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The number of protons (Z column) and number of neutrons (N column). energy column The column labeled "energy" denotes the energy equivalent of the mass of a neutron minus the mass per nucleon of this nuclide (so all nuclides get a positive value) in MeV, formally: m n − m nuclide / A, where A = Z + N is the mass number. Note that this means ...
The only stable nuclides having an odd number of protons and an odd number of neutrons are hydrogen-2, lithium-6, boron-10, nitrogen-14 and (observationally) tantalum-180m. This is because the mass–energy of such atoms is usually higher than that of their neighbors on the same isobaric chain, so most of them are unstable to beta decay .
Stable even–even nuclides number as many as three isobars for some mass numbers, and up to seven isotopes for some atomic numbers. Conversely, of the 251 known stable nuclides, only five have both an odd number of protons and odd number of neutrons: hydrogen-2 , lithium-6, boron-10, nitrogen-14, and tantalum-180m.
These 35 radioactive naturally occurring nuclides comprise the radioactive primordial nuclides. The total number of primordial nuclides is then 251 (the stable nuclides) plus the 35 radioactive primordial nuclides, for a total of 286 primordial nuclides. This number is subject to change if new shorter-lived primordials are identified on Earth.
A set of nuclides with equal proton number (atomic number), i.e., of the same chemical element but different neutron numbers, are called isotopes of the element. Particular nuclides are still often loosely called "isotopes", but the term "nuclide" is the correct one in general (i.e., when Z is not fixed).
These nuclides are listed in order of decreasing stability. Many of them are so nearly stable that they compete for abundance with stable isotopes of their respective elements. For three elements ( indium , tellurium , and rhenium ) a very long-lived radioactive primordial nuclide is more abundant than a stable nuclide.
The longest-lived nuclides are also predicted to lie on the beta-stability line, for beta decay is predicted to compete with the other decay modes near the predicted center of the island, especially for isotopes of elements 111–115. Unlike other decay modes predicted for these nuclides, beta decay does not change the mass number.
Part of the Chart of Nuclides showing some stable or nearly-stable s-, r-, and p-nuclei. The classical, ground-breaking works of Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler and Hoyle (1957) [1] and of A. G. W. Cameron (1957) [2] showed how the majority of naturally occurring nuclides beyond the element iron can be made in two kinds of neutron capture processes, the s- and the r-process.