Neon22

Neon-22, or 22Ne, is a stable isotope of the noble gas neon (element 10). It has mass number 22, corresponding to 10 protons and 12 neutrons. Like other even-even nuclei, its ground state has spin 0+ and it is non-radioactive.

In nature, 22Ne accounts for roughly 9% of neon atoms, with the remainder mainly 20Ne (~90%) and a smaller amount of 21Ne (~0.3%). Its presence is detected and quantified using mass spectrometry in geochemical and cosmochemical studies.

22Ne is produced in stars during helium burning via alpha-capture processes and is also generated by cosmic ray interactions on neon. In stellar environments, it forms through sequences starting with nitrogen isotopes and alpha particles leading to 22Ne, contributing to the isotopic composition observed in stellar and planetary materials.

As a neon isotope, 22Ne behaves chemically like other neon atoms and exists as a monoatomic gas under standard conditions. The relative abundances of neon isotopes, including 22Ne, are measured by mass spectrometry and are used in geochemical and cosmochemical investigations to interpret planetary atmospheres, meteorites, and lunar samples.

Applications of 22Ne include noble gas dating and isotopic modelling of planetary materials to understand cosmic ray exposure histories and atmospheric evolution. Its ratio with other neon isotopes is a key component in, for example, calibrating noble gas analyses and tracing nucleosynthetic processes in the universe.

See also: Neon; Isotopes of neon.