200Hg

200Hg is a stable isotope of the element mercury (Hg) with mass number 200. It has 80 protons and 120 neutrons. As an even-even nucleus, its ground-state spin is 0 and its parity is positive.

Natural occurrence and isotopic family: 200Hg is one of the seven stable mercury isotopes, the others being 196Hg, 198Hg, 199Hg, 201Hg, 202Hg, and 204Hg. In natural mercury, 200Hg occurs with a relative abundance of roughly a quarter of all mercury atoms, making it a significant component of the element’s isotopic composition. The exact abundances can vary slightly between natural samples.

Stability and properties: 200Hg is stable and does not undergo radioactive decay. Its spin of 0 means it has no nuclear magnetic moment, which has implications for certain spectroscopic techniques (for example, it is not applicable for conventional NMR studies).

Occurrences and applications: As a stable isotope, 200Hg is important for isotopic analysis and mass spectrometry in geology, environmental science, and materials research. It contributes to measurements of natural isotopic fractionation and to the calculation of mercury’s standard atomic weight, which reflects the overall natural isotopic composition and is commonly cited as approximately 200.59 g/mol.

See also: Mercury isotopes; standard atomic weight of mercury; isotopic abundance analysis.