nickel60

Nickel-60, denoted as 60Ni, is a stable isotope of the element nickel (Z = 28). It has 28 protons and 32 neutrons, giving it a mass number of 60. It is one of the naturally occurring, non-radioactive isotopes of nickel and is found in metallic nickel and nickel-bearing minerals.

In nature, nickel exists as several stable isotopes, including 58Ni, 60Ni, 61Ni, 62Ni, and 64Ni. 60Ni accounts for a portion of natural nickel, and variations in nickel isotope ratios can be measured to study geological and cosmochemical processes. As a stable isotope, 60Ni does not decay over time, but it can be produced or altered in isotopic systems through other nuclear processes.

60Ni is relevant in astrophysics and cosmochemistry. It is produced in stars through nucleosynthetic processes, such as neutron capture during stellar evolution and explosive events. A particularly important application is the study of the now-extinct radionuclide 60Fe, which decays to 60Ni. The 60Fe–60Ni system is used to investigate the timing of early solar system events, including core formation and irradiation histories in meteorites.

Applications of 60Ni include isotopic analysis in geochemistry and cosmochemistry, where precise measurements of nickel isotopic compositions help interpret planetary differentiation, crust–mantle processes, and solar-system formation scenarios. Like other nickel isotopes, 60Ni shares the chemical properties of nickel, so its behavior in rocks and minerals is governed by the element rather than the isotope.