The first four ionisation enthalpies of an element are 578, 1817, 2745 and 11577 kJ mol⁻¹.

The first ionisation enthalpy is the energy to remove the outermost electron from an isolated gaseous atom: $\text{X(g)} \rightarrow \text{X}^+\text{(g)} + e^-$. It rises across a period and falls down a group, with dips at groups 13 and 16. A big jump among the successive ionisation enthalpies shows where an inner shell begins. Electron gain enthalpy is the enthalpy change when a gaseous atom gains an electron, negative when energy is released.