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†
Stable
Relative
Mole
isotope
atomic mass
fraction
130
Ba†
129.906 32
0.0011
132
†
Ba
131.905 061
0.0010
134
Ba
133.904 508
0.0242
135
Ba
134.905 688
0.0659
136
Ba
135.904 576
0.0785
137
Ba
136.905 827
0.1123
138
137.905 247
0.7170
Ba
Radioactive isotope having a relatively
long half-life and a characteristic
terrestrial isotopic composition that
contributes significantly and reproducibly
to the determination of the standard
atomic weight of the element in normal
materials. Half-lives of 130Ba and 132Ba
are ~1021 years and 1.3 × 1021 years,
respectively.
Barium isotopes in Earth/planetary science
Because molecules, atoms, and ions of the stable isotopes of barium possess slightly different
physical, chemical and biological properties, they can be isotopically fractionated during
physical, chemical, and biological processes, giving rise to variations in isotopic abundances
and in atomic weights. von Allmen et al. [411] observe barium isotopic fractionation in the
global barium cycle (Figure 1).
High-precision barium isotope measurements reveal differences of up to 25 parts per
million in the isotope-amount ratio n(137Ba)/n(136Ba) and 60 parts per million in the
n(138Ba)/n(136Ba) ratio between chondrites and the Earth. These differences probably arose from
incomplete mixing of nucleosynthetic material in the solar nebula. Barium isotopes may be the
decay products of now-extinct 135Cs, which is thought to be a nucleosynthetic component.
Chondritic meteorites have a slight excess of supernova-derived material as compared to Earth,
demonstrating that the solar nebula was not perfectly homogenized upon formation (Figure 1)
[412-414].
Fig. 1: Variation in selected barium-bearing substances (modified from [411]).
Glossary
atomic number (Z) – The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.
atomic weight (relative mean atomic mass) – the sum of the products of the relative atomic
mass and the mole fraction of each stable and long-lived radioactive isotope of that element in
the sample. The symbol of the atomic weight of element E is A r(E), and the symbol of the atomic
weight of an atom (isotope) of element E having mass number A is Ar( AE). Because relative
atomic masses are scaled (expressed relative) to one-twelfth the mass of a carbon-12 atom,
atomic weights are dimensionless. [return]
chondrites (or chondritic meteorites) non-metallic meteorites which have not undergone
compositional change due to melting because they were part of primitive asteroids, and thus
reflect the composition of the solar nebula from which our Solar System formed. [return]
decay product (daughter product) – any nuclide produced by a specified radionuclide
(parent) in a decay chain. [return]
electron – elementary particle of matter with a negative electric charge and a rest mass of about
9.109 × 10–31 kg.
element (chemical element) – a species of atoms; all atoms with the same number of protons in
the atomic nucleus. A pure chemical substance composed of atoms with the same number of
protons in the atomic nucleus [703]. [return]
gamma rays (gamma radiation) – a stream of high-energy electromagnetic radiation given off
by an atomic nucleus undergoing radioactive decay. The energies of gamma rays are higher
than those of X-rays; thus, gamma rays have greater penetrating power.
half-life (radioactive) – the time interval that it takes for the total number of atoms of any
radioactive isotope to decay and leave only one-half of the original number of atoms. [return]
isotope – one of two or more species of atoms of a given element (having the same number of
protons in the nucleus) with different atomic masses (different number of neutrons in the
nucleus). The atom can either be a stable isotope or a radioactive isotope.
isotopic abundance (mole fraction or amount fraction) – the amount (symbol n) of a given
isotope (atom) in a sample divided by the total amount of all stable and long-lived radioactive
isotopes of the chemical element in the sample. [return]
isotope-amount ratio (r) – amount (symbol n) of an isotope divided by the amount of another
isotope of the chemical element in the same system [706]. [return]
isotopic composition – number and abundance of the isotopes of a chemical element that are
naturally occurring [706]. [return]
isotopic fractionation (stable-isotope fractionation) – preferential enrichment of one isotope
of an element over another, owing to slight variations in their physical, chemical, or biological
properties [706]. [return]
meteorite – a meteoroid that has survived atmospheric passage and fallen to the Earth’s surface
in one or more recoverable fragments. See also chondrites [705]. [return]
neutron – an elementary particle with no net charge and a rest mass of about 1.675 × 10–27 kg,
slightly more than that of the proton. All atoms contain neutrons in their nucleus except for
protium (1H).
normal material – a reasonably possible source for an element or its compounds in commerce,
for industry or science; the material is not itself studied for some extraordinary anomaly and its
mole fractions (isotopic abundances) have not been modified significantly in a geologically brief
period [4]. [return]
nucleosynthesis – the production of a chemical element from simpler nuclei (as of hydrogen)
especially in a star. See r-process, s-process, and p-process [710]. [return]
p-process – a nucleosynthesis process responsible for proton-rich nuclei [711].
proton – an elementary particle having a rest mass of about 1.673 × 10–27 kg, slightly less than
that of a neutron, and a positive electric charge equal and opposite to that of the electron. The
number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is the atomic number.
r-process (rapid neutron capture process) – nucleosynthesis process that occurs when
supernovae collapse, resulting in neutron-rich atomic nuclei heavier than iron.
radioactive decay – the process by which unstable (or radioactive) isotopes lose energy by
emitting alpha particles (helium nuclei), beta particles (positive or negative electrons), gamma
radiation, neutrons or protons to reach a final stable energy state.
radioactive isotope (radioisotope) – an atom for which radioactive decay has been
experimentally measured (also see half-life). [return]
radionuclide – a nuclide that is radioactive [703].
s-process (slow-neutron-capture-process) – a nucleosynthesis process that occurs at relatively
low neutron density and intermediate temperature conditions in stars, producing isotopes of the
elements heavier than iron. The s-process is import in controlling the chemical evolution of the
galaxy.
solar nebula – the cloud of dust and gas from which the solar system is believed to have
condensed, mainly by gravitational attraction about 4.5 billion years ago. [return]
stable isotope – an atom for which no radioactive decay has ever been experimentally measured.
[return]
standard atomic weight – an evaluated quantity assigned by the IUPAC Commission on
Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights (CIAAW) to encompass the range of possible atomic
weights of a chemical element that might be encountered in all samples of normal terrestrial
materials. It is comprised of either an interval (currently for 12 elements) or a value and an
uncertainty (a standard Atomic-weight uncertainty), and currently there are 72. A standard
atomic weight is determined from an evaluation of peer-reviewed scientific publications. [return]
supernova (plural supernovae) – a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness because of
a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of its mass [716]. [return]
X-rays – electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength ranging from 0.01 to 10 nanometers—
shorter than those of UV rays and typically longer than those of gamma rays.
References
4.
C. Kendall, and Coplen, T.B. Hydrological Process. 15, 1363 (2011). 10.1002/hyp.217
411. M. E. B. K. von Allmen, E. Samankassou, and T. F. Nägler. Chemical Geology. 277, 70
(2010).
412. M. C. Ranen, and Jacobsen, S.B. Science. 314 (5800), 809 (2006).
10.1126/science.1132595
413. H. Hidaka, Ohta, Y., and Yoneda, S. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 214 (3-4), 455
(2003). 10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00393-5
414. S. B. Jacobsen, and Ranen, M.C. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 70 (18), A286
(2006). 10.1016/j.gca.2006.06.580
703. I. U. o. P. a. A. Chemistry. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold
Book"). Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997).
705. American Geological Institute Glossary of Geology. American Geosciences Institute,
Alexandria, Virginia (2011).
706. Coplen. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 25 (2011).
710. Merriam-Webster. nucleosynthesis. Merriam-Webster. http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/nucleosynthesis
711. M. A. a. S. Goriely. Physics Reports. 384 (2003).
716. Merriam-Webster. supernova. Merriam-Webster. 2016 June 22. http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/supernova