There are stable isotopes, which do not emit radiation, and there are unstable isotopes, which do emit radiation. The latter are called radioisotopes. (Graphic: A. Vargas/IAEA) Nuclear techniques are ...

Atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes. They share almost the same chemical properties, but differ in mass and therefore in physical properties.

The precursors of heavy elements might arise in the plasma underbellies of swollen stars or in smoldering stellar corpses.

Demand for the ornaments, jewelry, and other luxury items carved from the ivory in elephant tusks has led poachers to ...

A carbon-14 isotope has one more neutron than carbon-13, for example. Some isotopes are stable and some are unstable. Unstable isotopes decay into other isotopes or elements through radioactive decay.

FRIB moves stable atoms through a 1,600-foot linear accelerator shaped like a giant paper clip, ... Many isotopes are very unstable and can exist in that form for only a very short time; ...

Light stable isotopes are widely used in forensic sciences (in the broadest sense) to determine habitats, biochemical processes, diets, the hydrological cycle, and climate change. The goal of this ...

A carbon-14 isotope has one more neutron than carbon-13, for example. Some isotopes are stable and some are unstable. Unstable isotopes decay into other isotopes or elements through radioactive decay.