Kr84

Kr-84, or Krypton-84, is a stable isotope of the noble gas krypton (atomic number 36). Its nucleus contains 36 protons and 48 neutrons, giving it a mass number of 84. It is one of the six stable krypton isotopes and, like the other stable isotopes, does not undergo radioactive decay.

As a stable isotope, Kr-84 has no radioactive half-life and is not subject to decay under normal conditions. Its stability makes it a part of natural krypton, the mixture of krypton isotopes found in the Earth's atmosphere and extracted from industrially produced krypton gases.

Natural occurrence and abundance of Kr-84 are discussed in the context of natural krypton’s isotopic composition. Kr-84 is present in natural krypton at a measurable fraction, though the exact abundance varies by source and sample. Stable krypton isotopes are commonly separated and enriched through industrial gas processing and isotope separation techniques such as cryogenic distillation and mass spectrometry.

Applications and relevance: Because Kr-84 is stable, it serves as a non-radioactive reference in analytical methods and calibration tasks that involve krypton or mass spectrometry. Its inert gaseous nature also makes it relevant to studies of atmospheric composition and noble-gas geochemistry, where stable isotopes provide baseline information without radiogenic complications.

See also: Krypton; Krypton isotopes; Noble gas isotopes.