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Radioactive Isotopes and Their Half-Lives

Radioactive isotopes (radionuclides) are isotopes with unstable nuclei that transform into other elements while emitting radiation. Half-life refers to the time required for the amount of radioactive material to decrease to half its initial value, spanning an extremely wide range from milliseconds to billions of years. This dataset comprehensively covers major radioactive isotopes and their half-lives used in various fields including medicine, industry, environmental science, and archaeology.

radioactive isotopes half-life radiation nucleus decay nuclear medicine radiometric dating
code slug name description atomicNumber category decayMode halfLife_seconds halfLife_unit halfLife_value massNumber symbol
001 tellurium-128 Tellurium-128 The radioactive isotope with the longest known half-life. 52 naturally-occurring double beta decay 6.94e+31 ×10²⁴ years 2.2 128 Te-128
002 xenon-136 Xenon-136 A noble gas isotope that undergoes double beta decay. 54 naturally-occurring double beta decay 7.51e+28 ×10²¹ years 2.38 136 Xe-136
003 thorium-232 Thorium-232 The parent nuclide of the thorium series, abundantly present on Earth. 90 naturally-occurring alpha decay 445000000000000000 ×10¹⁰ years 1.41 232 Th-232
004 uranium-238 Uranium-238 The main component of natural uranium and parent nuclide of the uranium series. 92 naturally-occurring alpha decay 141000000000000000 ×10⁹ years 4.47 238 U-238
005 potassium-40 Potassium-40 A radioactive isotope of potassium widely used for rock dating. 19 naturally-occurring beta decay / electron capture 39800000000000000 ×10⁹ years 1.26 40 K-40
006 uranium-235 Uranium-235 Fissile material and the primary fuel for nuclear power generation. 92 naturally-occurring alpha decay 22200000000000000 ×10⁸ years 7.04 235 U-235
007 plutonium-244 Plutonium-244 The plutonium isotope with the longest half-life. 94 transuranic alpha decay 2610000000000000 ×10⁷ years 8.26 244 Pu-244
008 iodine-129 Iodine-129 A long-lived fission product used for geological dating. 53 fission-product beta decay 495000000000000 ×10⁷ years 1.57 129 I-129
009 aluminum-26 Aluminum-26 Produced by cosmic rays and used for meteorite dating. 13 cosmogenic beta decay / electron capture 22600000000000 ×10⁵ years 7.17 26 Al-26
010 carbon-14 Carbon-14 The most famous isotope that forms the basis of radiocarbon dating. 6 cosmogenic beta decay 181000000000 years 5730 14 C-14
011 plutonium-239 Plutonium-239 Fissile material used in both nuclear power and weapons. 94 transuranic alpha decay 761000000000 years 24100 239 Pu-239
012 americium-241 Americium-241 An artificial radioactive element widely used in smoke detectors. 95 transuranic alpha decay 13600000000 years 432.2 241 Am-241
013 radium-226 Radium-226 A famous radioactive element discovered by Marie Curie, once used in medicine. 88 naturally-occurring alpha decay 50500000000 years 1600 226 Ra-226
014 cesium-137 Cesium-137 A fission product used in medicine and industry, but also a concern for environmental contamination. 55 fission-product beta decay 952000000 years 30.17 137 Cs-137
015 strontium-90 Strontium-90 A fission product that easily accumulates in bones, important for environmental monitoring. 38 fission-product beta decay 909000000 years 28.8 90 Sr-90
016 tritium Tritium A radioactive isotope of hydrogen used in fusion research and luminous watch dials. 1 cosmogenic beta decay 388000000 years 12.3 3 H-3
017 cobalt-60 Cobalt-60 An artificial radioactive isotope widely used as a radiation source for cancer treatment. 27 artificial beta decay 166000000 years 5.27 60 Co-60
018 iridium-192 Iridium-192 A gamma source widely used for industrial radiographic testing. 77 artificial beta decay 6380000 days 73.8 192 Ir-192
019 iodine-131 Iodine-131 A nuclear medicine radioisotope used for thyroid diagnosis and treatment. 53 fission-product beta decay 695000 days 8.04 131 I-131
020 molybdenum-99 Molybdenum-99 The parent nuclide of Technetium-99m, forming the foundation of nuclear medicine diagnostics. 42 fission-product beta decay 237000 hours 65.9 99 Mo-99
021 technetium-99m Technetium-99m The most widely used radioisotope in nuclear medicine diagnostics. 43 artificial isomeric transition 21600 hours 6.01 99 Tc-99m
022 fluorine-18 Fluorine-18 A positron-emitting nuclide used in PET scans. 9 artificial positron emission 6588 minutes 109.8 18 F-18
023 radon-222 Radon-222 A naturally occurring radioactive gas that causes indoor air pollution. 86 naturally-occurring alpha decay 330000 days 3.82 222 Rn-222
024 polonium-210 Polonium-210 Emits strong alpha radiation and was once used in static eliminators. 84 naturally-occurring alpha decay 12000000 days 138.4 210 Po-210
025 bismuth-213 Bismuth-213 An alpha source used in targeted alpha therapy for cancer treatment. 83 artificial beta decay / alpha decay 2736 minutes 45.6 213 Bi-213
026 actinium-225 Actinium-225 A promising radioisotope used in targeted alpha therapy. 89 artificial alpha decay 855000 days 9.9 225 Ac-225
027 lutetium-177 Lutetium-177 A beta source used for treating neuroendocrine tumors. 71 artificial beta decay 575000 days 6.65 177 Lu-177
028 yttrium-90 Yttrium-90 A beta source used for liver cancer treatment (SIRT). 39 fission-product beta decay 231000 hours 64.1 90 Y-90
029 phosphorus-32 Phosphorus-32 Used for malignant tumor treatment and biological research. 15 artificial beta decay 1240000 days 14.3 32 P-32
030 sodium-24 Sodium-24 Used for blood flow measurement and industrial flow measurement. 11 artificial beta decay 54000 hours 15 24 Na-24
031 gallium-68 Gallium-68 A positron-emitting nuclide used in PET scans. 31 artificial positron emission 4080 minutes 68 68 Ga-68
032 copper-64 Copper-64 A versatile nuclide used for both PET imaging and radionuclide therapy. 29 artificial beta decay / positron emission / electron capture 45720 hours 12.7 64 Cu-64
033 astatine-211 Astatine-211 A rare halogen element used in targeted alpha therapy. 85 artificial alpha decay / electron capture 25920 hours 7.2 211 At-211
034 lead-212 Lead-212 An intermediate nuclide of the thorium series used in targeted radionuclide therapy. 82 naturally-occurring beta decay 38160 hours 10.6 212 Pb-212
035 thorium-229 Thorium-229 A thorium isotope used in nuclear clock research. 90 naturally-occurring alpha decay 232000000000 years 7340 229 Th-229
036 protactinium-231 Protactinium-231 A long-lived radionuclide used for dating ocean circulation. 91 naturally-occurring alpha decay 1030000000000 years 32760 231 Pa-231
037 neptunium-237 Neptunium-237 The parent nuclide of the neptunium series, present in spent nuclear fuel. 93 transuranic alpha decay 67500000000000 ×10⁶ years 2.14 237 Np-237
038 curium-247 Curium-247 The curium isotope with the longest half-life. 96 transuranic alpha decay 492000000000000 ×10⁷ years 1.56 247 Cm-247
039 einsteinium-252 Einsteinium-252 The einsteinium isotope with the longest half-life. 99 transuranic alpha decay 40800000 days 471.7 252 Es-252
040 californium-251 Californium-251 The californium isotope with the longest half-life. 98 transuranic alpha decay 28300000000 years 898 251 Cf-251

A list of radioactive isotopes occurring in nature and artificially produced, along with their half-lives.