With 28 protons and 20 neutrons 48Ni is "doubly magic" (like 208Pb) and therefore much more stable (with a lower limit of its half-life-time of .5 μs) than would be expected from its position in the chart of nuclides.
In the last phases of stellar evolution of very large stars, nuclear fusion of lighter elements like hydrogen and helium comes to an end.
This isotope of nickel is favored because it has an equal number of neutrons and protons, making it readily produced by fusing two 28Si atoms.
Because 60Fe had such a long half-life, its persistence in materials in the Solar System at high enough concentrations may have generated observable variations in the isotopic composition of 60Ni.
For instance, two 40Ca atoms can fuse to form 80Kr plus 4 positrons (plus 4 neutrinos), liberating 77 keV per nucleon, but reactions leading to the iron/nickel region are more probable as they release more energy per baryon.
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With 28 protons and 50 neutrons, nickel-78 is doubly magic, resulting in much greater nuclear binding energy and stability despite having a lopsided neutron-proton ratio.
[15] As a consequence of its magic neutron number, nickel-78 is believed to have an important involvement in supernova nucleosynthesis of elements heavier than iron.
[16] 78Ni, along with N = 50 isotones 79Cu and 80Zn, are thought to constitute a waiting point in the r-process, where further neutron capture is delayed by the shell gap and a buildup of isotopes around A = 80 results.