There are three known stable isotopes of oxygen (8O):
O,
O, and
O. Radioisotopes are known from O to O (particle-bound from mass number 13 to 24), and the most stable are
O with half-life 122.27 seconds and
O with half-life 70.62 seconds. All remaining radioisotopes are even shorter in lifetime. The four heaviest known isotopes (up to
O) decay by neutron emission to
O, whose half-life is 77 milliseconds; O, along with Ne, have been used in the model of reactions in the crust of neutron stars. The most common decay mode for isotopes lighter than the stable isotopes is β decay to nitrogen, and the most common mode after is β decay to fluorine.
⭐ Core Definition: Isotopes of oxygen
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Isotopes of oxygen in the context of Origin of the Moon
The origin of the Moon is usually explained by a Mars-sized body, known as Theia, striking the Earth, creating a debris ring that eventually collected into a single natural satellite, the Moon, but there are a number of variations on this giant-impact hypothesis, as well as alternative explanations, and research continues into how the Moon came to be formed. Other proposed scenarios include captured body, fission, formed together (accretion, synestia), planetesimal collisions (formed from asteroid-like bodies), and collision theories.
The standard giant-impact hypothesis suggests that a Mars-sized body called Theia impacted the proto-Earth, creating a large debris ring around Earth, which then accreted to form the Moon. This collision also resulted in the 23.5° tilted axis of the Earth, thus causing the seasons. The Moon's oxygen isotopic ratios seem to be essentially identical to Earth's. Oxygen isotopic ratios, which may be measured very precisely, yield a unique and distinct signature for each Solar System body. If Theia had been a separate protoplanet, it probably would have had a different oxygen isotopic signature than proto-Earth, as would the ejected mixed material. Also, the Moon's titanium isotope ratio (Ti/Ti) appears so close to the Earth's (within 4 parts per million) that little if any of the colliding body's mass could have been part of the Moon.
In this Dossier
Isotopes of oxygen in the context of Isotopes of nitrogen
Natural nitrogen (7N) consists of two stable isotopes: the vast majority (99.62%) of naturally occurring nitrogen is nitrogen-14, with the remainder (0.38%) being nitrogen-15. Thirteen radioisotopes are also known, with atomic masses ranging from 9 to 23, along with three nuclear isomers. All of these radioisotopes are short-lived, the longest-lived being N with a half-life of 9.965 minutes. All of the others have half-lives shorter than ten seconds. Isotopes lighter than the stable ones generally decay to isotopes of carbon, and those heavier beta decay to isotopes of oxygen.
Nitrogen-13 is a positron emitter and one of the main isotopes used in medical PET scans.