A New Determination of ²⁰⁸Hg Half-Life

A specific detection system devoted to the detection of weak γ-activities from neutron-rich isotopes in an element-separated source was developed, and successfully used in a new determination of the half-life of the recently identified heavy neutron-rich nuclide ²⁰⁸Hg. This newly measured half-life is 41⁺⁵_-4min, in agreement with the earlier one of 42⁺²³_-11 min obtained by radiochemical milking method, but experimental precision was improved.