oxygen14

Oxygen-14 (14O) is a radioactive isotope of the element oxygen. It contains eight protons and six neutrons, giving it a mass number of 14. This isotope is highly unstable and does not occur naturally in significant amounts; it is produced in laboratory settings through nuclear reactions.

As a proton-rich nuclide, 14O decays primarily by beta-plus decay (positron emission) to nitrogen-14 (14N). The decay can be summarized as 14O → 14N + e+ + νe. The half-life of 14O is very short, on the order of tens of milliseconds, reflecting its position far from the valley of stability. Because of its rapid decay, it is only observed and studied in controlled experimental environments.

Production and applications: 14O is generated in particle accelerators through light-ion reactions on nitrogen or via spallation of heavier nuclei. Its short lifetime makes it useful mainly in nuclear physics research, where it is employed to study beta decay, nuclear structure, and isospin symmetry, as well as to test theoretical models of weak interactions. In practical terms, its fleeting existence limits broader applications outside of specialized experiments.

Relation to other isotopes: Oxygen has several isotopes, with 16O being stable and abundant in nature. Proton-rich isotopes such as 14O are typically produced transiently in the laboratory and are used to probe fundamental properties of nuclear forces and decay processes. The study of 14O contributes to understanding beta decay mechanisms and tests of theoretical frameworks like the conserved vector current hypothesis.