Isotopes (1)
.docxIsotopes. The diversity of their application
To begin with, The word “isotope” is derived from the Greek “isos”, “topos” and means the same place.
For example, carbon-12, carbon-13 and carbon-14 are three isotopes of the element carbon with mass numbers 12, 13 and 14 respectively. The atomic number of carbon is 6, which means that every carbon atom has 6 protons, so that the neutron numbers of these isotopes are 6, 7 and 8 respectively.
It is a well-known fact that , Isotopes occur with considerably greater frequency in other elements than in hydrogen, an extreme case being chlorine, its atomic weight being 35.5. It is made up of two groups of atoms in a ratio of 3 : 1, the weight of one group being 35, that of the other 37.
Applications of isotopes
Firstly, I'm going to tell you about Purification of isotopes. Several applications exist that capitalize on properties of the various isotopes of a given element. Isotope separation is a significant technological challenge, particularly with heavy elements such as uranium or plutonium.
Secondly, Use of chemical and biological properties. For example, Isotopic substitution can be used to determine the mechanism of a chemical reaction via the kinetic isotope effect.
Thirdly, Use of nuclear properties. Several forms of spectroscopy rely on the unique nuclear properties of specific isotopes, both radioactive and stable. For example, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy can be used only for isotopes with a nonzero nuclear spin. The most common isotopes used with NMR spectroscopy are 1H, 2D,15N, 13C, and 31P.
In conclusion, I want to say that, The chemical properties of isotopes being identical with those of regular atoms, their discovery was of little interest to chemists. Physicists, however, got interested in them, a new way of approaching to the structure of matter being opened.
Краткий словарь:
to derive - получать, извлекать
extreme - крайний, предельный
to make up - составлять
source -источник, начало
to accelerate - ускорять
to give rise to -вызывать
identical -тот же самый
diverse - иной, отличный