Why Isotope? Lots of people want to know… enough to inspire me to post it here.
Isotope was chosen for several reasons. It is fairly ambiguous and not something most people have a clear definition of. You hear the word and go “that has to do with atoms, right?”. So, there are largely no preconceived associations with the word other than it is “atomic” and “scientific”. Secondly, it was chosen for the prefix “iso” which brings to mind words like isometric (of equal distance or exhibiting symmetry, a design element I am fond of), isobaric (of equal pressure), isolate (to set apart). I like to think my designs and capabilities set me apart from the “masses”. Attention to project detail is my first priority. Below is some interesting (hopefully) information gathered on literal isotopes.
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When are atoms of an element not identical?
Al – The 13th element in the periodic table is Aluminum
Be – O al have an isotope 13
Carbon-13, which is used for Carbon dating, is the most common of the isotopes with a mass of 13.
http://chemlab.pc.maricopa.edu/periodic/periodic.html
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In 1913 a British chemist named Frederick Soddy discovered that not all atoms of each element are exactly the same. Although their chemical properties may be almost identical, atoms of most elements come in several varieties with different masses. These varieties are called isotopes.
Different isotopes of an element hold different numbers of neutrons in the nuclei of their atoms. The numbers of protons and electrons are the same. Hydrogen, for example, has three isotopes. Normal hydrogen has one proton in its nucleus. Deuterium has a neutron and a proton, while tritium has two neutrons and a proton.
Different isotopes of an element can be separated by mass-sensitive processes like evaporation, condensation, and incorporation into living tissue. As a result, scientists can learn much about the Earth’s past by studying the ratios of isotopes in sediments or ice cores.
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Isotopes: The nucleus contains both protons and neutrons. An element has a fixed number of protons but may exist with various numbers of neutrons. The sum of the protons and neutrons is the mass number. For example, helium exists as 3He(2 protons and one neutron) or as 4He (2 protons and 2 neutrons). The two forms of helium are called isotopes of helium. Isotopes of an element have the same chemical properties but different weights. Some elements have many isomers. Tin (Sn) has about 38 known isotopes.
Explore the table of isotopes, courtesy of Lawrence Berkeley Labs:
http://ie.lbl.gov/education/isotopes.htm
http://ie.lbl.gov/education/info.htm
