Naturally occurring lanthanum (57La) is composed of one stable (139La) and one radioactive (138La) isotope, with the stable isotope, 139La, being the most abundant (99.91% natural abundance). There are 38 radioisotopes that have been characterized, with the most stable being 138La, with a half-life of 1.02×1011 years; 137La, with a half-life of 60,000 years and 140La, with a half-life of 1.6781 days. The remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than a day and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than 1 minute.

Spectrum (Fullscreen)

Spectrum of a sample of La-(III)-oxide. 5 minute measurement with a High Purity Germanium (HPGe) radiation detector.

Metadata

Isotope: Lanthanum
Mass number: 138
Atomic number: 57
Neutron number: 81

Sources and Further Read

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