Isotope: Gold-171
General data
| Element name | Gold |
|---|---|
| Chemical symbol | Au |
| Atomic number Z | 79 |
| Isotope name (symbol) | Gold-171 (Au-171) |
| Neutron number N | 92 |
| Mass number A=Z+N | 171 |
Ground state
| Half-life | 22 +3/−2 μs |
|---|---|
| Spin / Parity | (1/2+) |
| Mass excess | -7562 ± 21 keV |
Decay branches
p 100%Isomers
| Isomer | Energy | Half-life | Spin / Parity | Decay branches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isomer 1 | 259 ± 13 keV | 1.04 ± 0.03 ms | (11/2-) | α 60 ± 6% p 40 ± 6% |
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
- Gold-171 22 μs
- Platinum-170 13.9 ms
- Osmium-166 212 ms
- Tungsten-162 0.99 s · 83.0%
- Hafnium-158 2.9 s · 38.2%
- Rhenium-166 2.25 s · 17.0%
- Tantalum-162 3.56 s · 48.9%
- Lutetium-158 10.6 s · 21.3%
- Ytterbium-154 409 ms · 16.9%
- Erbium-150 18.7 s · 15.7%
- Tungsten-166 19.2 s · 12.9%
- Hafnium-162 38.7 s · 48.9%
- Lutetium-162 1.37 min · 48.9%
- Ytterbium-162 18.89 min · 48.9%
- Thulium-162 21.80 min · 48.9%
- Erbium-162 stable · 48.9%
- Ytterbium-158 1.49 min · 21.1%
- Thulium-158 3.98 min · 21.1%
- Erbium-158 2.26 h · 21.1%
- Holmium-158 11.3 min · 21.1%
- Dysprosium-158 stable · 21.1%
- Tantalum-166 34.4 s · 12.9%
- Hafnium-166 6.8 min · 12.9%
- Lutetium-166 2.65 min · 12.9%
- Ytterbium-166 56.7 h · 12.9%
- Thulium-166 7.70 h · 12.9%
- Erbium-166 stable · 12.9%
- Thulium-154 8.1 s · 1.4%
- Holmium-150 77 s · 16.4%
- Erbium-154 3.73 min · 0.67%
- Dysprosium-150 7.17 min · 16.4%
- Gadolinium-146 48.27 d · 6.1%
- Europium-146 4.61 d · 6.1%
- Holmium-154 11.76 min · 0.66%
- Terbium-150 3.48 h · 10.4%
- Dysprosium-154 2.8×10⁶ a · 0.66%
- Gadolinium-150 1.79×10⁶ a · 11.0%
- Samarium-146 6.8×10⁷ a · 17.1%
- Neodymium-142 stable · 17.1%
Decay notation
| Notation | Name | On the chart | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| α | alpha decay | Alpha decay is the emission of a helium nucleus (2 protons + 2 neutrons): Z−2, A−4. | |
| β⁻, 2β⁻ | beta-minus decay | In 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 decay | A proton turns into a neutron: the nucleus captures a shell electron (EC) or emits a positron (β⁺): Z−1, A unchanged. | |
| p, 2p, 3p | proton emission | Proton emission is the ejection of a proton from the nucleus: Z−1, A−1. 2p, 3p - two, three protons. | |
| n, 2n…4n | neutron emission | Neutron emission is the ejection of a neutron from the nucleus: A−1, Z unchanged. 2n…4n - several neutrons. | |
| ¹⁴C, ²⁴Ne… | cluster emission | Cluster emission is the ejection of a light nucleus, e.g. ¹⁴C, ²⁰O, ²⁴Ne, ²⁸Mg, ³⁴Si. It is a very rare transformation. | |
| IT | isomeric transition | An 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%”. | |
| SF | spontaneous fission | no arrow | Spontaneous 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
- NNDC Wallet Cards 2023 - Data as of 15 October 2024 - licence: Public domain