Sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

(₁₆S) has 23 known isotopes with mass numbers ranging from 27 to 49, four of which are stable: ³²S (95.02%), ³³S (0.75%), ³⁴S (4.21%), and ³⁶S (0.02%). The preponderance of sulfur-32 is explained by its production from carbon-12 plus successive fusion capture of five helium-4 nuclei, in the so-called alpha process of exploding type II supernovas (see silicon burning). Other than ³⁵S, the radioactive isotopes of sulfur are all comparatively short-lived. ³⁵S is formed from cosmic ray spallation of ⁴⁰ Ar in the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

. It has a half-life of 87 days. The next longest-lived radioisotope is sulfur-38, with a half-life of 170 minutes. The shortest-lived is ⁴⁹S, with a half-life shorter than 200 nanoseconds. Heavier radioactive isotopes of sulfur decay to chlorine. When sulfide minerals are precipitated, isotopic equilibration among solids and liquid may cause small differences in the δ³⁴S values of co-genetic minerals. The differences between minerals can be used to estimate the temperature of equilibration. The δ¹³C and δ³⁴S of coexisting carbonates and sulfides can be used to determine the pH and oxygen fugacity of the ore-bearing fluid during ore formation. In most forest ecosystems, sulfate is derived mostly from the atmosphere; weathering of ore minerals and evaporites also contribute some sulfur. Sulfur with a distinctive isotopic composition has been used to identify pollution sources, and enriched sulfur has been added as a tracer in hydrologic studies. Differences in the

natural abundance In physics, natural abundance (NA) refers to the abundance of isotopes of a chemical element as naturally found on a planet. The relative atomic mass (a weighted average, weighted by mole-fraction abundance figures) of these isotopes is the atomic ...

s can also be used in systems where there is sufficient variation in the ³⁴S of ecosystem components. Rocky Mountain lakes thought to be dominated by atmospheric sources of sulfate have been found to have different δ³⁴S values from oceans believed to be dominated by watershed sources of sulfate.

List of isotopes

, - , rowspan=3, ²⁷SHas 2 halo protons , rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" , 16 , rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" , 11 , rowspan=3, 27.01828(43)# , rowspan=3, 15.5(15) ms , β⁺ (96.6%) , ²⁷P , rowspan=3, (5/2+) , rowspan=3, , rowspan=3, , - , β⁺, p (2.3%) , ²⁶Si , - , β⁺, 2p (1.1%) , ²⁵Al , - , rowspan=2, ²⁸S , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 16 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 12 , rowspan=2, 28.00437(17) , rowspan=2, 125(10) ms , β⁺ (79.3%) , ²⁸P , rowspan=2, 0+ , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , β⁺, p (20.7%) , ²⁷Si , - , rowspan=2, ²⁹S , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 16 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 13 , rowspan=2, 28.99661(5) , rowspan=2, 188(4) ms , β⁺ (53.6%) , ²⁹P , rowspan=2, 5/2+# , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , β⁺, p (46.4%) , ²⁸Si , - , ³⁰S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 14 , 29.98490677(22) , 1.1759(17) s , β⁺ , ³⁰P , 0+ , , , - , ³¹S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 15 , 30.97955701(25) , 2.5534(18) s , β⁺ , ³¹P , 1/2+ , , , - , ³²SHeaviest theoretically stable nuclide with equal numbers of protons and neutrons , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 16 , 31.9720711744(14) , colspan=3 align=center, Stable , 0+ , 0.9499(26) , 0.94454-0.95281 , - , ³³S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 17 , 32.9714589099(15) , colspan=3 align=center, Stable , 3/2+ , 0.0075(2) , 0.00730-0.00793 , - , ³⁴S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 18 , 33.96786701(5) , colspan=3 align=center, Stable , 0+ , 0.0425(24) , 0.03976-0.04734 , - , ³⁵S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 19 , 34.96903232(4) , 87.37(4) d , β⁻ , ³⁵Cl , 3/2+ , Trace Cosmogenic , , - , ³⁶S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 20 , 35.96708070(20) , colspan=3 align=center, StableCan undergo bound-state β⁻ decay to 36Ar, lightest nuclide so capable , 0+ , 0.0001(1) , 0.00013−0.00027 , - , ³⁷S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 21 , 36.97112551(21) , 5.05(2) min , β⁻ , ³⁷Cl , 7/2− , , , - , ³⁸S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 22 , 37.971163(8) , 170.3(7) min , β⁻ , ³⁸Cl , 0+ , , , - , ³⁹S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 23 , 38.97513(5) , 11.5(5) s , β⁻ , ³⁹Cl , (7/2)− , , , - , ⁴⁰S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 24 , 39.975483(4) , 8.8(22) s , β⁻ , ⁴⁰Cl , 0+ , , , - , rowspan=2, ⁴¹S , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 16 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 25 , rowspan=2, 40.979593(4) , rowspan=2, 1.99(5) s , β⁻ (>99.9%) , ⁴¹Cl , rowspan=2, 7/2−# , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , β⁻, n (<.1%) , ⁴⁰Cl , - , rowspan=2, ⁴²S , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 16 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 26 , rowspan=2, 41.981065(3) , rowspan=2, 1.016(15) s , β⁻ (>96%) , ⁴²Cl , rowspan=2, 0+ , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , β⁻, n (<4%) , ⁴¹Cl , - , rowspan=2, ⁴³S , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 16 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 27 , rowspan=2, 42.986908(5) , rowspan=2, 265(13) ms , β⁻ (60%) , ⁴³Cl , rowspan=2, 3/2−# , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , β⁻, n (40%) , ⁴²Cl , - , style="text-indent:1em" , ^43mS , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 319(5) keV , 415.0(26) ns , , , (7/2−) , , , - , rowspan=2, ⁴⁴S , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 16 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 28 , rowspan=2, 43.990119(6) , rowspan=2, 100(1) ms , β⁻ (81.7%) , ⁴⁴Cl , rowspan=2, 0+ , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , β⁻, n (18.2%) , ⁴³Cl , - , style="text-indent:1em" , ^44mS , colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" , 1365.0(8) keV , 2.619(26) µs , , , 0+ , , , - , rowspan=2, ⁴⁵S , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 16 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 29 , rowspan=2, 44.99572(111) , rowspan=2, 68(2) ms , β⁻, n (54%) , ⁴⁴Cl , rowspan=2, 3/2−# , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , β⁻ (46%) , ⁴⁵Cl , - , ⁴⁶S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 30 , 46.00037(54)# , 50(8) ms , β⁻ , ⁴⁶Cl , 0+ , , , - , ⁴⁷S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 31 , 47.00791(54)# , 20# ms
200 ns, β⁻ , ⁴⁷Cl , 3/2−# , , , - , ⁴⁸S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 32 , 48.01370(64)# , 10# ms
200 ns, β⁻ , ⁴⁸Cl , 0+ , , , - , ⁴⁹S , style="text-align:right" , 16 , style="text-align:right" , 33 , 49.02264(72)# , , β⁻ , ⁴⁹Cl , 3/2−# , ,

References

External links

Sulfur isotopes data from ''The Berkeley Laboratory Isotopes Project's''
{{Navbox element isotopes Sulfur

List of isotopes

See also

References

External links