= Cobalt-60
{title2=${}^{60}_{27}\mathrm{Co}$}
{wiki}
<Cobalt-60> is a radioactive cobalt isotope with twenty-seven protons and thirty-three neutrons. It beta-decays to excited states of nickel-60, followed by characteristic gamma emission.
That reproducible emission makes it useful as a radiation source in measurement and irradiation applications. Its decay concerns nuclear transitions; changing cobalt's chemical oxidation state does not turn one cobalt isotope into another.
Back to article page
