Isotopes of ytterbium
Encyclopedia
Naturally occurring ytterbium
(Yb) is composed of 7 stable isotope
s, 168Yb, 170Yb, 171Yb, 172Yb, 173Yb, 174Yb, and 176Yb, with 174Yb being the most abundant (31.83% natural abundance
). 27 radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being 169Yb with a half-life
of 32.026 days, 175Yb with a half-life of 4.185 days, and 166Yb with a half-life of 56.7 hours. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 2 hours, and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than 20 minutes. This element also has 12 meta states, with the most stable being 169mYb (t½ 46 seconds).
The isotopes of ytterbium range in atomic weight
from 147.9674 u
(148Yb) to 180.9562 u (181Yb). The primary decay mode before the most abundant stable isotope, 174Yb is electron capture
, and the primary mode after is beta emission. The primary decay product
s before 174Yb are isotopes of thulium
, and the primary products after are isotopes of lutetium
. Of interest to modern quantum optics
, the different ytterbium isotopes follow either Bose-Einstein statistics or Fermi-Dirac statistics
, leading to interesting behavior in optical lattice
s.
Standard atomic mass: 173.04(3) u
Ytterbium
Ytterbium is a chemical element with the symbol Yb and atomic number 70. A soft silvery metallic element, ytterbium is a rare earth element of the lanthanide series and is found in the minerals gadolinite, monazite, and xenotime. The element is sometimes associated with yttrium or other related...
(Yb) is composed of 7 stable isotope
Isotope
Isotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
s, 168Yb, 170Yb, 171Yb, 172Yb, 173Yb, 174Yb, and 176Yb, with 174Yb being the most abundant (31.83% natural abundance
Natural abundance
In chemistry, natural abundance refers to the abundance of isotopes of a chemical element as naturally found on a planet. The relative atomic mass of these isotopes is the atomic weight listed for the element in the periodic table...
). 27 radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being 169Yb with a half-life
Half-life
Half-life, abbreviated t½, is the period of time it takes for the amount of a substance undergoing decay to decrease by half. The name was originally used to describe a characteristic of unstable atoms , but it may apply to any quantity which follows a set-rate decay.The original term, dating to...
of 32.026 days, 175Yb with a half-life of 4.185 days, and 166Yb with a half-life of 56.7 hours. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 2 hours, and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than 20 minutes. This element also has 12 meta states, with the most stable being 169mYb (t½ 46 seconds).
The isotopes of ytterbium range in atomic weight
Atomic weight
Atomic weight is a dimensionless physical quantity, the ratio of the average mass of atoms of an element to 1/12 of the mass of an atom of carbon-12...
from 147.9674 u
Atomic mass unit
The unified atomic mass unit or dalton is a unit that is used for indicating mass on an atomic or molecular scale. It is defined as one twelfth of the rest mass of an unbound neutral atom of carbon-12 in its nuclear and electronic ground state, and has a value of...
(148Yb) to 180.9562 u (181Yb). The primary decay mode before the most abundant stable isotope, 174Yb is electron capture
Electron capture
Electron capture is a process in which a proton-rich nuclide absorbs an inner atomic electron and simultaneously emits a neutrino...
, and the primary mode after is beta emission. The primary decay product
Decay product
In nuclear physics, a decay product is the remaining nuclide left over from radioactive decay. Radioactive decay often involves a sequence of steps...
s before 174Yb are isotopes of thulium
Isotopes of thulium
Naturally occurring thulium is composed of 1 stable isotope, 169Tm . 34 radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being 171Tm with a half-life of 1.92 years, 170Tm with a half-life of 128.6 days, 168Tm with a half-life of 93.1 days, and 167Tm with a half-life of 9.25 days...
, and the primary products after are isotopes of lutetium
Isotopes of lutetium
Naturally occurring lutetium is composed of 1 stable isotope 175Lu and one long-lived radioisotope, 176Lu with a half-life of 3.78 × 1010 years . 34 radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable, besides 176Lu, being 174Lu with a half-life of 3.31 years, and 173Lu with a...
. Of interest to modern quantum optics
Quantum optics
Quantum optics is a field of research in physics, dealing with the application of quantum mechanics to phenomena involving light and its interactions with matter.- History of quantum optics :...
, the different ytterbium isotopes follow either Bose-Einstein statistics or Fermi-Dirac statistics
Fermi-Dirac statistics
Fermi–Dirac statistics is a part of the science of physics that describes the energies of single particles in a system comprising many identical particles that obey the Pauli Exclusion Principle...
, leading to interesting behavior in optical lattice
Optical lattice
An optical lattice is formed by the interference of counter-propagating laser beams, creating a spatially periodic polarization pattern. The resulting periodic potential may trap neutral atoms via the Stark shift. Atoms are cooled and congregate in the locations of potential minima...
s.
Standard atomic mass: 173.04(3) u
Table
| nuclide symbol |
Z(p Proton The proton is a subatomic particle with the symbol or and a positive electric charge of 1 elementary charge. One or more protons are present in the nucleus of each atom, along with neutrons. The number of protons in each atom is its atomic number.... ) |
N(n Neutron The neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of... ) |
isotopic mass (u) |
half-life | decay mode(s)Abbreviations: EC: Electron capture Electron capture Electron capture is a process in which a proton-rich nuclide absorbs an inner atomic electron and simultaneously emits a neutrino... IT: Isomeric transition Isomeric transition An isomeric transition is a radioactive decay process that involves emission of a gamma ray from an atom where the nucleus is in an excited metastable state, referred to in its excited state, as a nuclear isomer.... |
daughter isotope(s)Bold for stable isotopes |
nuclear spin |
representative isotopic composition (mole fraction) |
range of natural variation (mole fraction) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| excitation energy | |||||||||
| 148Yb | 70 | 78 | 147.96742(64)# | 250# ms | β+ Beta decay In nuclear physics, beta decay is a type of radioactive decay in which a beta particle is emitted from an atom. There are two types of beta decay: beta minus and beta plus. In the case of beta decay that produces an electron emission, it is referred to as beta minus , while in the case of a... |
148Tm | 0+ | ||
| 149Yb | 70 | 79 | 148.96404(54)# | 0.7(2) s | β+ | 149Tm | (1/2+,3/2+) | ||
| 150Yb | 70 | 80 | 149.95842(43)# | 700# ms [>200 ns] | β+ | 150Tm | 0+ | ||
| 151Yb | 70 | 81 | 150.95540(32) | 1.6(5) s | β+ | 151Tm | (1/2+) | ||
| β+, p Proton emission Proton emission is a type of radioactive decay in which a proton is ejected from a nucleus. Proton emission can occur from high-lying excited states in a nucleus following a beta decay, in which case the process is known as beta-delayed proton emission, or can occur from the ground state of very... (rare) |
150Er | ||||||||
| 151m1Yb | 750(100)# keV | 1.6(5) s | β+ | 151Tm | (11/2-) | ||||
| β+, p (rare) | 150Er | ||||||||
| 151m2Yb | 1790(500)# keV | 2.6(7) µs | 19/2-# | ||||||
| 151m3Yb | 2450(500)# keV | 20(1) µs | 27/2-# | ||||||
| 152Yb | 70 | 82 | 151.95029(22) | 3.04(6) s | β+ | 152Tm | 0+ | ||
| β+, p (rare) | 151Er | ||||||||
| 153Yb | 70 | 83 | 152.94948(21)# | 4.2(2) s | α Alpha decay Alpha decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle and thereby transforms into an atom with a mass number 4 less and atomic number 2 less... (50%) |
149Er | 7/2-# | ||
| β+ (50%) | 153Tm | ||||||||
| β+, p (.008%) | 152Er | ||||||||
| 153mYb | 2700(100) keV | 15(1) µs | (27/2-) | ||||||
| 154Yb | 70 | 84 | 153.946394(19) | 0.409(2) s | α (92.8%) | 150Er | 0+ | ||
| β+ (7.119%) | 154Tm | ||||||||
| 155Yb | 70 | 85 | 154.945782(18) | 1.793(19) s | α (89%) | 151Er | (7/2-) | ||
| β+ (11%) | 155Tm | ||||||||
| 156Yb | 70 | 86 | 155.942818(12) | 26.1(7) s | β+ (90%) | 156Tm | 0+ | ||
| α (10%) | 152Er | ||||||||
| 157Yb | 70 | 87 | 156.942628(11) | 38.6(10) s | β+ (99.5%) | 157Tm | 7/2- | ||
| α (.5%) | 153Er | ||||||||
| 158Yb | 70 | 88 | 157.939866(9) | 1.49(13) min | β+ (99.99%) | 158Tm | 0+ | ||
| α (.0021%) | 154Er | ||||||||
| 159Yb | 70 | 89 | 158.94005(2) | 1.67(9) min | β+ | 159Tm | 5/2(-) | ||
| 160Yb | 70 | 90 | 159.937552(18) | 4.8(2) min | β+ | 160Tm | 0+ | ||
| 161Yb | 70 | 91 | 160.937902(17) | 4.2(2) min | β+ | 161Tm | 3/2- | ||
| 162Yb | 70 | 92 | 161.935768(17) | 18.87(19) min | β+ | 162Tm | 0+ | ||
| 163Yb | 70 | 93 | 162.936334(17) | 11.05(25) min | β+ | 163Tm | 3/2- | ||
| 164Yb | 70 | 94 | 163.934489(17) | 75.8(17) min | EC Electron capture Electron capture is a process in which a proton-rich nuclide absorbs an inner atomic electron and simultaneously emits a neutrino... |
164Tm | 0+ | ||
| 165Yb | 70 | 95 | 164.93528(3) | 9.9(3) min | β+ | 165Tm | 5/2- | ||
| 166Yb | 70 | 96 | 165.933882(9) | 56.7(1) h | EC | 166Tm | 0+ | ||
| 167Yb | 70 | 97 | 166.934950(5) | 17.5(2) min | β+ | 167Tm | 5/2- | ||
| 168Yb | 70 | 98 | 167.933897(5) | Observationally StableBelieved to undergo α decay to 164Er or β+β+ decay to 168Er with a half-life Half-life Half-life, abbreviated t½, is the period of time it takes for the amount of a substance undergoing decay to decrease by half. The name was originally used to describe a characteristic of unstable atoms , but it may apply to any quantity which follows a set-rate decay.The original term, dating to... over 130×1012 years |
0+ | 0.0013(1) | |||
| 169Yb | 70 | 99 | 168.935190(5) | 32.026(5) d | EC | 169Tm | 7/2+ | ||
| 169mYb | 24.199(3) keV | 46(2) s | IT Isomeric transition An isomeric transition is a radioactive decay process that involves emission of a gamma ray from an atom where the nucleus is in an excited metastable state, referred to in its excited state, as a nuclear isomer.... |
169Yb | 1/2- | ||||
| 170Yb | 70 | 100 | 169.9347618(26) | Observationally StableBelieved to undergo α decay to 166Er | 0+ | 0.0304(15) | |||
| 170mYb | 1258.46(14) keV | 370(15) ns | 4- | ||||||
| 171Yb | 70 | 101 | 170.9363258(26) | Observationally StableBelieved to undergo α decay to 167Er | 1/2- | 0.1428(57) | |||
| 171m1Yb | 95.282(2) keV | 5.25(24) ms | IT | 171Yb | 7/2+ | ||||
| 171m2Yb | 122.416(2) keV | 265(20) ns | 5/2- | ||||||
| 172Yb | 70 | 102 | 171.9363815(26) | Observationally StableBelieved to undergo α decay to 168Er | 0+ | 0.2183(67) | |||
| 173Yb | 70 | 103 | 172.9382108(26) | Observationally StableBelieved to undergo α decay to 169Er | 5/2- | 0.1613(27) | |||
| 173mYb | 398.9(5) keV | 2.9(1) µs | 1/2- | ||||||
| 174Yb | 70 | 104 | 173.9388621(26) | Observationally StableBelieved to undergo α decay to 170Er | 0+ | 0.3183(92) | |||
| 175Yb | 70 | 105 | 174.9412765(26) | 4.185(1) d | β- | 175Lu | 7/2- | ||
| 175mYb | 514.865(4) keV | 68.2(3) ms | 1/2- | ||||||
| 176Yb | 70 | 106 | 175.9425717(28) | Observationally StableBelieved to undergo α decay to 172Er or β-β- decay to 176Hf with a half-life over 160×1015 years | 0+ | 0.1276(41) | |||
| 176mYb | 1050.0(3) keV | 11.4(3) s | (8)- | ||||||
| 177Yb | 70 | 107 | 176.9452608(28) | 1.911(3) h | β- | 177Lu | (9/2+) | ||
| 177mYb | 331.5(3) keV | 6.41(2) s | IT | 177Yb | (1/2-) | ||||
| 178Yb | 70 | 108 | 177.946647(11) | 74(3) min | β- | 178Lu | 0+ | ||
| 179Yb | 70 | 109 | 178.95017(32)# | 8.0(4) min | β- | 179Lu | (1/2-) | ||
| 180Yb | 70 | 110 | 179.95233(43)# | 2.4(5) min | β- | 180Lu | 0+ | ||
| 181Yb | 70 | 111 | 180.95615(43)# | 1# min | β- | 181Lu | 3/2-# | ||