Glossary:Isotope

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Isotope
Atoms are formed of a nucleus of protons (these have a positive charge and a mass) and neutrons (these have mass but no charge), surrounded by a cloud of electrons (negative charge and insignificant mass).

Isotopes of the same element - e.g. of carbon - contain different numbers of neutrons and hence have different atomic weights (eg. C-12, C-13, C-14) but they contain the same number of protons giving them the same charge and atomic number; for carbon this is 6.

Isotopes of the same element have similar chemical properties but the differences in mass can cause physical fractionation dring some physical or biological processes. This fractionation can lead to the relative enrichment on one isotope relative to its concentration in the wider environment.

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