Manganese than one minute. The primary decay mode before the most abundant stable isotope, Mn, is electron capture and the primary mode after is beta decay. Manganese also has three meta states. Manganese is part of the iron group of elements, which are thought to be synthesized in large stars shortly before the supernova explosion. Mn decays to Cr with a half-life of 3.7 million years. Because of its relatively short half-life, Mn is relatively rare, produced by cosmic rays impact on iron. Manganese isotopic contents are typically combined with chromium isotopic contents and have found application in isotope geology and
Manganese modern times as pyrolusite or manganese dioxide. Neither this mineral nor elemental manganese is magnetic. In the 16th century, manganese dioxide was called "manganesum" (note the two Ns instead of one) by glassmakers, possibly as a corruption and concatenation of two words, since alchemists and glassmakers eventually had to differentiate a "magnesia negra" (the black ore) from "magnesia alba" (a white ore, also from Magnesia, also useful in glassmaking). Michele Mercati called magnesia negra "manganesa", and finally the metal isolated from it became known as "manganese" (German: "Mangan"). The name "magnesia" eventually was then used to refer only to the