Isotope
Atomic mass (ma/u)
Natural abundance (atom %)
35Cl
34.968852721 (69)
75.78 (4)
37Cl
36.96590262 (11)
24.22 (4)
]
Chlorine (CL) has approximately 24 isotopes. There are two main stable isotopes, 35Cl (75.78%) and 37Cl (24.22%) giving chlorine a standard mass of 35.453. The differences between these two isotopes are the atomic number also known as the proton number. The number 35 and 37 represents the mass which is the number of protons and neutrons. Therefore, chlorine 37 has2 more neutrons compared to chlorine 35. A heavier isotope would react slower and have a better nuclear stabilitythan the lighter one so therefore chlorine 37 is heavier
Chlorine (Cl) has 24 isotopes with mass numbers ranging from 28Cl to 51Cl and 2 isomers (34mCl and 38mCl). There are two principal stable isotopes, 35Cl (75.78%) and 37Cl (24.22%), found in the relative proportions of 37.89:12.11, respectively, giving chlorine a standard atomic mass of 35.453. The longest-lived radioactive isotope is 36Cl which has a half-life of 301,000 years. All other isotopes have half-lives under 1 hour, many less than one second. The shortest-lived are 29Cl and 30Cl, with half-lives less than 20 and 30 nanoseconds, respectively—the half-life of 28Cl is unknown.
Standard atomic mass: 35.453(2) u

Chlorine-36 (36Cl)[edit]
Main article: Chlorine-36
Trace amounts of radioactive 36Cl exist in the environment, in a ratio of about 7×10−13 to 1 with stable isotopes. 36Cl is produced in the atmosphere by spallation of 36Ar by interactions withcosmic ray protons. In the subsurface environment, 36Cl is generated primarily as a result of neutron capture by 35Cl or muon capture by 40Ca. 36Cl decays to 36S (1.9%) and to 36Ar (98.1%), with a combined half-life of 308,000 years. The half-life of this hydrophilic nonreactive isotope makes it suitable for geologic dating in the range of 60,000 to 1 million years. Additionally, large amounts of 36Cl were produced by irradiation of seawater during atmospheric detonations of nuclear weapons between 1952 and 1958. The residence time of 36Cl in the atmosphere is about 1 week. Thus, as an event marker of 1950s water in soil and ground water, 36Cl is also useful for dating waters less than 50 years before the present. 36Cl has seen use in other areas of the geological sciences, forecasts, and elements.
Table[edit]
nuclide symbol Z(p)
N(n)

isotopic mass (u) half-life decay mode(s)[1][n 1] daughter isotope(s)[n 2] nuclear spin representative isotopic