Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in

their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element),
and that differ in nucleon numbers (mass numbers) due to different numbers of neutrons in their
nuclei. While all isotopes of a given element have almost the same chemical properties, they have
different atomic masses and physical properties.[1]

The term isotope is formed from the Greek roots isos (ἴσος "equal") and topos (τόπος "place"),
meaning "the same place"; thus, the meaning behind the name is that different isotopes of a single
element occupy the same position on the periodic table.[2] It was coined by Scottish doctor and
writer Margaret Todd in 1913 in a suggestion to chemist Frederick Soddy.

The number of protons within the atom's nucleus is called atomic number and is equal to the
number of electrons in the neutral (non-ionized) atom. Each atomic number identifies a specific
element, but not the isotope; an atom of a given element may have a wide range in its number of
neutrons. The number of nucleons (both protons and neutrons) in the nucleus is the atom's mass
number, and each isotope of a given element has a different mass number.

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.

Isotope vs. nuclide

A nuclide is a species of an atom with a specific number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus, for
example carbon-13 with 6 protons and 7 neutrons. The nuclide concept (referring to individual
nuclear species) emphasizes nuclear properties over chemical properties, whereas the isotope
concept (grouping all atoms of each element) emphasizes chemical over nuclear. The neutron
number has large effects on nuclear properties, but its effect on chemical properties is negligible for
most elements. Even for the lightest elements, whose ratio of neutron number to atomic number
varies the most between isotopes, it usually has only a small effect although it matters in some
circumstances (for hydrogen, the lightest element, the isotope effect is large enough to affect
biology strongly). The term isotopes (originally also isotopic elements,[3] now sometimes isotopic
nuclides[4]) is intended to imply comparison (like synonyms or isomers). For example, the nuclides
12

6C

, 13

6C

, 14

6C
are isotopes (nuclides with the same atomic number but different mass numbers[5]), but 40

18Ar

, 40

19K

, 40

20Ca

are isobars (nuclides with the same mass number[6]). However, isotope is the older term and so is
better known than nuclide and is still sometimes used in contexts in which nuclide might be more
appropriate, such as nuclear technology and nuclear medicine.

Notation
An isotope and/or nuclide is specified by the name of the particular element (this indicates the
atomic number) followed by a hyphen and the mass number (e.g. helium-3, helium-4, carbon-12,
carbon-14, uranium-235 and uranium-239).[7] When a chemical symbol is used, e.g. "C" for carbon,
standard notation (now known as "AZE notation" because A is the mass number, Z the atomic
number, and E for element) is to indicate the mass number (number of nucleons) with a superscript
at the upper left of the chemical symbol and to indicate the atomic number with a subscript at the
lower left (e.g. 3

2He

,4

2He

, 12

6C

, 14

6C

, 235

92U

, and 239

92U

).[8] Because the atomic number is given by the element symbol, it is common to state only the mass
number in the superscript and leave out the atomic number subscript (e.g. 3

He

,4

He
, 12

, 14

, 235

, and 239

). The letter m is sometimes appended after the mass number to indicate a nuclear isomer, a
metastable or energetically-excited nuclear state (as opposed to the lowest-energy ground state),
for example 180m

73Ta

(tantalum-180m).

The common pronunciation of the AZE notation is different from how it is written: 4

2He

is commonly pronounced as helium-four instead of four-two-helium, and 235

92U

as uranium two-thirty-five (American English) or uranium-two-three-five (British) instead of 235-92-

uranium.

Radioactive, primordial, and stable isotopes

Some isotopes/nuclides are radioactive, and are therefore referred to as radioisotopes or
radionuclides, whereas others have never been observed to decay radioactively and are referred to
as stable isotopes or stable nuclides. For example, 14

is a radioactive form of carbon, whereas 12

and 13

are stable isotopes. There are about 339 naturally occurring nuclides on Earth,[9] of which 286 are
primordial nuclides, meaning that they have existed since the Solar System's formation.
Primordial nuclides include 34 nuclides with very long half-lives (over 100 million years) and 252 that
are formally considered as "stable nuclides",[9] because they have not been observed to decay. In
most cases, for obvious reasons, if an element has stable isotopes, those isotopes predominate in
the elemental abundance found on Earth and in the Solar System. However, in the cases of three
elements (tellurium, indium, and rhenium) the most abundant isotope found in nature is actually
one (or two) extremely long-lived radioisotope(s) of the element, despite these elements having one
or more stable isotopes.

Theory predicts that many apparently "stable" isotopes/nuclides are radioactive, with extremely
long half-lives (discounting the possibility of proton decay, which would make all nuclides ultimately
unstable). Some stable nuclides are in theory energetically susceptible to other known forms of
decay, such as alpha decay or double beta decay, but no decay products have yet been observed,
and so these isotopes are said to be "observationally stable". The predicted half-lives for these
nuclides often greatly exceed the estimated age of the universe, and in fact, there are also 31 known
radionuclides (see primordial nuclide) with half-lives longer than the age of the universe.

Adding in the radioactive nuclides that have been created artificially, there are 3,339 currently
known nuclides.[10] These include 905 nuclides that are either stable or have half-lives longer than
60 minutes. See list of nuclides for details.