Beryllium-10 is a long-lived radioisotope of the chemical element Beryllium, which, in addition to the element-specific 4 protons, has 6 neutrons in the atomic nucleus, resulting in the mass number 10. 10Be is the most stable representative of the radioactive Be isotopes with a half-life of 1.387 million years. It is formed in the Earth's atmosphere mainly through the action of cosmic radiation from nitrogen and oxygen (cosmogenic nuclide).
The radionuclide is used, among other things, in the reconstruction of solar activity and the magnetic shielding of galactic cosmic radiation by the Earth, in the study of atmospheric and hydrological processes as well as in the dating of geological samples [3, 4]. The 10Be concentration is determined using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS).
See also: List of individual Beryllium isotopes (and general data sources).
In many data collections the value of 1.51(4) × 106 years can still be found for the half-life of the beryllium-10 nuclide; The newer value from 2010 was adopted here [2].
Half-life T½ = 1.387(12) × 106 a respectively 4.3740432 × 1013 seconds s.
| Decay mode | Daughter | Probability | Decay energy | γ energy (intensity) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| β- | 10B | 100 % | 0.55688(8) MeV |
Direct parent isotopes are: 11Li, 11Be.
| Z | Isotone N = 6 | Isobar A = 10 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7H | |
| 2 | 8He | 10He |
| 3 | 9Li | 10Li |
| 4 | 10Be | 10Be |
| 5 | 11B | 10B |
| 6 | 12C | 10C |
| 7 | 13N | 10N |
| 8 | 14O | |
| 9 | 15F | |
| 10 | 16Ne | |
| 11 | 17Na | |
| 12 | 18Mg |
[1] - Gennady A. Kovaltsov, G. Usoskin:
A new 3D numerical model of cosmogenic nuclide 10Be production in the atmosphere.
In: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, (2010), DOI 10.1016/j.epsl.2010.01.011.
[2] - G. Korschinek et al.:
A new value for the half-life of 10Be by Heavy-Ion Elastic Recoil Detection and liquid scintillation counting.
In: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B, 268(2), 187-191, (2012), DOI 10.1016/j.nimb.2009.09.020.
[3] - Long Nguyen et al.:
The potential for a continuous 10Be record measured on ice chips from a borehole.
In: Results in Geochemistry, 5, 100012, (2021), DOI 10.1016/j.ringeo.2021.100012.
[4] - Sergey Koldobskiy, Ilja Usoskin, Gennady A. Kovaltsov:
Effective Energy of Cosmogenic Isotope (10Be, 14C and 36Cl) Production by Solar Energetic Particles and Galactic Cosmic Rays.
In: JGR Space Physics, 127(1), (2022), DOI 10.1029/2021JA029919.
Last update: 2023-11-06
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