95-Am-241
 basic
 n-XS summary
 XS graphs

 element
95-americium-241

Americium -241 is used in many smoke detectors for homes and business... to measure levels of toxic lead in dried paint samples... to ensure uniform thickness in rolling processes like steel and paper production... and to help determine where oil wells should be drilled.
  • Atomic Mass: 241.0568229 +- 0.0000021 amu
  • Excess Mass: 52930.224 +- 1.957 keV
  • Binding Energy: 1817935.000 +- 1.984 keV
  • Beta Decay Energy: B- -767.357 +- 1.173 keV
"The 1995 update to the atomic mass evaluation" by G.Audi and A.H.Wapstra, Nuclear Physics A595 vol. 4 p.409-480, December 25, 1995.
  • Spin: 5/2-
  • Half life: 432.2 years
  • Mode of decay: Alpha to Np-237
    • Decay energy: 5.638 MeV
  • Mode of decay: SF
    • Branch ratio: 4E-10 %

    Meta state at 2.200 Mev
  • Half life: 1.2 us
  • Mode of decay: SF

  • Possible parent nuclides:
    Beta from Pu-241
    Electron capture from Cm-241
    Alpha from Bk-245
R.R.Kinsey, et al.,The NUDAT/PCNUDAT Program for Nuclear Data,paper submitted to the 9 th International Symposium of Capture-Gamma_raySpectroscopy and Related Topics, Budapest, Hungary, Octover 1996.Data extracted from NUDAT database (Jan. 14/1999)
Magnetic Dipole Moments and Electric Quadrupole Moments
Ex(kev)T1/2Spin    m(nm)    Q(b)    Ref. Std.MethodReference
0432.7 y5/2- +1.58(1) ABLSJRNC 143 93 (90)
+1.61(3) AB/DPR 144 994 (66)
+3.8(1.2) RZP D13 181 (89)
+3.14(5) ABLSJRNC 143 93 (90)
+4.2(13) RZP A330 235 (88)
N. J. Stone, Table of Nuclear Magnetic Dipole and Electric Quadrupole Moments, to be published.  2000 Courtesy of T. Burrows at BNL/NNDC.