Editing Scandium (section)

===Isotopes===
{{Main|Isotopes of scandium}}
In nature, scandium is found exclusively as the [[isotope]] <sup>45</sup>Sc, which has a [[nuclear spin]] of {{frac|7|2}}; this is its only stable isotope.<ref name=Meierfrankenfeld2011>{{Cite journal |last1=Meierfrankenfeld |first1=D. |last2=Bury |first2=A. |last3=Thoennessen |first3=M. |date=2011 |title=Discovery of scandium, titanium, mercury, and einsteinium isotopes |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0092640X10000914 |journal=Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables |language=en |volume=97 |issue=2 |pages=134–151 |doi=10.1016/j.adt.2010.11.001|arxiv=1003.5128 |bibcode=2011ADNDT..97..134M }}</ref> 

The known isotopes of scandium range from <sup>37</sup>Sc to <sup>62</sup>Sc.{{NUBASE2020|name}} The most stable radioisotope is <sup>46</sup>Sc, which has a [[half-life]] of 83.8&nbsp;days. Others are <sup>47</sup>Sc, 3.35&nbsp;days; the [[positron]] emitter [[scandium-44|<sup>44</sup>Sc]], 4&nbsp;hours; and <sup>48</sup>Sc, 43.7&nbsp;hours. All of the remaining [[radioactivity|radioactive]] isotopes have half-lives less than 4&nbsp;hours, and the majority of them have half-lives less than 2&nbsp;minutes. 
The low mass isotopes are very difficult to create.<ref name=Meierfrankenfeld2011/> The initial detection of <sup>37</sup>Sc and <sup>38</sup>Sc only resulted in the characterization of their mass excess.<ref name="37,38Sc">{{cite journal | last1=Dronchi | first1=N. | last2=Charity | first2=R. J. | last3=Sobotka | first3=L. G. | last4=Brown | first4=B. A. | last5=Weisshaar | first5=D. | last6=Gade | first6=A. | last7=Brown | first7=K. W. | last8=Reviol | first8=W. | last9=Bazin | first9=D. | last10=Farris | first10=P. J. | last11=Hill | first11=A. M. | last12=Li | first12=J. | last13=Longfellow | first13=B. | last14=Rhodes | first14=D. | last15=Paneru | first15=S. N. | last16=Gillespie | first16=S. A. | last17=Anthony | first17=A. K. | last18=Rubino | first18=E. | last19=Biswas | first19=S. | title=Evolution of shell gaps in the neutron-poor calcium region from invariant-mass spectroscopy of <sup>37,38</sup>Sc, <sup>35</sup>Ca, and <sup>34</sup>K | journal=Physical Review C | volume=110 | issue=3 | date=2024-09-12 | issn=2469-9985 | doi=10.1103/PhysRevC.110.L031302}}</ref><ref>[https://frib.msu.edu/public/nuclides/newly-discovered Latest discovered isotopes], Discovery of Nuclides Project</ref>
Scandium also has five [[nuclear isomer]]s: the most stable of these is <sup>44m2</sup>Sc (''t''<sub>1/2</sub> = 58.6&nbsp;h).<ref name="Audi">{{cite journal |title=The NUBASE Evaluation of Nuclear and Decay Properties |journal=[[Nuclear Physics A]] |volume=729 |issue=1 |pages=3–128 |date=2003 |doi=10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.001 |bibcode=2003NuPhA.729....3A |last1=Audi |first1=Georges |last2=Bersillon |first2=Olivier |last3=Blachot |first3=Jean |last4=Wapstra |first4=Aaldert Hendrik |url=http://hal.in2p3.fr/in2p3-00014184 |citeseerx= 10.1.1.692.8504 }}</ref>

The primary [[decay mode]] of ground-state scandium isotopes at masses lower than the only stable isotope, <sup>45</sup>Sc, is [[electron capture]] (or [[positron emission]]), but the lightest isotopes (<sup>37</sup>Sc to <sup>39</sup>Sc) undergo [[proton emission]] instead, all three of these producing [[calcium]] isotopes. The primary decay mode at masses above <sup>45</sup>Sc is [[beta emission]], producing [[titanium]] isotopes.{{NUBASE2020|name}}