Iron-56 (⁵⁶Fe) is the most common isotope of iron. About 91.754% of all iron is iron-56. Of all

nuclide A nuclide (or nucleide, from nucleus, also known as nuclear species) is a class of atoms characterized by their number of protons, ''Z'', their number of neutrons, ''N'', and their nuclear energy state. The word ''nuclide'' was coined by Truman ...

s, iron-56 has the lowest mass per

nucleon In physics and chemistry, a nucleon is either a proton or a neutron, considered in its role as a component of an atomic nucleus. The number of nucleons in a nucleus defines the atom's mass number (nucleon number). Until the 1960s, nucleons were ...

. With 8.8

MeV In physics, an electronvolt (symbol eV, also written electron-volt and electron volt) is the measure of an amount of kinetic energy gained by a single electron accelerating from rest through an electric potential difference of one volt in vacuum. ...

binding energy In physics and chemistry, binding energy is the smallest amount of energy required to remove a particle from a system of particles or to disassemble a system of particles into individual parts. In the former meaning the term is predominantly use ...

per nucleon, iron-56 is one of the most tightly bound nuclei.Nuclear Binding Energy
/ref> Nickel-62, a relatively rare isotope of nickel, has a higher nuclear binding energy per nucleon; this is consistent with having a higher mass-per-nucleon because nickel-62 has a greater proportion of neutrons, which are slightly more massive than protons. (See the nickel-62 article for more). Light elements undergoing nuclear fusion and heavy elements undergoing nuclear fission release energy as their nucleons bind more tightly, so ⁶²Ni might be expected to be common. However, during nucleosynthesis in stars the competition between

photodisintegration Photodisintegration (also called phototransmutation, or a photonuclear reaction) is a nuclear process in which an atomic nucleus absorbs a high-energy gamma ray, enters an excited state, and immediately decays by emitting a subatomic particle. The ...

and alpha capturing causes more ⁵⁶Ni to be produced than ⁶²Ni (⁵⁶Fe is produced later in the star's ejection shell as ⁵⁶Ni decays). Production of these elements has decreased considerably from what it was at the beginning of the

stelliferous era Observations suggest that the expansion of the universe will continue forever. The prevailing theory is that the universe will cool as it expands, eventually becoming too cold to sustain life. For this reason, this future scenario once popularly ...

. Nonetheless, 28 atoms of nickel-62 fusing into 31 atoms of iron-56 releases of energy. As the Universe ages, matter will slowly convert to ever more tightly bound nuclei, approaching ⁵⁶Fe, ultimately leading to the formation of

iron star In astronomy, an iron star is a hypothetical type of compact star. Unrelatedly, the term "iron star" is also used for blue supergiants which have a forest of forbidden FeII lines in their spectra. They are potentially quiescent hot luminous blue ...

s over ≈10¹⁵⁰⁰ years in an expanding universe without proton decay.

References

* {{Isotope, element=iron , lighter=

iron-55 Iron-55 (55Fe) is a radioactive isotope of iron with a nucleus containing 26 protons and 29 neutrons. It decays by electron capture to manganese-55 and this process has a half-life of 2.737 years. The emitted X-rays can be used as an X-ray sourc ...

, heavier=

iron-57 Naturally occurring iron (26Fe) consists of four stable isotopes: 5.845% of 54Fe (possibly radioactive with a half-life over years), 91.754% of 56Fe, 2.119% of 57Fe and 0.286% of 58Fe. There are 24 known radioactive isotopes, the most stable of w ...

, before=

manganese-56 Naturally occurring manganese (25Mn) is composed of one stable isotope, 55Mn. 25 radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being 53Mn with a half-life of 3.7 million years, 54Mn with a half-life of 312.3 days, and 52Mn with a hal ...

cobalt-56 Naturally occurring cobalt (Co) consists of a single stable isotope, Co. Twenty-eight radioisotopes have been characterized; the most stable are Co with a half-life of 5.2714 years, Co (271.8 days), Co (77.27 days), and Co (70.86 days). All other ...

, after=Stable Isotopes of iron

See also

References