Isotopes of neon

Neon (Ne) possesses three stable isotopes, ²⁰Ne, ²¹Ne, and ²²Ne. In addition, 16 radioactive isotopes have been discovered ranging from ¹⁶Ne to ³⁴Ne, all short-lived. The longest-lived is ²⁴Ne with a half-life of 3.38 minutes. All others are under a minute, most under a second. The least stable is ¹⁶Ne with a half-life of 9×10⁻²¹ s. See isotopes of carbon for notes about the measurement.

Relative atomic mass: 20.1797(6).

A chart showing the abundances of the naturally-occurring isotopes of neon.

Table

nuclide symbol	Z(p)	N(n)	isotopic mass (u)	half-life	decay mode(s)	daughter isotope(s)	nuclear spin	representative isotopic composition (mole fraction)	range of natural variation (mole fraction)
16Ne	10	6	16.025761(22)	9×10−21 s [122(37) keV]	2p	14O	0+
17Ne	10	7	17.017672(29)	109.2(6) ms	β+, p (96.0%)	16O	1/2–
					β+, α (2.7%)	13N
					β+ (1.3%)	17F
18Ne	10	8	18.0057082(3)	1.672(8) s	Electron capture (EC)	18F	0+
					2p (possibly 2He)	16O
19Ne	10	9	19.0018802(3)	17.296(5) s+	β+	19F	1/2+
20Ne	10	10	19.9924401754(19)	Stable			0+	0.9048(3)	0.8847–0.9051
21Ne	10	11	20.99384668(4)	Stable			3/2+	0.0027(1)	0.0027–0.0171
22Ne	10	12	21.991385114(19)	Stable			0+	0.0925(3)	0.0920–0.0996
23Ne	10	13	22.99446690(11)	37.24(12) s	β−	23Na	5/2+
24Ne	10	14	23.9936108(4)	3.38(2) min	β−	24Na	0+
25Ne	10	15	24.997737(28)	602(8) ms	β−	25Na	(3/2)+
26Ne	10	16	26.000461(29)	197(1) ms	β− (99.87%)	26Na	0+
					β−, n (.13%)	25Na
27Ne	10	17	27.00759(12)	32(2) ms	β− (98.0%)	27Na	(3/2+)#
					β−, n (2.0%)	26Na
28Ne	10	18	28.01207(16)	18.3(22) ms	β− (78.0%)	28Na	0+
					β−, n (22.0%)	27Na
29Ne	10	19	29.01939(29)	15.6(5) ms	β−	29Na	(3/2+)#
30Ne	10	20	30.02480(61)	5.8(2) ms	β−	30Na	0+
31Ne	10	21	31.03311(97)#	3.4(8) ms	β−	31Na	7/2−#
					β−, n	30Na
32Ne	10	22	32.04002(86)#	3.5(9) ms	β−, n	31Na	0+
					β−	32Na
33Ne	10	23	33.04938(86)#	<260 ns			7/2−#
34Ne	10	24	34.05703(87)#	1# ms [>1.5 µs]			0+

Notes

• The isotopic composition refers to that in air.
• The precision of the isotope abundances and atomic mass is limited through variations. The given ranges should be applicable to any normal terrestrial material.
• Geologically exceptional samples are known in which the isotopic composition lies outside the reported range. The uncertainty in the atomic mass may exceed the stated value for such specimens.
• Commercially available materials may have been subjected to an undisclosed or inadvertent isotopic fractionation. Substantial deviations from the given mass and composition can occur.
• Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from systematic trends. Spins with weak assignment arguments are enclosed in parentheses.
• Uncertainties are given in concise form in parentheses after the corresponding last digits. Uncertainty values denote one standard deviation, except isotopic composition and standard atomic mass from IUPAC, which use expanded uncertainties.

References

• Isotope masses from:
• Isotopic compositions and standard atomic masses from:
• Half-life, spin, and isomer data selected from the following sources. See editing notes on this article's talk page.

Isotopes of fluorine	Isotopes of neon	Isotopes of sodium
Table of nuclides