Sr88

Sr-88, or strontium-88, is the most abundant stable isotope of the element strontium (atomic number 38). It has 38 protons and 50 neutrons, giving it a mass number of 88. In natural strontium, 88Sr accounts for about 82.6 percent of the element’s isotopic composition, making it by far the dominant isotope.

Strontium has four stable isotopes: 84Sr, 86Sr, 87Sr, and 88Sr. The 87Sr isotope is radiogenic, produced by the beta decay of 87Rb, and the 87Sr/86Sr ratio is widely used in rubidium–strontium dating and in geological and archaeological provenance studies. The 88Sr isotope, due to its high abundance and stable behavior, is commonly used as a reference or calibration isotope in isotope-ratio measurements and as a basis for determining total strontium content in samples.

Applications of Sr-88 and the strontium isotope system span geology, archaeology, environmental science, and materials analysis. Isotopic ratios of strontium in rocks, minerals, and biological materials can reveal geological histories, migratory patterns, and provenance. Because strontium is found in minerals such as celestine (SrSO4) and strontianite (SrCO3), the natural abundance of 88Sr helps define baseline compositions used in qualitative and quantitative analyses.

Overall, Sr-88 is a stable, abundant constituent of natural strontium and serves as a practical reference point in isotopic and elemental studies.