Its half-life is about 6.4×1019 years,[2] so for all practical purposes it can be treated as stable.

Since 48Ca is both practically stable and neutron-rich, it is a valuable starting material for the production of new nuclei in particle accelerators, both by fragmentation[3] and by fusion reactions with other nuclei, for example in the discoveries of the five heaviest known elements, from flerovium to oganesson (atomic numbers 114 through 118).

[4] Heavier nuclei generally require a greater fraction of neutrons for maximum stability, so neutron-rich starting materials are necessary.

48Ca is the lightest nucleus known to undergo 2β and the only one simple enough to be analyzed with the sd nuclear shell model.

[5] These properties make it an interesting probe of nuclear structure models and a promising candidate in the ongoing search for neutrinoless double beta decay.