Beryllium Isotopes

All beryllium atoms have four protons, but could have between one and ten neutrons. There are ten known isotopes of beryllium, ranging from Be-5 to Be-14. Many beryllium isotopes have multiple decay paths depending on the overall energy of the nucleus and its total angular momentum quantum number. This table lists the known isotopes of beryllium, their half-life and type of radioactive decay. The first entry corresponds to the nucleus where j=0 or the most stable isotope. Isotopes with multiple decay schemes are represented by a range of half-life values between the shortest and longest half-life for that type of decay.

Reference: International Atomic Energy Agency ENSDF database (Oct 2010)

Isotope	Half-Life	Decay
Be-5	unknown	p
Be-6	5.8 x 10-22 sec - 7.2 x 10-21 sec	p or α
Be-7	53.22 d 3.7 x 10-22 sec - 3.8 x 10-21 sec	EC α, 3He, p possible
Be-8	1.9 x 10-22 sec - 1.2 x 10-16 sec 1.6 x 10-22 sec - 1.2 x 10-19 sec	α α D, 3He, IT, n, p possible
Be-9	Stable 4.9 x 10-22 sec - 8.4 x 10-19 sec 9.6 x 10-22 sec - 1.7 x 10-18 sec	N/A IT or n possible α, D, IT, n, p possible
Be-10	1.5 x 106 yrs 7.5 x 10-21 sec 1.6 x 10-21 sec - 1.9 x 10-20 sec	β- n p
Be-11	13.8 sec 2.1 x 10-21 sec - 1.2 x 10-13 sec	β- n
Be-12	21.3 ms	β-
Be-13	2.7 x 10-21 sec	believed n
Be-14	4.4 ms	β-
α β- D EC γ 3He IT n p	alpha decay beta- decay deuteron or hydrogen-2 nucleus ejected electron capture helium-3 nucleus ejected isomeric transition neutron emission proton emission