Isotopes of carbon

Carbon (C)
Standard atomic mass: 12.0107(8) u

[edit] Table

nuclide symbol	Z(p)	N(n)	isotopic mass (u)	half-life	nuclear spin	representative isotopic composition (mole fraction)	range of natural variation (mole fraction)
nuclide symbol	excitation energy			half-life	nuclear spin	representative isotopic composition (mole fraction)	range of natural variation (mole fraction)
⁸C	6	2	8.037675(25)	2.0(4)E-21 s [230(50) keV]	0+
⁹C	6	3	9.0310367(23)	126.5(9) ms	(3/2-)
¹⁰C	6	4	10.0168532(4)	19.290(12) s	0+
¹¹C	6	5	11.0114336(10)	20.334(24) min	3/2-
¹²C	6	6	12 by definition	STABLE	0+	0.9893(8)	0.98853-0.99037
¹³C	6	7	13.0033548378(10)	STABLE	1/2-	0.0107(8)	0.00963-0.01147
¹⁴C	6	8	14.003241989(4)	5.70(3)E+3 a	0+
¹⁵C	6	9	15.0105993(9)	2.449(5) s	1/2+
¹⁶C	6	10	16.014701(4)	0.747(8) s	0+
¹⁷C	6	11	17.022586(19)	193(5) ms	(3/2+)
¹⁸C	6	12	18.02676(3)	92(2) ms	0+
¹⁹C	6	13	19.03481(11)	46.2(23) ms	(1/2+)
²⁰C	6	14	20.04032(26)	16(3) ms [14(+6-5) ms]	0+
²¹C	6	15	21.04934(54)#	<30 ns	(1/2+)#
²²C	6	16	22.05720(97)#	6.2(13) ms [6.1(+14-12) ms]	0+

The precision of the isotope abundances and atomic mass is limited through variations. The given ranges should be applicable to any normal terrestrial material.
Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from systematic trends. Spins with weak assignment arguments are enclosed in parentheses.
Uncertainties are given in concise form in parentheses after the corresponding last digits. Uncertainty values denote one standard deviation, except isotopic composition and standard atomic mass from IUPAC which use expanded uncertainties.

Isotope masses from Ame2003 Atomic Mass Evaluation by G. Audi, A.H. Wapstra, C. Thibault, J. Blachot and O. Bersillon in Nuclear Physics A729 (2003).
Isotopic compositions and standard atomic masses from Atomic weights of the elements. Review 2000 (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure Appl. Chem. Vol. 75, No. 6, pp. 683-800, (2003) and Atomic Weights Revised (2005).
Half-life, spin, and isomer data selected from these sources. Editing notes on this article's talk page.
- Audi, Bersillon, Blachot, Wapstra. The Nubase2003 evaluation of nuclear and decay properties, Nuc. Phys. A 729, pp. 3-128 (2003).
- National Nuclear Data Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory. Information extracted from the NuDat 2.1 database (retrieved Sept. 2005).
- David R. Lide (ed.), Norman E. Holden in CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 85th Edition, online version. CRC Press. Boca Raton, Florida (2005). Section 11, Table of the Isotopes.

radio-carbon dating uses radio-isotope ratios of carbon 14.
carbon 13 diamonds are harder than carbon 12 diamonds or diamonds composed of a mix of carbon 12 and carbon 13.