Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei. By differing in the number of neutrons in the nucleus, they have a different mass number. If the isotopes are of different elements, then the number of neutrons will also be different. Chemical elements usually have more than one isotope.
Atoms that are isotopes of each other have the same atomic number, but different mass numbers. The atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus, and the mass number is the sum of the number of neutrons and protons found in the nucleus.
The three examples of isotopes of hydrogen.
There are 21 elements in the periodic table that have only one natural isotope for their element, such as beryllium or sodium. And on the other hand, there are elements that can reach 10 stable isotopes such as tin.
There are also elements such as uranium, in which its isotopes can be transformed into stable or less stable isotopes, where they emit radiation, which is why we call them unstable.
The unstable isotopes are used to estimate the age of natural samples, such as carbon 13, since knowing the decay rate of the isotope relating it to those that have already decayed, a very exact age can be known. In this way the age of the Earth is known.
We can distinguish between two types of isotopes, natural or artificial. Natural isotopes are found in nature and artificial ones are created in a laboratory by bombardment of subatomic particles.
Featured Isotope Examples
1-Carbon 14: it is an isotope of carbon with a half-life of 5,730 years that is used in archeology to determine the age of rocks and organic matter.
2-Uranium 235: this isotope of uranium is used in nuclear power plants to provide nuclear energy, just as it is used to build atomic bombs.
3-Iridium 192: this isotope is an artificial isotope used to check the tightness of tubes.
4-Uranium 233: This isotope is man-made and not found in nature, and is used in nuclear power plants.
5-Cobalt 60: used for cancer as it emits radiation more powerful than radium and is cheaper.
6-Technetium 99: this isotope is used in medicine to search for blocked blood vessels
7-Radio 226: this isotope is used for the treatment of skin cancer
8-Bromo 82: this is used to carry out hydrographic studies of water flows or the dynamics of lakes.
9-Tritium: This isotope is a hydrogen isotope used in medicine as a tracer. The well-known hydrogen bomb is actually a tritium bomb.
10-Iodine 131: is a radionuclide that was used in nuclear tests carried out in 1945. This isotope increases the risk of cancer as well as diseases such as the thyroid.
11-Arsenic 73: used to determine the amount of arsenic that has been absorbed by the body
12-Arsenic 74: this is used for the determination and localization of brain tumors.
13-Nitrogen 15: used in scientific research to perform the nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy test. It is also used in agriculture.
14-Gold 198: this is used for drilling oil wells
15-Mercury 147: this is used to make electrolytic cells
16-Lanthanum 140: used in industrial boilers and furnaces
17-Phosphorus 32: used in medical bone tests, of bones as well as bone marrow
18-Phosphorus 33: used to recognize DNA nuclei or nucleotides.
19-Scandium 46: this isotope is used in soil and sediment analysis
20-Fluorine 18: It is also known as Fludeoxyglucose, and is used to study body tissues.
Other examples of isotopes
- Antimony 121
- Argon 40
- Sulfur 32
- Barium 135
- Beryllium 8
- Boron 11
- Bromine 79
- Cadmium 106
- Cadmium 108
- Cadmium 116
- Calcium 40
- Calcium 42
- Calcium 46
- Calcium 48
- Carbon 12
- Cerium 142
- Zirconium 90
- Chlorine 35
- Copper 65
- Chromium 50
- Dysprosium 161
- Dysprosium 163
- Dysprosium 170
- Erbium 166
- Tin 112
- Tin 115
- Tin 120
- Tin 122
- Strontium 87
- Europium 153
- Gadolinium 158
- Gallium 69
- Germanium 74
- Hafnium 177
- Helium 3
- Helium 4
- Hydrogen 1
- Hydrogen 2
- Iron 54
- Indian 115
- Iridium 191
- Ytterbium 173
- Krypton 80
- Krypton 84
- Lithium 6
- Magnesium 24
- Mercury 200
- Mercury 202
- Molybdenum 98
- Neodymium 144
- Neon 20
- Nickel 60
- Nitrogen 15
- Osmium 188
- Osmium 190
- Oxygen 16
- Oxygen 17
- Oxygen 18
- Palladium 102
- Palladium 106
- Silver 107
- Platinum 192
- Lead 203
- Lead 206
- Lead 208
- Potassium 39
- Potassium 41
- Rhenium 187
- Rubidium 87
- Ruthenium 101
- Ruthenium 98
- Samarium 144
- Samarium 150
- Selenium 74
- Selenium 82
- Silicon 28
- Silicon 30
- Thallium 203
- Thallium 205
- Tellurium 125
- Tellurium 127
- Titanium 46
- Titanium 49
- Uranium 238
- Tungsten 183
- Xenon 124
- Xenon 130
- Zinc 64
- Zinc 66
- Zinc 67
References
- COTTON, F. AlbertWilkinson, et al. Basic inorganic chemistry. Limusa,, 1996.
- RODGERS, Glen E. Inorganic Chemistry: An Introduction to Coordination, Solid State, and Descriptive Chemistry. McGraw-Hill Interamericana,, 1995.
- RAYNER-CANHAM, GeoffEscalona García, et al. Descriptive inorganic chemistry. Pearson Education,, 2000.
- HUHEEY, James E. KEITER, et al. Inorganic chemistry: principles of structure and reactivity. Oxford:, 2005.
- GUTIÉRREZ RÍOS, Enrique. Inorganic chemistry. 1994.
- HOUSECROFT, Catherine E., et al. Inorganic chemistry. 2006.
- COTTON, F. Albert; WILKINSON, Geoffrey. Basic inorganic chemistry. 1987.