Beryllium-8
| General | |
|---|---|
| Symbol | 8Be |
| Names | beryllium-8 |
| Protons (Z) | 4 |
| Neutrons (N) | 4 |
| Nuclide data | |
| Natural abundance | 0 (extinct) |
| Half-life (t1/2) | (8.19±0.37)×10−17 s |
| Isotope mass | 8.00530510(4) Da |
| Spin | 0 |
| Decay products | 4He |
| Decay modes | |
| Decay mode | Decay energy (MeV) |
| α | (91.84±4)×10−3 |
| Isotopes of beryllium Complete table of nuclides | |
Beryllium-8 (8Be, Be-8) is a radionuclide with 4 neutrons and 4 protons. It is an unbound resonance and nominally an isotope of beryllium. It has a half-life on the order of 8.19×10−17 seconds, decaying into two alpha particles. This has important ramifications in stellar nucleosynthesis as it creates a bottleneck in the creation of heavier chemical elements. The properties of 8Be have also led to speculation on the fine tuning of the universe, and theoretical investigations on cosmological evolution had 8Be been stable.