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Questions tagged [isotope]

This tag should only be applied where the effects are specifically related to variance in mass number with the same atomic number (existence of isotopes). Examples include: radioactivity and other nuclear properties, kinetic effects, specific relevance to spectroscopy (e.g., NMR, IR), isotope separation, isotopic analysis.

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NMR for diamagnetic uranium molecule's isotopic enrichment

Inspired by Dr. Raizen's MAGIS isotope enrichment scheme, I looked for another way. While uranium elementally has unpaired electrons making its nuclear magnetic moment much weaker than electron ...
Critical Mass's user avatar
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How many neutrons could a hydrogen atom hold?

Usually a hydrogen atom consists of no neutrons; however many exotic hydrogen isotopes have been synthesized. Deuterium and tritium are some of the more 'common' isotopes; nevertheless, Wikipedia's ...
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10 votes
1 answer
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How to apply the Cahn–Ingold–Prelog priority rules to an isotopically-labeled molecule?

Is the following the correct designation (S) for the chiral carbon in a skeletal representation of 1-chloro(3-13C)butan-2-amine? The CIP rules say to go one at a time by each rule until you find an ...
Parker Willett's user avatar
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57 views

Comparison of oxygen and carbon-12 as standards for mass

While studying about the standards of atomic and molecular mass, I have learnt that while initially hydrogen was used as a standard of mass (its mass taken as unity), according to my book, oxygen was ...
Smarika Singh's user avatar
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1 answer
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Hydrogen–deuterium exchange in 1,4-benzoquinone

Problem Find number of deuterium exchanges in the following compound. Solution Question I have been taught that hydrogen attached to the carbon which is directly or indirectly in conjugation with ...
Haider's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
111 views

Is a hydrogen atom 'locked' to a given oxygen atom in ice?

Ice, Hydrogen bond, and Ice rules Wikipedia articles seem to imply that the covalently bonded hydrogen atoms are fixed to their given oxygen atom and do not change positions as long as the ice remains ...
ericnutsch's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
107 views

Cesium Chloride Density Gradient Centrifugation and Isotopes

In Cesium Chloride Density Gradient Centrifugation, as used by Meselson and Stahl, Cesium ions can be seen as strongly affected by centrifugation, so much so that they can overcome their ionic bonds ...
Critical Mass's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
191 views

The isotopic effect in chemical kinetics

I conducted a chemical experiment (degree in chemical engineering) to understand the isotopic effect in chemical kinetics. In the experiment, I reacted isopropanol and D-isopropanol (D stands for ...
Guy Weizman's user avatar
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2 answers
200 views

Hydrogen Isotopes and Bronsted Lowry Acid

a Bronsted Lowry Acid is defined as an acid that donates a proton. However it's actually a Hydrogen Ion, since hydrogen only has 1 proton and 1 electron, a positive Hydrogen Ion would have no electron ...
Arno's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
393 views

Stability of beryllium isotopes

I have been reading about isotopes and their abundance on Wikipedia. It states that lithium has 2 stable isotopes, beryllium has 1 stable isotope (monoisotopic and mononuclidic) and boron has 2 stable ...
Proscionexium's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
225 views

NMR and dienes to isolate certain isotopes?

I am looking to achieve isotope separation using transition states. In the rxn of dienes with halogens, based on the temperature, the dienes can create a thermodynamic product or a kinetic product. ...
Critical Mass's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
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Is CD4 an alkane?

Can $\ce{CD4}$ or $\ce{CT4}$ be considered an alkane? I know that an alkane is $\ce{C_nH_p}$ where $p = 2n + 2$. An alkane is considered a "hydro"carbon, i.e., a compound containing purely ...
CHEMUMAN's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
90 views

Electron affinity of isotopes anomaly

According to the Wikipedia article the electron affinity of $\ce{^{2}H}$ is higher than the electron affinity of $\ce{^{1}H}$ however the electron affinity of $\ce{^{18}O}$ is lower than $\ce{^{16}O}$....
Volpina's user avatar
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1 answer
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Masses of atoms and molecules [duplicate]

This is my understanding so far: Average atomic mass is the mass of an element considering isotopes and is measured in atomic mass units. However relative atomic mass is the average mass of an atom ( ...
Quin Gardiner Bax's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
544 views

Can one calculate the polarizability of Xe isotopes using Gaussian 09 and the 3-21G basis?

While trying to understand this paper, I read the following method for calculating the polarizability of different Xe isotopes: Quantum chemical calculation of the exact polarizability of each xenon ...
Ryan's user avatar
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0 answers
361 views

Can deuterium be separated from heavy water via electrolysis? It is an isotope of hydrogen, so I guess it should act in the same way?

I was wondering if it is possible to separate deuterium from heavy water via electrolysis. Also, is this the way deuterium gas is obtained on an industrial scale, or are there better methods?
Arbor Chetia's user avatar
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Is it possible to estimate how much Plutonium existed during the earth's formation?

Plutonium is a man-made element, but minute quantities of it exist on earth. It's probable the earth had much larger quantities of it during its formation as a planet, but most of it decayed due to ...
user148298's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
148 views

Isotopes \ monoisotopic elements [closed]

I am confused about the definition of isotopes I know that isotopes are atoms of an element with different numbers of neutrons. What I don't understand is that we have monoisotopic elements which are ...
Shadow sparkle 's user avatar
-1 votes
3 answers
1k views

How are the number of neutrons changed in an atom? [closed]

I'm studying isotopes in high school and I don't understand how it works. From my understanding, when neutrons are added or removed, an isotope is created. To calculate the number of neutrons, the ...
user128108's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
137 views

Can the word "iso" be used if the quantities are zero in number?

Both $\ce{H+}$ and $\ce{He^2+}$ ions have zero electrons. So can we call them isoelectronic species? And if two species have a difference in the number of protons and neutrons equal to zero, can we ...
Nipun Kulshreshtha's user avatar
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1 answer
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Determining the average relative mass of an element from the percentage of isotopes

Suppose we have an element $\ce{A}$. Its relative mass is $16$ and it has three isotopes: $\ce{^16A}$ ,$\ce{^17A}$ and $\ce{^18A}$. The available percentage of $\ce{^17A}$ is $0.037\,\%$. What is the ...
Sayem Rahman's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
621 views

Is there oxygen isotope exchange between dissolved CO2 and H2O?

If you had a sample containing an elevated concentration of $\ce{H2^{18}O}$, and bubbled $\ce{C^{16}O2}$ through it, would some of the oxygen-18 isotope be transferred from water to carbon dioxide? I ...
ericnutsch's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
97 views

Mapping of half-life decay for all elements/isotopes

Is there an open resource that helps illustrate all paths of decay for all isotopes (e.g. $\ce{^{99}Mo}$ decaying to $\ce{^\mathrm{99m}Tc})?$ I know the result state/transition map would be massive, ...
VenomFangs's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
97 views

Bond frequency vs Bond Strength in Kinetic Isotope Effect

I am confused by the following: in Ansyln's Modern Physical Organic Chemistry, a higher vibrational frequency defines a stronger bond due to the deeper/sharper potential well (page 76). However, the ...
Railgun's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
713 views

Why is Gallium-69 stable, Gallium-70 unstable and Gallium-71 stable again?

Why is gallium 70 suddenly unstable, whereas it becomes stable again when you add another neutron? Shouldn't isotopes become unstable when there are either too few or too many neutrons? Why is gallium ...
iwab's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
75 views

Are double spike isotopic standards suitable for quantification by isotope dilution mass spectrometry?

I would like to apply isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS)* to quantify lead at trace levels. A good spike solution for the process would be the NIST SRM 991 which is an enriched material of ...
Cris's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
88 views

Mass spec mass calculation difference

This is not a homework question, but for research. I am performing mass spec on serum metabolites using Thermo Q Exactive PLUS with a HESI source which was set to a spray voltage of -2.7kV under ...
William Wong's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
1k views

Neutron–proton ratio and isotope stability

I have studied that most of the isotopes (not all of them!) with a neutron–proton ratio of $\ge 1.5$ are unstable; but it is obvious that this is not true in some cases like carbon-14 or technetium-99....
Peshawa_Aziz's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
89 views

How is this Clemmensen Reduction taking place? [closed]

How did that isotopically labelled Carbon migrate? I know that an carbanion is formed, but I am not able to conclude the final product. Please Help
Sharad Kothari's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
74 views

g-tensor and hyperfine tensor for nitroxide spin label with 15N

Does anyone know where I can find numerical data for the $g$ tensor and hyperfine tensor for a nitroxide spin label where the nitrogen-14 atom has been replaced by a nitrogen-15 atom? I'm really ...
Ben's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
49 views

Does the Atomic Mass listed for each element on the periodic table reflect the relative abundances of their isotopes on Earth? Or in the Universe? [duplicate]

Somehow, I cannot find a site or book or paper explaining exactly how the average atomic masses for the elements on the periodic table are weighted.... I posted a question either here or on Physics S....
Kurt Hikes's user avatar
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0 votes
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Where do the electrons for which RTG's use for the Seeback effect come from?

I know that RTG's use Radioactive Isotope that emit Alpha particles generally (ie. NASA uses Pu 238), I also know that these Alpha particles are consiting of 2 Protons and 2 Neutrons, since the RTG ...
WIlliam Wang's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
356 views

If all molecules have basically the same KE at a given temperature, why do lighter isotopes evaporate more readily?

One of the proxies used for paleoclimate is the ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 in ice cores and in sedimentary rocks. The idea is that water molecules with oxygen-18 generally evaporate less readily ...
Michael Seifert's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
160 views

Can the enrichment of Uranium be done via manipulating the boiling/melting point difference between differing isotopes of the same element?

I have a Physics question for which I could not find the answer on the Internet, so I would like to see if y'all know the answer to it. I have found that heavy water will have a different boiling ...
Critical Mass's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
306 views

Long-lived, non-lethal radioisotope for fiction [closed]

I'm writing something where the characters are looking for someone among a large set of people. They don't know who this person is and they don't know what they're looking for, so their best bet is to ...
Nicola's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
287 views

What is the heaviest possible water using oxygen and hydrogen isotopes, and what might it's physical properties be? [closed]

After a cursory internet search, it appears to me that Hydrogen-3 (a part of Tritiated Water) is the heaviest stable* hydrogen isotope. Oxygen-21 is the heaviest isotope of Oxygen with a half-life of ...
Jay Glenn's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
118 views

Biological activity of the isotopes of the same element

I have a question regarding biological activity of different isotopes of the same elements, notably $\ce{^206Pb}$ and $\ce{^208Pb}$. Lead is known to be toxic, such that it can replace calcium from ...
hmm...'s user avatar
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-1 votes
1 answer
326 views

What does radioactive decay look like?

Some element isotopes have half-lives that are as short as a couple minutes to an hour. Does that mean you can watch it (or catch it on video) turn into 2 different elements? What would something like ...
Axis Omega's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
37 views

Normalising Kinetic Isotope Effect Per Deuterium Atom

I've synthesised a protic and deuterated version of a specific molecule where there are two deuterium atoms in the latter. I then go about and measure the kinetic isotope effect (KIE) for a reaction ...
Hazinga's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
2k views

How do we know the natural abundance of isotopes on Earth?

Without knowing the Average Atomic Mass or the percent abundance, how do we know that Protium is the most prevalent hydrogen isotope? What methods did scientists use to come to this conclusion? How ...
Gianna's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
30 views

isotopic composition database for carbon isotopes

I am seeking an isotopic composition database for carbon isotopes, since I would like to make a figure showing the different isotopic compositions of different materials. The best woudl be if the ...
Zorg's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
73 views

Probability of forming dihydrogen with molecular weight 3 [closed]

During a lecture, my professor told us that the probability $P$ to form a hydrogen molecule $\ce{H2}$ with mass number 3 could be calculated out of the abundances, $\gamma$, of the isotopes of this ...
Vicky's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
280 views

Who figured out that different isotopes have different numbers of neutrons?

I reasearched about the history of the discovery of neutrons and couldn't find who found out that isotopes are a change in the number of neutrons. Can you please tell me who it was that made this ...
Amruth Arunkumar's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
106 views

Why burn methane to CO2 for isotopic analyis?

I am wondering why mathane is burned to CO$_2$ for isotopic analysis, e.g with a mass spec? I have looked into several text books, they all describe how to do it but not why. Is it because of a ...
Zorg's user avatar
  • 95
-1 votes
1 answer
537 views

The unit of relative atomic mass [closed]

The mass of Carbon-12 atom is 12.0000000 a.m.u. For relative isotopic mass, e.g. Mg-24 atom is 24 compare with the c-12 as standard. However, why is it unitless? Shouldn't it be 24 a.m.u.?
Jessica 's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
110 views

How much D2O is in Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water?

I'm curious how much $\ce{D2O}$ (heavy water) is in Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water. I am interested in $\ce{D2O}$ molecules and not $\ce{HDO}$/$\ce{D+}$/ $\ce{DH2O+}$/$\ce{D2HO+}$/$\ce{D3O+}$ or any ...
darsie's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
247 views

Behavior of Natural Abundance and Mass Spec Ratios

The presence of sulfur in a mass spec is 96% and 4%. I believe this to be because the natural occurrence of sulfur isotopes are within these proportions. However, chlorine behaves in a 66%/33% ratio ...
Moobius Strip's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
163 views

An expression for equilibrium constant of isotope reaction

Consider the isotope exchange reaction: $$\ce{C ^{16}O + 1/2 ^{18}O {}^{18}O <=> C^{18}O + 1/2 ^{16}O^{16}O}$$ The equilibrium constant for the reaction is: $$K=\frac{\prod (a_i)^{n_i}_{products}...
2020's user avatar
  • 117
1 vote
0 answers
72 views

Why isn't carbon-14 included in CIAAW list of isotopic abundances? [closed]

According to Wikipedia, standard atomic weight is based on the published isotopic abundances of CIAAW: The standard atomic weight $(A_\mathrm{r},$ standard) of a chemical element is the weighted ...
Nathan Long's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
321 views

Do isotopes have the same ionization energy? [duplicate]

When learning about isotopes and IE in High School this question have come to my mind recently. I have asked the teacher, she told me that she read articles about it however could not come to a ...
Cfem's user avatar
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