Therefore, these elements undergo radioactivity. Unstable isotopes are atoms having unstable nuclei. Stable isotopes are naturally occurring forms of elements that are non-radioactive. ConclusionĪll elements on the earth can be divided into two groups as stable isotopes and unstable isotopes. Unstable Isotopes: The half-life of unstable isotope is short and can be calculate easily. Stable Isotopes: The half-life of a stable isotope is very long or it doesn’t have a half-life at all. Unstable Isotopes: Unstable isotopes are used in applications where radioactivity is important such as in DNA analysis. Stable Isotopes: Stable isotopes are used for applications where radioactivity should not be present. Unstable Isotopes:Magic numbers do not indicate the numbers of protons or electrons in unstable isotopes. Stable Isotopes:Magic numbers indicate the number of protons or number of neutrons present in the most stable isotopes. Unstable Isotopes:Unstable isotopes show radioactivity. Stable Isotopes: Stable isotopes do not show radioactivity. Unstable Isotopes:Unstable isotopes are atoms having unstable nuclei. Stable Isotopes: Stable isotopes are atoms having stable nuclei. Difference Between Stable and Unstable Isotopes Definition The half-life of a substance is defined as the time taken by that substance to become one half of its initial mass due to decay. In unstable isotopes, the radioactive decay can be measured by their half-life. For example, these can be used in determining the age of fossils, in DNA analysis, or for medicinal purposes, etc. Radioactive elements have many applications in research work.
Then two protons and two neutrons are emitted as a Helium atom. This indicates that the atomic mass is very high. Sometimes, there can be too many protons and too many electrons. A positron is similar to an electron but the electrical charge is +1. Here, a proton can be converted into a neutron and a positron. Some isotopes are unstable due to the presence of a high number of protons. The mass of the particle is given in the upper case number and the electrical charge is given in the lower case number. N is a neutron, p is a proton and e is an electron. Here, neutrons are converted into protons and electrons. In this type of isotopes, radioactive decay occurs in order to obtain a stable state. The presence of a high number of neutrons compared to the number of protons is one such reason. Other elements have both stable and unstable isotopes.Īn unstable element can be unstable due several reasons. Some elements such as Uranium has only radioactive isotopes. Therefore, they are also called radioactive isotopes. Unstable isotopes are atoms that have unstable nuclei. If the proton: neutron ratio fits the region for stable isotopes in that graph, then those isotopes are essentially stable. There is a standard graph of number of neutrons vs. Another way is to calculate the proton: neutron ratio. If a particular element has a magic number of protons or neutrons, they are stable isotopes.įurthermore, if the numbers of both protons and neutrons are even numbers, those isotopes are most probably stable. The magic number can be either the number of protons or the number of neutrons. The phenomenon of “ Magic numbers” is a concept in chemistry which describes the atomic numbers of most stable isotopes. The two main facts that determine the stability of nuclei are the ratio of protons to neutrons and the sum of protons and neutrons. For some elements such as Uranium, all isotopes are unstable. A particular element can have more than one stable isotope. Therefore, stable nuclei do not emit radiation. They are non-radioactive due to the stability of their nuclei. Stable isotopes are atoms having stable nuclei. Key Terms: Alpha Decay, Belt of Stability, Electrons, Helium, Isotopes, Magic Numbers, Neutrons, Protons, Radioactivity, Uranium What are Stable Isotopes What is the Difference Between Stable and Unstable Isotopes The main difference between stable and unstable isotopes is that stable isotopes have stable nuclei whereas unstable isotopes have unstable nuclei. Isotopes can be divided mainly into two groups as stable isotopes and unstable isotopes. Therefore, the atomic masses of isotopes are different from each other.
The atomic mass of an element is determined by the sum of the number of protons and the number of electrons. They differ from each other according to the number of neutrons they have in their nuclei. Isotopes of the same element have the same atomic number since they are different forms of the same element. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have different atomic structures. Main Difference – Stable vs Unstable Isotopes
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