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C + 1 H. The most stable artificial radioisotope is 11 C, which has a half-life of 20.3402(53) min. All other radioisotopes have half-lives under 20 seconds, most less than 200 milliseconds. The least stable isotope is 8 C, with a half-life of 3.5(1.4) × 10 −21 s. Light isotopes tend to decay into isotopes of boron and heavy ones tend to ...
Here, R A is the isotope amount ratio of the natural analyte, R A = n(i A) A /n(j A) A, R B is the isotope amount ratio of the isotopically enriched analyte, R B = n(i A) B /n(j A) B, R AB is the isotope amount ratio of the resulting mixture, x(j A) A is the isotopic abundance of the minor isotope in the natural analyte, and x(j A) B is the ...
An isochron diagram will only give a valid age if all samples are cogenetic, which means they have the same initial isotopic composition (that is, the rocks are from the same unit, the minerals are from the same rock, etc.), all samples have the same initial isotopic composition (at t 0), and the system has remained closed.
Stable isotopes partitioning between two substances A and B can be expressed by the use of the isotopic fractionation factor (alpha): α A-B = R A /R B. where R is the ratio of the heavy to light isotope (e.g., 2 H/ 1 H or 18 O/ 16 O). Values for alpha tend to be very close to 1. [1] [2]
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.
The term isotopes (originally also isotopic elements, [4] now sometimes isotopic nuclides [5]) is intended to imply comparison (like synonyms or isomers). For example, the nuclides 12 6 C, 13 6 C, 14 6 C are isotopes (nuclides with the same atomic number but different mass numbers [6]), but 40 18 Ar, 40 19 K, 40 20 Ca are isobars (nuclides with ...
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 differential uptake of the three carbon isotopes leads to 13 C / 12 C and 14 C / 12 C ratios in plants that differ from the ratios in the atmosphere. This effect is known as isotopic fractionation. [45] [46] To determine the degree of fractionation that takes place in a given plant, the amounts of both 12 C and 13 C isotopes are measured ...