Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Trace metal stable isotope biogeochemistry is the study of the distribution and relative abundances of trace metal isotopes in order to better understand the biological, geological, and chemical processes occurring in an environment. Trace metals are elements such as iron, magnesium, copper, and zinc that occur at low levels in the environment ...
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.
Since its original descriptions, the Urey–Bigeleisen–Mayer equation has taken many forms. Given an isotopic exchange reaction + = +, such that designates a molecule containing an isotope of interest, the equation can be expressed by relating the equilibrium constant, , to the product of partition function ratios, namely the translational, rotational, vibrational, and sometimes electronic ...
Isotope geochemistry is an aspect of geology based upon the study of natural variations in the relative abundances of isotopes of various elements. Variations in isotopic abundance are measured by isotope-ratio mass spectrometry , and can reveal information about the ages and origins of rock, air or water bodies, or processes of mixing between ...
The δ values and absolute isotope ratios of common reference materials are summarized in Table 1 and described in more detail below. Alternative values for the absolute isotopic ratios of reference materials, differing only modestly from those in Table 1, are presented in Table 2.5 of Sharp (2007) [1] (a text freely available online), as well as Table 1 of the 1993 IAEA report on isotopic ...
Water molecules containing the common hydrogen isotope (and the common oxygen isotope, mass 16) have a mass of 18. Water incorporating a deuterium atom has a mass of 19, over 5% heavier. The energy to vaporise the heavy water molecule is higher than that to vaporize the normal water so isotope fractionation occurs during the process of evaporation.
Thermal ionization mass spectrometer. Vacuum chamber on the left, electromagnet in the center, and ions detector on the right are visible.. Thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) is also known as surface ionization and is a highly sensitive isotope mass spectrometry characterization technique.
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.