Naturally occurring

tungsten Tungsten (also called wolfram) is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first ...

(₇₄W) consists of five

isotope Isotopes are distinct nuclear species (or ''nuclides'') of the same chemical element. They have the same atomic number (number of protons in their Atomic nucleus, nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemica ...

s. Four are considered

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

(¹⁸²W, ¹⁸³W, ¹⁸⁴W, and ¹⁸⁶W) and one is slightly

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

, ¹⁸⁰W, with an extremely long

half-life Half-life is a mathematical and scientific description of exponential or gradual decay. Half-life, half life or halflife may also refer to: Film * Half-Life (film), ''Half-Life'' (film), a 2008 independent film by Jennifer Phang * ''Half Life: ...

of . On average, two

alpha decay Alpha decay or α-decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle (helium nucleus). The parent nucleus transforms or "decays" into a daughter product, with a mass number that is reduced by four and an a ...

s of ¹⁸⁰W occur per gram of natural tungsten per year, so for most practical purposes, ¹⁸⁰W can be considered stable. Theoretically, all five naturally occurring isotopes of tungsten can decay into isotopes of hafnium (element 72) by alpha emission, but only ¹⁸⁰W has been observed to do so. The other naturally occurring isotopes have not been observed to decay (they are

observationally stable Stable nuclides are isotopes of a chemical element whose nucleons are in a configuration that does not permit them the surplus energy required to produce a radioactive emission. The nuclei of such isotopes are not radioactive and unlike radionuc ...

), and lower bounds for their half-lives have been established: :¹⁸²W, t_1/2 > 7.7×10²¹ years :¹⁸³W, t_1/2 > 4.1×10²¹ years :¹⁸⁴W, t_1/2 > 8.9×10²¹ years :¹⁸⁶W, t_1/2 > 8.2×10²¹ years Thirty-four artificial

radioisotope A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess numbers of either neutrons or protons, giving it excess nuclear energy, and making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ...

s of tungsten have been characterized with mass numbers ranging from 156 to 194, the most stable of which are ¹⁸¹W with a half-life of 121.2 days, ¹⁸⁵W with a half-life of 75.1 days, ¹⁸⁸W with a half-life of 69.4 days and ¹⁷⁸W with a half-life of 21.6 days. All of the remaining

isotopes have half-lives of less than 24 hours, and most of these have half-lives that are less than 8 minutes. Tungsten also has twelve known

meta state A nuclear isomer is a metastable state of an atomic nucleus, in which one or more nucleons (protons or neutrons) occupy excited state levels (higher energy levels). "Metastable" describes nuclei whose excited states have half-lives of 10−9 s ...

s, the most stable being ^179m1W (t_1/2 6.4 minutes).

List of isotopes

, -id=Tungsten-156 , ¹⁵⁶W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 82 , , , β⁺ , ¹⁵⁶Ta , 0+ , , , -id=Tungsten-157 , ¹⁵⁷W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 83 , 156.97886(43)# , 275(40) ms , β⁺ , ¹⁵⁷Ta , (7/2−) , , , -id=Tungsten-158 , ¹⁵⁸W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 84 , 157.97457(32)# , 1.43(18) ms , α , ¹⁵⁴Hf , 0+ , , , -id=Tungsten-158m , style="text-indent:1em" , ^158mW , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 1889(8) keV , 143(19) μs , α , ¹⁵⁴Hf , (8+) , , , -id=Tungsten-159 , ¹⁵⁹W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 85 , 158.97270(32)# , 8.2(7) ms , α (82%) , ¹⁵⁵Hf , 7/2−# , , , -id=Tungsten-160 , rowspan=2, ¹⁶⁰W , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 74 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 86 , rowspan=2, 159.96851(16) , rowspan=2, 90(5) ms , α (87%) , ¹⁵⁶Hf , rowspan=2, 0+ , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , β⁺ (13%) , ¹⁶⁰Ta , -id=Tungsten-161 , rowspan=2, ¹⁶¹W , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 74 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 87 , rowspan=2, 160.96725(22)# , rowspan=2, 409(16) ms , α (73%) , ¹⁵⁷Hf , rowspan=2, 7/2−# , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , β⁺ (27%) , ¹⁶¹Ta , -id=Tungsten-162 , rowspan=2, ¹⁶²W , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 74 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 88 , rowspan=2, 161.963500(19) , rowspan=2, 1.19(12) s , β⁺ (54.8%) , ¹⁶²Ta , rowspan=2, 0+ , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , α (45.2%) , ¹⁵⁸Hf , -id=Tungsten-163 , rowspan=2, ¹⁶³W , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 74 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 89 , rowspan=2, 162.962524(63) , rowspan=2, 2.63(9) s , β⁺ (86%) , ¹⁶³Ta , rowspan=2, 7/2− , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , α (14%) , ¹⁵⁹Hf , -id=Tungsten-163m , style="text-indent:1em" , ^163mW , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 480.3(7) keV , 154(3) ns , IT , ¹⁶³W , 13/2+ , , , -id=Tungsten-164 , rowspan=2, ¹⁶⁴W , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 74 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 90 , rowspan=2, 163.958952(10) , rowspan=2, 6.3(2) s , β⁺ (96.2%) , ¹⁶⁴Ta , rowspan=2, 0+ , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , α (3.8%) , ¹⁶⁰Hf , -id=Tungsten-165 , ¹⁶⁵W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 91 , 164.958281(28) , 5.1(5) s , β⁺ , ¹⁶⁵Ta , (5/2−) , , , -id=Tungsten-166 , rowspan=2, ¹⁶⁶W , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 74 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 92 , rowspan=2, 165.955032(10) , rowspan=2, 19.2(6) s , β⁺ (99.97%) , ¹⁶⁶Ta , rowspan=2, 0+ , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , α (0.035%) , ¹⁶²Hf , -id=Tungsten-167 , rowspan=2, ¹⁶⁷W , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 74 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 93 , rowspan=2, 166.954811(20) , rowspan=2, 19.9(5) s , β⁺ (99.96%) , ¹⁶⁷Ta , rowspan=2, (5/2−) , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , α (0.04%) , ¹⁶³Hf , -id=Tungsten-168 , rowspan=2, ¹⁶⁸W , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 74 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 94 , rowspan=2, 167.951805(14) , rowspan=2, 50.9(19) s , β⁺ (99.97%) , ¹⁶⁸Ta , rowspan=2, 0+ , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , α (0.032%) , ¹⁶⁴Hf , -id=Tungsten-169 , ¹⁶⁹W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 95 , 168.951779(17) , 74(6) s , β⁺ , ¹⁶⁹Ta , 5/2−# , , , -id=Tungsten-170 , ¹⁷⁰W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 96 , 169.949231(14) , 2.42(4) min , β⁺(99%) , ¹⁷⁰Ta , 0+ , , , -id=Tungsten-171 , ¹⁷¹W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 97 , 170.949451(30) , 2.38(4) min , β⁺ , ¹⁷¹Ta , (5/2−) , , , -id=Tungsten-172 , ¹⁷²W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 98 , 171.947292(30) , 6.6(9) min , β⁺ , ¹⁷²Ta , 0+ , , , -id=Tungsten-173 , ¹⁷³W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 99 , 172.947689(30) , 7.6(2) min , β⁺ , ¹⁷³Ta , 5/2− , , , -id=Tungsten-174 , ¹⁷⁴W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 100 , 173.946079(30) , 33.2(21) min , β⁺ , ¹⁷⁴Ta , 0+ , , , -id=Tungsten-174m1 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^174m1W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 2267.8(4) keV , 158(3) ns , IT , ¹⁷⁴W , 8− , , , -id=Tungsten-174m2 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^174m2W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 3515.6(4) keV , 128(8) ns , IT , ¹⁷⁴W , 12+ , , , -id=Tungsten-175 , ¹⁷⁵W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 101 , 174.946717(30) , 35.2(6) min , β⁺ , ¹⁷⁵Ta , (1/2−) , , , -id=Tungsten-175m , style="text-indent:1em" , ^175mW , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 234.96(15) keV , 216(6) ns , IT , ¹⁷⁵W , (7/2+) , , , -id=Tungsten-176 , ¹⁷⁶W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 102 , 175.945634(30) , 2.5(1) h , EC , ¹⁷⁶Ta , 0+ , , , -id=Tungsten-177 , ¹⁷⁷W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 103 , 176.946643(30) , 132.4(20) min , β⁺ , ¹⁷⁷Ta , 1/2− , , , -id=Tungsten-178 , ¹⁷⁸W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 104 , 177.945886(16) , 21.6(3) d , EC , ¹⁷⁸Ta , 0+ , , , -id=Tungsten-178m , style="text-indent:1em" , ^178mW , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 6572.7(3) keV , 220(10) ns , IT , ¹⁷⁸W , 25+ , , , -id=Tungsten-179 , ¹⁷⁹W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 105 , 178.947079(16) , 37.05(16) min , β⁺ , ¹⁷⁹Ta , 7/2− , , , -id=Tungsten-179m1 , rowspan=2 style="text-indent:1em" , ^179m1W , rowspan=2 colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 221.91(3) keV , rowspan=2, 6.40(7) min , IT (99.71%) , ¹⁷⁹W , rowspan=2, 1/2− , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , β⁺ (0.29%) , ¹⁷⁹Ta , -id=Tungsten-179m2 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^179m2W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 1631.90(8) keV , 390(30) ns , IT , ¹⁷⁹W , 21/2+ , , , -id=Tungsten-179m3 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^179m3W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 3348.41(14) keV , 750(80) ns , IT , ¹⁷⁹W , 35/2− , , , -id=Tungsten-180 , ¹⁸⁰W Primordial

radionuclide A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess numbers of either neutrons or protons, giving it excess nuclear energy, and making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ...

, style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 106 , 179.9467133(15) , 1.59(5)×10¹⁸ y , α , ¹⁷⁶Hf , 0+ , 0.0012(1) , , -id=Tungsten-180m1 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^180m1W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 1529.05(4) keV , 5.47(9) ms , IT , ''¹⁸⁰W'' , 8− , , , -id=Tungsten-180m2 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^180m2W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 3264.7(3) keV , 2.33(19) μs , IT , ''¹⁸⁰W'' , 14− , , , -id=Tungsten-181 , ¹⁸¹W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 107 , 180.9482187(16) , 120.956(19) d , EC , ¹⁸¹Ta , 9/2+ , , , -id=Tungsten-181m1 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^181m1W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 365.55(13) keV , 14.59(15) μs , IT , ¹⁸¹W , 5/2− , , , -id=Tungsten-181m2 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^181m2W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 1653.0(3) keV , 200(13) ns , IT , ¹⁸¹W , 21/2+ , , , -id=Tungsten-182 , ¹⁸²W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 108 , 181.94820564(80) , colspan=3 align=center,

Observationally Stable Stable nuclides are isotopes of a chemical element whose nucleons are in a configuration that does not permit them the surplus energy required to produce a radioactive emission. The nuclei of such isotopes are not radioactive and unlike radionuc ...

Believed to undergo α decay to ¹⁷⁸Hf with a half-life over 7.7×10²¹ y , 0+ , 0.2650(16) , , -id=Tungsten-182m , style="text-indent:1em" , ^182mW , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 2230.65(14) keV , 1.3(1) μs , IT , ¹⁸²W , 10+ , , , -id=Tungsten-183 , ¹⁸³W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 109 , 182.95022442(80) , colspan=3 align=center, Observationally StableBelieved to undergo α decay to ¹⁷⁹Hf with a half-life over 6.70×10²⁰ y , 1/2− , 0.1431(4) , , -id=Tungsten-183m , style="text-indent:1em" , ^183mW , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 309.492(4) keV , 5.30(8) s , IT , ¹⁸³W , 11/2+ , , , -id=Tungsten-184 , ¹⁸⁴W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 110 , 183.95093318(79) , colspan=3 align=center, Observationally StableBelieved to undergo α decay to ¹⁸⁰Hf with a half-life over 8.9×10²¹ y , 0+ , 0.3064(2) , , -id=Tungsten-184m1 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^184m1W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 1284.997(8) keV , 8.33(18) μs , IT , ¹⁸⁴W , 5− , , , -id=Tungsten-184m2 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^184m2W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 4127.7(5) keV , 188(38) ns , IT , ¹⁸⁴W , (14+) , , , -id=Tungsten-185 , ¹⁸⁵W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 111 , 184.95342121(79) , 75.1(3) d , β⁻ , ¹⁸⁵Re , 3/2− , , , -id=Tungsten-185m , style="text-indent:1em" , ^185mW , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 197.383(23) keV , 1.597(4) min , IT , ¹⁸⁵W , 11/2+ , , , -id=Tungsten-186 , ¹⁸⁶W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 112 , 185.9543651(13) , colspan=3 align=center, Observationally StableBelieved to undergo α decay to ¹⁸²Hf or β⁻β⁻ decay to ''¹⁸⁶Os'' with a half-life over 4.1×10¹⁸ y , 0+ , 0.2843(19) , , -id=Tungsten-186m1 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^186m1W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 1517.2(6) keV , 18(1) μs , IT , ¹⁸⁶W , 7− , , , -id=Tungsten-186m2 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^186m2W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 3542.8(21) keV , 2.0(2) s , IT , ¹⁸⁶W , 16+ , , , -id=Tungsten-187 , ¹⁸⁷W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 113 , 186.9571612(13) , 23.809(25) h , β⁻ , ''¹⁸⁷Re'' , 3/2− , , , -id=Tungsten-187m , style="text-indent:1em" , ^187mW , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 410.06(4) keV , , IT , ¹⁸⁷W , 11/2+ , , , -id=Tungsten-188 , ¹⁸⁸W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 114 , 187.9584883(33) , 69.77(5) d , β⁻ , ¹⁸⁸Re , 0+ , , , -id=Tungsten-188m , style="text-indent:1em" , ^188mW , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 1926.7(8) keV , 109.5(35) ns , IT , ¹⁸⁸W , 8− , , , -id=Tungsten-189 , ¹⁸⁹W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 115 , 188.96156(22)# , 11.6(2) min , β⁻ , ¹⁸⁹Re , 9/2−# , , , -id=Tungsten-190 , ¹⁹⁰W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 116 , 189.963104(38) , 30.0(15) min , β⁻ , ¹⁹⁰Re , 0+ , , , -id=Tungsten-190m1 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^190m1W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 1743.6(10) keV , 111(17) ns , IT , ¹⁹⁰W , 8+ , , , -id=Tungsten-190m2 , style="text-indent:1em" , ^190m2W , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 1840.6(14) keV , 166(6) μs , IT , ¹⁹⁰W , 10− , , , -id=Tungsten-191 , ¹⁹¹W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 117 , 190.966531(45) , 14# s
300 ns, , , 3/2−# , , , -id=Tungsten-191m , style="text-indent:1em" , ^191mW , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 235(10)# keV , 340(14) ns , IT , ¹⁹¹W , 9/2−# , , , -id=Tungsten-192 , ¹⁹²W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 118 , 191.96820(22)# , 40# s
300 ns, , , 0+ , , , -id=Tungsten-193 , ¹⁹³W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 119 , 192.97188(22)# , 30# s
300 ns, , , 1/2−# , , , -id=Tungsten-194 , ¹⁹⁴W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 120 , 193.97380(32)# , 20# s
300 ns, , , 0+ , , , -id=Tungsten-195 , ¹⁹⁵W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 121 , 194.97774(32)# , 30# s
160 ns, , , 3/2−# , , , -id=Tungsten-196 , ¹⁹⁶W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 122 , 195.97988(43)# , 25# s
300 ns, , , 0+ , , , -id=Tungsten-197 , ¹⁹⁷W , style="text-align:right" , 74 , style="text-align:right" , 123 , 196.98404(43)# , 1# s
300 ns, , , 5/2−# , ,

References

* Isotope masses from: ** * Isotopic compositions and standard atomic masses from: ** ** * Half-life, spin, and isomer data selected from the following sources. ** ** ** {{Navbox element isotopes Tungsten

Tungsten Tungsten (also called wolfram) is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first ...

List of isotopes

See also

References