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Isotope: Gold-170

General data

Element nameGold
Chemical symbolAu
Atomic number Z79
Isotope name (symbol)Gold-170 (Au-170)
Neutron number N91
Mass number A=Z+N170

Ground state

Half-life0.29 +0.05/−0.04 ms
Spin / Parity(2-)
Mass excess-3700 ± 200 keV (S)

Decay branches

p 89 ± 10% α 11 ± 10%

Isomers

IsomerEnergyHalf-lifeSpin / ParityDecay branches
Isomer 1285 ± 13 keV0.62 +0.05/−0.04 ms(9+)p 58 ± 5% α 42 ± 5%
Open Decay Simulator

Produced by decay of

NNDC data contain no decay that leads to this isotope.

Many isotopes are also produced, often mainly, in nuclear reactions (e.g. Co-60 from Co-59 by neutron capture, C-14 from nitrogen-14 in the atmosphere) and in fission (e.g. Cs-137, I-131) - those routes are not listed here.

Radioactive decay series

Rare branches (below 0.01%)

Rare branches are transformations that occur in fewer than 0.01% of decays, e.g. double beta decay or cluster emission. The nuclides they produce are practically absent from a sample, so they are hidden by default to keep the main path clear. In this series: branches - 3, nuclides - 12.

Showing 60 of 81 nuclides in the series.

Decay notation

NotationNameOn the chartDescription
αalpha decayAlpha decay is the emission of a helium nucleus (2 protons + 2 neutrons): Z−2, A−4.
β⁻, 2β⁻beta-minus decayIn beta-minus decay a neutron turns into a proton and the nucleus emits an electron: Z+1, A unchanged. 2β⁻ is double beta decay.
EC, EC/β⁺electron capture / beta-plus decayA proton turns into a neutron: the nucleus captures a shell electron (EC) or emits a positron (β⁺): Z−1, A unchanged.
p, 2p, 3pproton emissionProton emission is the ejection of a proton from the nucleus: Z−1, A−1. 2p, 3p - two, three protons.
n, 2n…4nneutron emissionNeutron emission is the ejection of a neutron from the nucleus: A−1, Z unchanged. 2n…4n - several neutrons.
¹⁴C, ²⁴Ne…cluster emissionCluster emission is the ejection of a light nucleus, e.g. ¹⁴C, ²⁰O, ²⁴Ne, ²⁸Mg, ³⁴Si. It is a very rare transformation.
ITisomeric transitionAn isomeric transition takes a nucleus from an excited state (an isomer, e.g. Pa-234m) to the ground state, usually emitting a γ photon: Z and A unchanged.
β⁻n, ECp, ECα…delayed emission Delayed emission is the emission of a particle (n, p or α) right after β⁻ decay or electron capture. The arrow has the colour of the emitted particle and its label shows the transformation, e.g. “β⁻n 63%”.
SFspontaneous fissionno arrowSpontaneous fission is the splitting of a nucleus into two fragments of random masses. There is no single daughter, so the chart shows no arrow - it is listed in the decay branches and in the tile tooltip.

Data sources

More about the data sources