Complete Isotope Table & Guide to Nuclides

cleverlysmart.com September 12, 2026 in Chemistry, Science - 9 Minutes

Complete Isotope Table (Elements 0–118) & Guide to Nuclides

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Nuclear Chemistry & Physics Reference

Comprehensive Chart of Nuclides & Isotope Guide

Complete Isotope Tables & Chart of Nuclides (Elements 0–118)

Discover every atom from Neutron (Z=0) to Oganesson (Z=118). Explore nuclear stability, half-lives, radioactive decay pathways, nuclear isomers, and practical applications across human society.

Complete Reference Guide
Includes Elements 0 through 118
Integrated with CleverlySmart Periodic Table Hub

Understanding Isotopes vs. Nuclides

The word isotope stems from the Greek isos (“equal”) and topos (“place”), indicating that all isotopes of a given element share the exact same location on the Periodic Table of Elements. While they share identical numbers of protons ($Z$) and identical chemical properties, they possess different numbers of neutrons ($N$), resulting in distinct nuclear mass numbers ($A = Z + N$).

Scientific Definition: A nuclide refers to a specific atomic nucleus characterized by its number of protons and neutrons. For instance, Fluorine has only one naturally occurring stable nuclide (¹⁹F), whereas elements like Tin possess 10 stable nuclides.

Standard Scientific Notation

Nuclides are written by hyphenating the nucleon mass number to the element name, e.g.,
Hydrogen-2 (Deuterium),
Carbon-14,
Rhodium-103, or
Radium-226.
In superscript notation, the mass number $A$ precedes the symbol:
²H,
¹⁴C,
¹⁰³Rh, and
²²⁶Ra.

Reading the Chart

Z
Atomic Number (Z) → Horizontal Axis
Number of protons. Increases left to right ($Z=0$ for neutrons, $Z=1$ for Hydrogen, $Z=2$ for Helium up to $Z=118$).
N
Neutron Count (N) ↓ Vertical Axis
Number of neutrons in the nucleus ($N = 0, 1, 2, 3 \dots$).
A
Mass Number (A = Z + N)
Displayed in superscript within each box (e.g. ¹⁴C has $Z=6, N=8, A=14$).
m
Nuclear Isomers (Dotted Outline)
Indicates metastable excited states existing alongside ground states.

Data Credit: Based on physical datasets and Wikimedia Commons Nuclide Charts.

Practical Relevance

Why Learn About Isotopes? Real-World Applications & Practical Uses

Isotopes are not merely theoretical concepts confined to physics textbooks—they are fundamental tools powering modern medicine, clean energy, archaeology, forensic science, and astrophysics.

1. Medicine & Healthcare

Radioisotopes serve as non-invasive diagnostic tracers and targeted cancer therapeutics in nuclear medicine.

Technetium-99m (^99mTc): Used in over 80% of nuclear medical imaging procedures worldwide for bone, heart, and organ scans.
Fluorine-18 (¹⁸F): Key tracer in Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET scans to map metabolic cancer activity.
Iodine-131 (¹³¹I): Targets and destroys malignant cells in thyroid cancer treatment.
Radium-223 (²²⁶Ra/²²³Ra): Radium isotopes treat bone metastases.

2. Dating the Past

Radiometric decay acts as an atomic clock allowing scientists to determine the age of organic artifacts, rock strata, and meteorites.

Carbon-14 (¹⁴C): Radiocarbon dating measures decay in organic remains up to ~50,000 years old.
Uranium-238 (²³⁸U) & Lead: Uranium-Lead dating pinpoints the age of Earth’s oldest zircon crystals (4.4 billion years).
Potassium-40 (⁴⁰K): Potassium-Argon dating determines the age of volcanic rock formations.

3. Energy Production

Isotopes are the primary fuels driving clean baseline nuclear power reactors and future fusion energy systems.

Fission Fuels (²³⁵U & ²³⁹Pu): Heavy unstable nuclei split under neutron bombardment to release massive thermal energy.
Fusion Isotopes (²H & ³H): Deuterium and Tritium fuse at stellar temperatures to power next-generation fusion reactors (ITER).

4. Environment & Food

Isotopic fingerprinting tracks ecological water cycles, pollution sources, and verifies food origin authenticity.

Stable Ratios (¹⁸O / ¹⁶O & ¹³C / ¹²C): Reveal paleoclimate temperatures from ice core samples.
Food Fraud Detection: Distinguishes natural honey or wine from synthetic additives by measuring isotope ratios.

5. Astrophysics & Nuclear Physics

Studying exotic short-lived nuclides helps physicists decode stellar nucleosynthesis—how supernovas and neutron star collisions forge all heavy elements in the cosmos.

Island of Stability: Research predicts superheavy isotopes around $Z=114–126, N=184$ may possess exceptionally long half-lives.

Rhodium & Heavy Metals: Elements like Rhodium (¹⁰³Rh) are created through cosmic neutron capture (r-process).

Table 1: Primary Isotope Grid (Elements 0–14)

Interactive chart of light nuclides color-coded by half-life stability spectrum

Half-Life Color Spectrum Legend

< 1 day

Unstable / Fast

1–10 days

Short-lived

10–100 days

Intermediate

100d–10a

100d – 10 yrs

10a–10ka

10 – 10k yrs

10ka–103Ma

10k – 103M yrs

> 700 Ma

> 700M yrs

Stable

Non-radioactive

Z → N ↓	0 n	1 H	2 He	3 Li	4 Be	5 B	6 C	7 N	8 O	9 F	10 Ne	11 Na	12 Mg
0		¹H	²He
1	¹n	²H	³He	⁴Li	⁵Be	⁶B	⁷C
2	³H	⁴He	⁵Li	⁶Be	⁷B	⁸C	⁹N
3	⁴H	⁵He	⁶Li	⁷Be	⁸B	⁹C	¹⁰N	¹¹O
4	⁵H	⁶He	⁷Li	⁸Be	⁹B	¹⁰C	¹¹N	¹²O	¹³F
5	⁶H	⁷He	⁸Li	⁹Be	¹⁰B	¹¹C	¹²N	¹³O	¹⁴F	¹⁵Ne
6	⁷H	⁸He	⁹Li	¹⁰Be	¹¹B	¹²C	¹³N	¹⁴O	¹⁵F	¹⁶Ne	¹⁷Na
7	⁹He	¹⁰Li	¹¹Be	¹²B	¹³C	¹⁴N	¹⁵O	¹⁶F	¹⁷Ne	¹⁸Na	¹⁹Mg
8	¹⁰He	¹¹Li	¹²Be	¹³B	¹⁴C	¹⁵N	¹⁶O	¹⁷F	¹⁸Ne	¹⁹Na	²⁰Mg	²¹Al	²²Si
9	¹²Li	¹³Be	¹⁴B	¹⁵C	¹⁶N	¹⁷O	¹⁸F	¹⁹Ne	²⁰Na	²¹Mg	²²Al	²³Si
10	¹⁴Be	¹⁵B	¹⁶C	¹⁷N	¹⁸O	¹⁹F	²⁰Ne	²¹Na	²²Mg	²³Al	²⁴Si
11	¹⁶B	¹⁷C	¹⁸N	¹⁹O	²⁰F	²¹Ne	²²Na	²³Mg	²⁴Al	²⁵Si
12	¹⁸C	¹⁹N	²⁰O	²¹F	²²Ne	²³Na	²⁴Mg	²⁵Al	²⁶Si
13	²⁰N	²¹O	²²F	²³Ne	²⁴Na	²⁵Mg	²⁶Al	²⁷Si
14	²²O	²³F	²⁴Ne	²⁵Na	²⁶Mg	²⁷Al	²⁸Si

Extended Isotope Breakdown (Elements 15–118)

Systematic breakdown of stable isotopes, primordial radioisotopes, key artificial nuclides, and synthetic transuranium elements.

Table 2: Light-to-Medium Metals & Nonmetals (Elements 15–30: Phosphorus to Zinc)

Covers vital biological and structural elements including Phosphorus, Sulfur, Chlorine, Potassium, Calcium, Iron, and Zinc.

Z	Element	Symbol	Stable Isotopes	Long-Lived & Important Radioisotopes	Primary Decay / Applications
15	Phosphorus	P	³¹P (100%)	³²P (14.3d), ³³P (25.3d)	β− decay; biological radiolabeling DNA/RNA
16	Sulfur	S	³²S, ³³S, ³⁴S, ³⁶S	³⁵S (87.5d)	β− tracer in protein synthesis
17	Chlorine	Cl	³⁵Cl, ³⁷Cl	³⁶Cl (301,000 yrs)	Cosmogenic groundwater dating tracer
19	Potassium	K	³⁹K, ⁴¹K	⁴⁰K (1.248×10⁹ yrs)	Primordial radioisotope; K-Ar geological dating
20	Calcium	Ca	⁴⁰Ca, ⁴²Ca, ⁴³Ca, ⁴⁴Ca, ⁴⁶Ca, ⁴⁸Ca	⁴¹Ca (99,400 yrs), ⁴⁵Ca (162d)	Bone metabolism & cosmogenic bone dating
26	Iron	Fe	⁵⁴Fe, ⁵⁶Fe, ⁵⁷Fe, ⁵⁸Fe	⁵⁵Fe (2.73 yrs), ⁶⁰Fe (2.6×10⁶ yrs)	Supernova marker in deep-sea sediments
27	Cobalt	Co	⁵⁹Co (100%)	⁶⁰Co (5.27 yrs)	High-energy γ radiation for industrial radiography & cancer radiotherapy
30	Zinc	Zn	⁶⁴Zn, ⁶⁶Zn, ⁶⁷Zn, ⁶⁸Zn, ⁷⁰Zn	⁶⁵Zn (244d)	Metabolic tracer & material corrosion studies

Table 3: Transition & Post-Transition Elements (Elements 31–50: Gallium to Tin)

Includes Krypton, Technetium (first synthetic element), Rhodium, Iodine, and Tin.

Z	Element	Symbol	Stable Isotopes	Key Radioisotopes	Primary Significance
36	Krypton	Kr	⁷⁸Kr, ⁸⁰Kr, ⁸²Kr, ⁸³Kr, ⁸⁴Kr, ⁸⁶Kr	⁸¹Kr (229,000 yrs), ⁸⁵Kr (10.75 yrs)	Atmospheric nuclear reprocessing monitor
43	Technetium	Tc	None (No stable isotopes)	⁹⁷Tc (4.21 Ma), ⁹⁹Tc (211,000 yrs), ^99mTc (6.01 h)	^99mTc is the most widely used diagnostic medical radiotracer
45	Rhodium	Rh	¹⁰³Rh (100%)	¹⁰¹Rh (3.3 yrs), ^102mRh (3.7 yrs)	Monoisotopic heavy transition metal; fission product yield marker
50	Tin	Sn	10 Stable Isotopes (¹¹²Sn to ¹²⁴Sn)	¹²⁶Sn (230,000 yrs)	Highest number of stable isotopes of any element (Magic Proton Number $Z=50$)

Table 4: Heavy Elements & Lanthanides (Elements 51–70: Antimony to Ytterbium)

Features Iodine, Xenon, Cesium, Barium, and Promethium.

Z	Element	Symbol	Stable Isotopes	Notable Radioisotopes	Primary Decay / Use
53	Iodine	I	¹²⁷I (100%)	¹²⁹I (1.57×10⁷ yrs), ¹³¹I (8.02d)	¹³¹I thyroid radiotherapy; fission byproduct monitoring
55	Cesium	Cs	¹³³Cs (100%)	¹³⁴Cs (2.06 yrs), ¹³⁷Cs (30.17 yrs)	¹³³Cs defines SI second; ¹³⁷Cs major fission fallout isotope
61	Promethium	Pm	None	¹⁴⁵Pm (17.7 yrs), ¹⁴⁷Pm (2.62 yrs)	Luminous paint & nuclear battery power sources

Table 5: Heavy Transition Metals & Post-Transition (Elements 71–83: Lutetium to Bismuth)

Covers Iridium, Platinum, Gold, Mercury, Lead, and Bismuth (the heaviest element with primordial quasistable isotopes).

Z	Element	Symbol	Stable / Quasistable	Notable Radioisotopes	Applications & Physics
77	Iridium	Ir	¹⁹¹Ir, ¹⁹³Ir	¹⁹²Ir (73.8d)	Industrial gamma radiography & cancer brachytherapy
82	Lead	Pb	²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁶Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb, ²⁰⁸Pb	²¹⁰Pb (22.2 yrs)	Terminal end-product of natural radioactive decay chains (U/Th series)
83	Bismuth	Bi	²⁰⁹Bi (t_1/2 = 2.01×10¹⁹ yrs)	^210mBi (3.04 Ma), ²¹³Bi (45.6 min)	Alpha-decaying quasistable nucleus; boundary of primordial stability

Table 6: Naturally Occurring Actinides & Heavy Radioactive Elements (Elements 84–92)

Includes Polonium, Radon, Radium, Thorium, and Uranium.

Z	Element	Symbol	Longest-Lived Isotope	Half-Life	Decay Mode & Nuclear Significance
86	Radon	Rn	²²²Rn	3.82 days	α decay; noble radioactive gas from radium decay in soil
88	Radium	Ra	²²⁶Ra	1,600 years	α decay; discovered by Marie Curie; historical self-luminous applications
90	Thorium	Th	²³²Th	14.05 billion years	Primordial actinide; fertile material for Thorium nuclear fuel cycles
92	Uranium	U	²³⁸U (99.27%), ²³⁵U (0.72%)	²³⁸U: 4.468×10⁹ yrs	²³⁵U is primary fissile fuel for commercial nuclear energy reactors

Table 7: Transuranium Actinides (Elements 93–103: Neptunium to Lawrencium)

Synthetic transuranic elements produced in nuclear reactors and particle accelerators.

Z	Element	Symbol	Longest-Lived Isotope	Half-Life	Applications & Discovery
94	Plutonium	Pu	²⁴⁴Pu, ²³⁹Pu, ²³⁸Pu	²³⁹Pu: 24,110 yrs	²³⁹Pu nuclear fuel/weapons; ²³⁸Pu RTG power for deep space probes (Voyager, Curiosity)
95	Americium	Am	²⁴³Am, ²⁴¹Am	²⁴¹Am: 432.2 yrs	α-emitter used in household ionization smoke detectors
98	Californium	Cf	²⁵¹Cf, ²⁵²Cf	²⁵²Cf: 2.645 yrs	Strong spontaneous neutron emitter; used to start nuclear reactors & inspect cargo

Table 8: Superheavy Transactinides (Elements 104–118: Rutherfordium to Oganesson)

Exotic elements synthesized atom-by-atom in heavy-ion accelerators; exploring the physics of the “Island of Stability”.

Z	Element	Symbol	Most Stable Isotope	Half-Life	Synthesis & Theoretical Physics
114	Flerovium	Fl	²⁸⁹Fl	1.9 seconds	Located at the center of predicted superheavy nuclear shell closures
118	Oganesson	Og	²⁹⁴Og	0.7 milliseconds	Heaviest element on the Periodic Table; highly relativistic electron shell effects

Global Summary: Distribution of Stable Isotopes Across Elements

Overview of how stable isotopes are distributed among elements in nature according to nuclear pairing rules (Even-Even stability dominance).

Total Stable Nuclides
251
Observed non-decaying nuclei on Earth

Primordial Radioisotopes
35
Long-lived (e.g. ⁴⁰K, ²³²Th, ²³⁸U)

Monoisotopic Elements
26
Elements with only 1 stable isotope (F, Na, Al, Rh…)

Max Stable Isotopes
10 (Tin)
Tin (Sn) holds the record with 10 stable isotopes

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Complete Isotope Table & Guide to Nuclides

Complete Isotope Tables & Chart of Nuclides (Elements 0–118)