A PROJECT OF CHEMISTRY

The Basics:

What is an isotope ?

examples

What is an isobar ?

examples

Applications: why and how are isotopes useful?

Isotope is the word we use to talk about two

different forms of the same element that have
different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus. A
given element is identified by the number of
protons in its nucleus; that's its atomic number.
And two different isotopes of a given element
have the same number of protons (of course), but
each has a different number of neutrons in its
nucleus.
ISOTOPEs

Isotopes of hydrogen

Hydrogen (H) has three naturally occurring

isotopes, sometimes denoted 1H, 2H, and 3H.The 2H
(or H-2) isotope is usually called deuterium, while
the 3H (or H-3) isotope is usually called tritium.

Isotopes of ar!on

ar!on () has 1" #nown isotopes, from $ to 22,

2 of which (12 and 13) are sta!le.
ISOTOPES EXAMPLES

Isotopes of uranium

%ranium (%) is a naturally occurring radioacti&e element that

has no sta!le isotopes !ut two primordial isotopes (uranium-23$
and uranium-23') that ha&e long half-life and are found in
apprecia!le (uantity in the )arth*s crust, along with the decay
product uranium-23+

Isotopes of lithium

,aturally occurring lithium (chemical sym!ol -i) (standard

atomic mass. "./+1(2) atomic mass units, a.m.u.) is composed of
two sta!le isotopes, lithium-" and lithium-0, with the latter
!eing !y far the more a!undant one. a!out /2.' percent of the
atoms.
ISOTOPES EXAMPLES

,eon (,e) possesses three sta!le isotopes, 21,e,

21,e, and 22,e. In addition, 1" radioacti&e isotopes
ha&e !een disco&ered ranging from 1",e to 3+,e,
all short-li&ed. The longest-li&ed is 2+,e with a
half-life of 3.3$ minutes. 2ll others are under a
minute, most under a second. The least sta!le is
1",e with a half-life of 122 (30) #e3.

4tandard atomic mass. 21.10/0(")u

ISOTOPES EXAMPLES

.5agnesium (5g) naturally occurs in three sta!le

isotopes, 2+5g, 2'5g, and 2"5g. 1/ radioisotopes ha&e
!een disco&ered, ranging from 1/5g to +15g. The
longest-li&ed radioisotope is 2$5g with a half-life of
21./1' hours. The lighter isotopes mostly decay to
isotopes of sodium while the hea&ier isotopes decay to
isotopes of aluminium. The shortest-li&ed is 3/5g with a
half-life shorter than 1$1 nanoseconds, or rarely +15g,
with a half-life longer than 101 nanoseconds (the half-
life of 1/5g is un#nown).

4tandard atomic mass. 2+.31'1(")%

ISOTOPES EXAMPLES

4ulfur (4) has 2' #nown isotopes with mass

num!ers ranging from 2" to +/, four of which
are sta!le. 324 (/'.126), 334 (1.0'6), 3+4
(+.216), and 3"4 (1.126). The preponderance of
sulfur-32 is e7plained !y its production from
car!on-12 plus successi&e fusion capture of fi&e
helium nuclei, in the so-called alpha process of
e7ploding type II superno&ae (see silicon !urning)
ISOTOPES EXAMPLES
ISOBARS

This article is a!out concept in nuclear physics. 8or further

meanings, see Iso!ar.

Iso!ars are atoms (nuclides) of different chemical elements

That ha&e the same num!er of nucleons. orrespondingly,
iso!ars differ in atomic num!er (or num!er of protons)
!ut ha&e the same mass num!er. The nuclei of these
nuclides all contain +1 nucleons, howe&er they contain
&arying num!ers of protons and neutrons.91:

The word ;iso!ar; was coined !y 2le7ander &on Hum!oldt.

9: It is deri&ed from the <ree# word isos, meaning ;e(ual;
and !aros, meaning ;weight;.93]
ISOBARS EXAMPLES
are the e7amples of iso!ars. =oth car!on and
nitrogen ha&e the same mass num!er i.e. 13,
!ut different atomic num!ers i.e. " and 0
respecti&ely. 4ome e7amples of iso!ars are

5edical use.

Isotopes ha&e a wide &ariety of uses in medicine. Iron-'/ is used

for studying how the spleen meta!oli>es iron. opper-"+ is used to
study genetic pro!lems with copper meta!olism. )r!ium-1"/ is used
in the treatment of some forms of arthritis pain and ?henium-1$"
is used for relie&ing !one cancer pain. ?henium-1$$ is used for
!eta irradiation of arteries in angioplasty.

<allium-"0 is used for tumor imaging. This is only a &ery small

list of the numerous isotopes that are used medically in diagnosis
and treatment of &arious diseases and conditions. 5ore uses for
isotopes are continually !eing found to impro&e health care and
treatments.
ISOTOPES USES:
Use in non-medical eseac!:
ar!on-1+ may !e an isotope you are already familiar with. It contains
trace amounts of all car!on found on earth. It is a radioacti&e isotope and
is used to precisely determine the age of fossils or artifacts. This testing is
commonly referred to as ar!on dating.

Isotopes are also !eing used in agriculture for soil management. %se of
the isotopes can impro&e the agricultural output and also reduce the
amount of nitrous o7ide and methane emissions. 5easurements of the
amounts of isotopes in surface and ground water is !eing used to study
watersheds. These studies can help to predict the effects of climate and
land use and help with water resource management.

n-medical research.
ISOTOPES USES:

8uel.

(23')%, or enriched %ranium, is used in nuclear energy. It is also used in

nuclear weaponry. Helium-3, which is !elie&ed to e7ist in large (uantities
on the moon, is !eing in&estigated as a long term fuel source for fusion
power reactors. Helium-3 is not a radioacti&e isotope.

5@A or mi7ed fuel o7ide is the term used for recycling plutonium. ?ecycling
plutonium e&en once can increase the energy o!tained from the original
uranium !y appro7imately 12 percent. If the original uranium is also
recycled up to 22 percent additional energy can !e o!tained. This recycling
also reduces the waste that must !e dealt with.

There are hundreds of isotopes already disco&ered or created and hundreds

more yet to !e found. Bith careful research we can hopefully find many
more !enefits from this area of chemistry.
ISOTOPES USES: