Tb133

Tb-133 is a radioactive isotope of terbium with mass number 133 (atomic number 65). It is proton-rich and does not occur in nature; it has been produced only in laboratory experiments. With 68 neutrons, Tb-133 lies far from the valley of stability, and its ground-state properties are not well established.

Nuclear properties and decay: Tb-133 is highly unstable, and its half-life is very short, typically on the order of milliseconds, depending on its production pathway and measurement. The most likely decay modes are beta-plus decay or electron capture, which would transform the nucleus to 133Gd in either case. This proton-to-neutron conversion makes Tb-133 one of the many short-lived, proton-rich isotopes studied to probe nuclear structure near the proton drip line.

Production and discovery: Tb-133 is produced in accelerator-based nuclear reactions, such as spallation, fragmentation, or fusion-evaporation processes, by bombarding suitable heavier targets with high-energy particles. It is identified through the detection of characteristic decay radiation and via nuclear reaction products, rather than through natural occurrence.

Applications and significance: Because of its brief existence and the difficulty of production, Tb-133 has no practical commercial applications. It is of interest primarily to basic nuclear physics and nuclear structure research, contributing data that help refine models of proton-rich nuclei and the limits of nuclear stability.

See also: Isotopes of terbium, beta decay, electron capture, proton drip line.