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Isotopes of carbon are atomic nuclei that contain six protons plus a number of neutrons (varying from 2 to 16). Carbon has two stable, naturally occurring isotopes. [69] The isotope carbon-12 (12 C) forms 98.93% of the carbon on Earth, while carbon-13 (13 C) forms the remaining 1.07%. [69]
Thus, the atomic mass of a carbon-12 atom is 12 Da by definition, but the relative isotopic mass of a carbon-12 atom is simply 12. The sum of relative isotopic masses of all atoms in a molecule is the relative molecular mass. The atomic mass of an isotope and the relative isotopic mass refers to a certain specific isotope of an element.
Carbon-12 is of particular importance in its use as the standard from which atomic masses of all nuclides are measured, thus, its atomic mass is exactly 12 daltons by definition. Carbon-12 is composed of 6 protons, 6 neutrons, and 6 electrons.
Carbon (6 C) has 14 known isotopes, from 8 C to 20 C as well as 22 C, of which 12 C and 13 C are stable.The longest-lived radioisotope is 14 C, with a half-life of 5.70(3) × 10 3 years. . This is also the only carbon radioisotope found in nature, as trace quantities are formed cosmogenically by the reactio
Carbon-14, C-14, 14 C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues (1949) to date archaeological, geological and hydrogeological samples.
Bulk carbon-13 for commercial use, e.g. in chemical synthesis, is enriched from its natural 1% abundance. Although carbon-13 can be separated from the major carbon-12 isotope via techniques such as thermal diffusion, chemical exchange, gas diffusion, and laser and cryogenic distillation, currently only cryogenic distillation of methane (boiling point −161.5°C) or carbon monoxide (b.p. − ...
The mass number gives an estimate of the isotopic mass measured in atomic mass units (u). For 12 C, the isotopic mass is exactly 12, since the atomic mass unit is defined as 1/12 of the mass of 12 C. For other isotopes, the isotopic mass is usually within 0.1 u of the mass number.
The atomic radii of the carbon group elements tend to increase with increasing atomic number. Carbon's atomic radius is 77 picometers, silicon's is 118 picometers, germanium's is 123 picometers, tin's is 141 picometers, and lead's is 175 picometers. [13]