Rubidium-87 (source code)

= Rubidium-87
{title2=$^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$}

<Rubidium-87> is a long-lived radioactive isotope with thirty-seven protons and fifty neutrons. Its beta decay to strontium-87 supports rubidium-strontium geochronology.

It is also a common isotope in laser-cooled atomic-gas experiments. Its nuclear spin and hyperfine states provide experimentally accessible internal structure, while the whole atom can behave as a boson. These atomic roles are distinct from the geological use of its slow nuclear decay.