Magnesium stable isotopes

Of all of the machines used for microanalysis LAMMA seems to be the most problematic. A laser beam is used to disintegrate a spot in the sample, and the material emitted is then analyzed in a mass spectrometer. It has similar lateral resolution to PIXE, and like SIMS can be used to distinguish between isotopes of the same element. It has, however, proved very difficult to quantify, and is destructive to the specimen. One recent investigation (13) ofthe distribution of stable isotopes of calcium, magnesium, and potassium in Norway spruce used three microprobes EDAX at 0.3 pm lateral resolution isotope specific point analysis, using LAMMA at 1.5 pm lateral resolution and isotope specific imaging using SIMS at 1-3 pm lateral resolution. 

Sabatier, M., Pont, F., Arnaud, M. J., and Tumlund, J. R. (2003). A compartmental model of magnesium metabolism in healthy men based on two stable isotope tracers. Am.. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol. 285, R656-R663. 

Magnesium is composed of three stable isotopes, masses 24, 25 and 26, and is animportantelementinnucleosynthesis theory. Itis produced in stars primarily during their carbon-burning thermonuclear phase. Its abundance in stars of widely varying metallicities has been determined by astronomical observations of optical absorption lines in their spectra. 

The element magnesium (Mg) has three stable isotopes with the following masses and abundances ... 

The following is an examination of the potential of the stable Isotope %g (11.01%) as an alternative and complement to Mg. While the second minor isotope of magnesium, %g CIO 00%), has a lower natural abundance, has the advantage of being de-... 

Lithium has two stable isotopes, Li and Li, which have abundances of 7.5% and 92.5%, respectively. Lithium is a soluble alkali element. Because its ionic radius is small (0.78 A), it behaves more like magnesium (0.72 A) than the alkalis. Li tends to substitute for Al, Fe, and especially for Mg " ". Because of their large relative mass difference, lithium isotopes have the potential to exhibit sizable fractionation, as has been demonstrated by high-precision isotopic analysis. 

Savin S. M. and Douglas R. G. (1973) Stable isotope and magnesium geochemistry of recent planktonic foraminifera from the South Pacific. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 84, 2327-2342. 

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