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Archaeological materials, such as bone, organic residues, hair, or sea shells, can serve as substrates for isotopic analysis. Carbon, nitrogen and zinc isotope ratios are used to investigate the diets of past people; these isotopic systems can be used with others, such as strontium or oxygen, to answer questions about population movements and cultural interactions, such as trade.
All isotopes of a given element have the same number of protons in each atom. The term isotope is formed from the Greek roots isos (ἴσος "equal") and topos (τόπος "place"), meaning "the same place"; thus, the meaning behind the name is that different isotopes of a single element occupy the same position on the periodic table.
Nominal mass is a term used in high level mass spectrometric discussions, it can be calculated using the mass number of the most abundant isotope of each atom, without regard for the mass defect. For example, when calculating the nominal mass of a molecule of nitrogen (N 2) and ethylene (C 2 H 4) it comes out as. N 2 (2*14)= 28 Da C 2 H 4
Quantity calculation with the Bateman-Function for plutonium-241 While the Bateman formula can be implemented in a computer code, if λ j ≈ λ i {\displaystyle \lambda _{j}\approx \lambda _{i}} for some isotope pair, catastrophic cancellation can lead to computational errors.
Isotope fractionation occurs during a phase transition, when the ratio of light to heavy isotopes in the involved molecules changes. When water vapor condenses (an equilibrium fractionation), the heavier water isotopes (18 O and 2 H) become enriched in the liquid phase while the lighter isotopes (16 O and 1 H) tend toward the vapor phase. [1]
Equilibrium isotope fractionation is the partial separation of isotopes between two or more substances in chemical equilibrium. Equilibrium fractionation is strongest at low temperatures, and (along with kinetic isotope effects) forms the basis of the most widely used isotopic paleothermometers (or climate proxies): D/H and 18 O/ 16 O records from ice cores, and 18 O/ 16 O records from calcium ...
The Mattauch isobar rule states that if two adjacent elements on the periodic table have isotopes of the same mass number, at least one of these isobars must be a radionuclide (radioactive). In cases of three isobars of sequential elements where the first and last are stable (this is often the case for even-even nuclides, see above ), branched ...
Sulfur has four stable isotopes, 32 S, 33 S, 34 S, and 36 S, of which 32 S is the most abundant by a large margin due to the fact it is created by the very common 12 C in supernovas. Sulfur isotope ratios are almost always expressed as ratios relative to 32 S due to this major relative abundance (95.0%).