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A neutral atom has the same number of electrons as protons. Thus different isotopes of a given element all have the same number of electrons and share a similar electronic structure. Because the chemical behaviour of an atom is largely determined by its electronic structure, different isotopes exhibit nearly identical chemical behaviour.
This unit is defined as a twelfth of the mass of a free neutral atom of carbon-12, which is approximately 1.66 × 10 −27 kg. [65] Hydrogen-1 (the lightest isotope of hydrogen which is also the nuclide with the lowest mass) has an atomic weight of 1.007825 Da. [66] The value of this number is called the atomic mass.
Of the 26 "monoisotopic" elements that have only a single stable isotope, all but one have an odd atomic number—the single exception being beryllium. In addition, no odd-numbered element has more than two stable isotopes, while every even-numbered element with stable isotopes, except for helium, beryllium, and carbon, has at least three.
Depiction of a hydrogen atom showing the diameter as about twice the Bohr model radius. (Image not to scale) A hydrogen atom is an atom of the chemical element hydrogen.The electrically neutral hydrogen atom contains a single positively charged proton in the nucleus, and a single negatively charged electron bound to the nucleus by the Coulomb force.
The hydrogen anion, with its loosely held two-electron cloud, has a larger radius than the neutral atom, which in turn is much larger than the bare proton of the cation. Hydrogen forms the only cation that has no electrons, but even cations that (unlike hydrogen) still retain one or more electrons are still smaller than the neutral atoms or ...
However, the process of stellar evolution can result in the synthesis of radioactive isotopes. Selected isotopes can subsequently undergo negative beta decay, emitting an electron and antineutrino from the nucleus. [156] An example is the cobalt-60 (60 Co) isotope, which decays to form nickel-60 (60 Ni). [157]
Radioactive isotopes ranging from 11 O to 28 O have also been characterized, all short-lived. The longest-lived radioisotope is 15 O with a half-life of 122.266(43) s, while the shortest-lived isotope is the unbound 11 O with a half-life of 198(12) yoctoseconds, though half-lives have not been measured for the unbound heavy isotopes 27 O and 28 ...
Neutrons are electrically neutral, but contribute to the mass of a nucleus to nearly the same extent as the protons. Neutrons can explain the phenomenon of isotopes (same atomic number with different atomic mass). The main role of neutrons is to reduce electrostatic repulsion inside the nucleus.