Periodic table colored according to the number of stable isotopes. It can be seen that odd-atomic number elements have fewer stable isotopes than their even neighbours.

Stable isotopes are chemical isotopes that are not radioactive (to current knowledge). Isotopes (Greek isos = "equal" tópos = "site place" are any of the different types of atoms ( Nuclides Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable Atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and Radiation. Stable isotopes of the same element have the same chemical characteristics and therefore behave almost identically. A chemical element is a type of Atom that is distinguished by its Atomic number; that is by the number of Protons in its nucleus. The mass differences, due to a difference in the number of neutrons, result in partial separation of the light isotopes from the heavy isotopes during chemical reactions (isotope fractionation). This article is a discussion of neutrons in general For the specific case of a neutron found outside the nucleus see Free neutron. For example, the difference in mass between the two stable isotopes of hydrogen, ¹H (1 proton, no neutron, also known as protium) and ²H (1 proton, 1 neutron, also known as deuterium) is almost 100%. A hydrogen atom is an atom of the chemical element Hydrogen. The electrically neutral Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is a Stable isotope of Hydrogen with a Natural abundance in the Oceans of Earth Therefore, a significant fractionation will occur.

Commonly analysed stable isotopes include oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and sulfur. Oxygen (from the Greek roots ὀξύς (oxys (acid literally "sharp" from the taste of acids and -γενής (-genēs (producer literally begetteris the Carbon (kɑɹbən is a Chemical element with the symbol C and its Atomic number is 6 Nitrogen (ˈnaɪtɹəʤɪn is a Chemical element that has the symbol N and Atomic number 7 and Atomic weight 14 Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1 Sulfur or sulphur (ˈsʌlfɚ see spelling below) is the Chemical element that has the Atomic number 16 These isotope systems have been under investigation for many years as they are relatively simple to measure. Recent advances in mass spectrometry (ie. Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that identifies the chemical composition of a compound or sample based on the Mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) now enable the measurement of heavier stable isotopes, such as iron, copper, zinc, molybdenum, etc. Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 Zinc (ˈzɪŋk from Zink is a Metallic Chemical element with the symbol Zn and Atomic number 30 Molybdenum (məˈlɪbdənəm from the Greek word for the metal " Lead " is a Group 6 Chemical element with the symbol Mo

Stable isotopes have been used in botanical and plant biological investigations for many years, and more and more ecological and biological studies are finding stable isotopes (mostly carbon, nitrogen and oxygen) to be extremely useful. Other workers have used oxygen isotopes to reconstruct historical atmospheric temperatures, making them important tools for climate research.

Most of naturally occurring isotopes are stable; however, a few tens of them are radioactive with very long half-lives. If the half life of a nuclide is comparable to or greater than the Earth's age (4. 5 billions years), a significant amount will have survived since the formation of the Solar System, and will contribute to the natural isotopic composition of a chemical element. The Solar System consists of the Sun and those celestial objects bound to it by Gravity. The lowest half lives of such isotopes are around 700 million years (e. g. , ²³⁵U). Uranium-235 is an isotope of uranium that differs from the element's other common isotope Uranium-238, by its ability to cause a rapidly expanding fission Many isotopes that are presumed to be stable (i. e. no radioactivity has been observed for them) are predicted to be radioactive with extremely long half-lives (sometimes as high as 10¹⁸ years or more). If the predicted half life falls into an experimentally accessible range, such isotopes have a chance to move from the list of stable nuclides to the radioactive category, once their activity is observed. Good examples are bismuth-209 and tungsten-180 which have been recently (2003) found to be alpha-active. Alpha particles (named after and denoted by the first letter in the Greek alphabet, α consist of two Protons and two Neutrons bound together into a

Research areas

The Island of Stability may reveal a number of stable atoms that are heavier (and with more protons) than lead. The island of stability is a term from Nuclear physics that describes the possibility of elements with particularly stable " magic numbers "

Stable isotope fractionation

There are three types of isotope fractionation:

• equilibrium fractionation
• kinetic fractionation
• mass-independent fractionation

List of stable isotopes

See also: List of elements by nuclear stability

There are 81 known elements which have at least one stable isotope. Equilibrium isotope Fractionation is the partial separation of Isotopes between two or more substances in Chemical equilibrium. Kinetic fractionation is a process that separates stable Isotopes from each other by their mass during unidirectional processes Mass-independent (isotope fractionation refers to any chemical or physical process that acts to separate Isotopes where the amount of separation This is a list of the Chemical elements and their Isotopes, listed in terms of stability As of September 2007, there were 250 known stable isotopes. Tin has 10 stable isotopes, more than any other element. Tin is a Chemical element with the symbol Sn (stannum and Atomic number 50 Xenon is the only element which has 9 stable isotopes. Xenon (ˈzɛnɒn or) is a Chemical element represented by the symbol Xe. There is no element with exactly 8 stable isotopes. Mononuclidic elements are those that have a single isotope (stable or very long-lived) in their natural abundance. Every element from hydrogen to lead has at least one stable isotope with the exceptions of technetium and promethium; elements with more than 82 protons only have radioactive isotopes, although they can still occur naturally because their half-lives are of an order of magnitude not much less than that of the time since the death of a nearby star, or because they occur in a decay chain of another radioactive isotope with such a half-life. Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1 Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly Technetium (tɛkˈniːʃɪəm is the lightest Chemical element with no Stable isotope. Promethium (prəˈmiːθiəm/ /proʊˈmiːθiəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Pm and Atomic number 61 Half-Life (computer-game page here It's already listed in the disambiguation page In Nuclear science, the decay chain refers to the Radioactive decay of different discrete radioactive decay products as a chained series of transformations It wasn't until 2003 that bismuth-209 was shown to be radioactive. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Bismuth-209 is the most stable Isotope of Bismuth. It has 83 protons and 126 neutrons and an atomic mass of 208 ^[1] All stable isotopes are the ground states of nuclei, excluding tantalum-180m, which is the excited level (the ground state of this nucleus is radioactive), but its decay is extremely strongly forbidden by spin-parity selection rules.

See also

• Table of nuclides
• Isotope geochemistry
• Radionuclide

References

1. ^ WWW Table of Radioactive Isotopes. A hydrogen atom is an atom of the chemical element Hydrogen. The electrically neutral Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is a Stable isotope of Hydrogen with a Natural abundance in the Oceans of Earth This article is about the elemental isotope For the record label Helium 3 see Muse or A&E Records. Helium-4 ( or) is a non- Radioactive and light Isotope of Helium. Naturally occurring Lithium ( Li) (standard atomic mass 6941(2 u) is composed of two stable Isotopes ( and, the latter being the more abundant Naturally occurring Lithium ( Li) (standard atomic mass 6941(2 u) is composed of two stable Isotopes ( and, the latter being the more abundant Although Beryllium ( Be) has multiple Isotopes, only one of these isotopes is stable as such it is considered a monoisotopic element Boron ( B)Standard atomic mass 10811(7 u Table Boron ( B)Standard atomic mass 10811(7 u Table Carbon-12 is the most abundant of the two stable Isotopes of the element Carbon, accounting for 98 Carbon-13 ( 13C) is a natural stable Isotope of Carbon and one of the Environmental isotopes. Nitrogen-14 is a stable, non- Radioactive Isotope of the Chemical element Nitrogen. Nitrogen-15 is a stable non-radioactive Isotope of Nitrogen. It is often used in agricultural and medical research There are three stable isotopes of oxygen that lead to Oxygen ( O) having a standard atomic mass of 15 There are three stable isotopes of oxygen that lead to Oxygen ( O) having a standard atomic mass of 15 Oxygen-18 ( 18O) is a natural stable Isotope of Oxygen and one of the Environmental isotopes. Although Fluorine ( F) has multiple Isotopes, only one of these isotopes is stable as such it is considered a monoisotopic element Neon ( Ne)Standard atomic mass 201797(6 u Table Neon ( Ne)Standard atomic mass 201797(6 u Table Neon ( Ne)Standard atomic mass 201797(6 u Table There are thirteen recognized Isotopes of Sodium. 23Na is the only stable isotope Magnesium ( Mg)Standard atomic mass 243050(6 u Table Magnesium ( Mg)Standard atomic mass 243050(6 u Table Magnesium ( Mg)Standard atomic mass 243050(6 u Table Aluminium ( Al) has multiple Isotopes Only 27Al ( Stable isotope) and 26Al ( radioactive isotope ''t''1/2 Silicon ( Si) has numerous known Isotopes with Mass numbers ranging from 22 to 44 Silicon ( Si) has numerous known Isotopes with Mass numbers ranging from 22 to 44 Silicon ( Si) has numerous known Isotopes with Mass numbers ranging from 22 to 44 Although Phosphorus ( P) has multiple Isotopes, only one of these isotopes is stable 31P as such it is considered a monoisotopic element Sulfur ( S) has 18 Isotopes four of which are stable 32S (9502% 33S (0 The main Isotopes of Argon ( Ar) found on Earth are 40Ar 36Ar and 38Ar Calcium ( Ca) has four stable Isotopes (40Ca and 42Ca through 44Ca plus two more isotopes (46Ca and 48Ca Naturally occurring Chromium ( Cr) is composed of three stable Isotopes 52Cr 53Cr and 54Cr with 52Cr being Naturally occurring Iron ( Fe) consists of four Isotopes 5845% of radioactive 54Fe (half-life >3 Iron-56 is the most common Isotope of Iron. About 91754% of all iron is iron-56 Naturally occurring Iron ( Fe) consists of four Isotopes 5845% of radioactive 54Fe (half-life >3 Naturally occurring Iron ( Fe) consists of four Isotopes 5845% of radioactive 54Fe (half-life >3 Naturally occurring Cobalt ( Co) is composed of 1 stable Isotope, 59Co Naturally occurring Nickel ( Ni) is composed of 5 stable Isotopes 58Ni 60Ni 61Ni 62Ni and 64Ni Naturally occurring Nickel ( Ni) is composed of 5 stable Isotopes 58Ni 60Ni 61Ni 62Ni and 64Ni Nickel-62 is an Isotope of Nickel with 28 Protons and 34 Neutrons It is a Stable isotope, and in fact has the highest Nuclear Germanium ( Ge)Standard atomic mass 7264(1 u Table Selenium ( Se) has six naturally occurring Isotopes five of which are stable 74Se 76Se 77Se 78Se and 80Se There are 31 known isotopes of Krypton ( Kr) Naturally occurring krypton is made of five stable and one slightly radioactive Isotope Technetium ( Tc) is one of the two elements in the first 82 that have no stable Isotopes (in fact it is the lowest-numbered element that is exclusively radioactive Naturally occurring Rhodium ( Rh) is composed of only one Isotope, 103Rh Naturally-occurring Palladium ( Pd) is composed of six Isotopes The most stable Radioisotopes are 107Pd with a Half-life Tellurium-124 or 124Te is a stable Isotope of Tellurium. Its natural abundace is 4 Naturally occurring Xenon ( Xe) is made of nine stable Isotopes (124Xe 134Xe and 136Xe are predicted to undergo Naturally occurring Xenon ( Xe) is made of nine stable Isotopes (124Xe 134Xe and 136Xe are predicted to undergo Naturally occurring Xenon ( Xe) is made of nine stable Isotopes (124Xe 134Xe and 136Xe are predicted to undergo Naturally occurring Barium ( Ba) is a mix of seven stable Isotopes There are twenty-two isotopes known but most of these are highly Radioactive 36 Radioisotopes of Promethium ( Pm) have been characterized with the most stable being 145Pm with a Half-life of 17 Naturally occurring Gadolinium ( Gd) is composed of 5 stable Isotopes 154Gd 155Gd 156Gd 157Gd and 158Gd Thallium ( Tl) has 25 Isotopes which have Atomic masses that range from 184 to 210 Lead ( Pb) has four stable Isotopes - 204Pb 206Pb 207Pb 208Pb and one common Radiogenic isotope Lead ( Pb) has four stable Isotopes - 204Pb 206Pb 207Pb 208Pb and one common Radiogenic isotope A table of nuclides or chart of nuclides is a graphic in which Nuclides are drawn such that one axis represents the number of Neutrons and the Isotope geochemistry is an aspect of Geology based upon study of the relative and absolute concentrations of the elements and their Isotopes in the A radionuclide is an Atom with an unstable nucleus, which is a nucleus characterized by excess energy which is available to be imparted either to a newly-created