |
63.9412(3) |
2.0(2) s |
0+ |
|
|
| 65Fe |
26 |
39 |
64.94538(26) |
1.3(3) s |
1/2-# |
|
|
| 65mFe |
364(3) keV |
430(130) ns |
(5/2-) |
|
|
| 66Fe |
26 |
40 |
65.94678(32) |
440(40) ms |
0+ |
|
|
| 67Fe |
26 |
41 |
66.95095(45) |
394(9) ms |
1/2-# |
|
|
| 67mFe |
367(3) keV |
64(17) µs |
(5/2-) |
|
|
| 68Fe |
26 |
42 |
67.95370(75) |
187(6) ms |
0+ |
|
|
| 69Fe |
26 |
43 |
68.95878(54)# |
109(9) ms |
1/2-# |
|
|
| 70Fe |
26 |
44 |
69.96146(64)# |
94(17) ms |
0+ |
|
|
| 71Fe |
26 |
45 |
70.96672(86)# |
30# ms [>300ns] |
7/2+# |
|
|
| 72Fe |
26 |
46 |
71.96962(86)# |
10# ms [>300ns] |
0+ |
|
|
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