Mondo Knows Facts
Isotopes differ only in their neutrons
Two atoms of one element can hold different numbers of neutrons and still behave alike An element is defined by its proton count, which fixes its chemical identity. Adding or removing neutrons gives an isotope with a different mass but nearly the same chemistry. Carbon-12 and carbon-14 are both carbon, yet only the second is radioactive. It sits in Mondo's science collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
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More facts like this
Atomic theory ran from Democritus to DaltonAn ancient guess about indivisible particles became measurable chemistryRutherford's gold foil found the nucleusA few alpha particles bounced back, revealing a tiny dense coreBohr put electrons into fixed shellsThe 1913 model explained the sharp lines seen in the hydrogen spectrumTransition metals form brightly coloured compoundsCopper sulfate is blue because its d electrons absorb part of the visible spectrumGlass is an amorphous solid, not a crystalGlass atoms freeze in place without the repeating order of a crystal latticeDry ice turns straight from solid to gasFrozen carbon dioxide skips the liquid stage at ordinary air pressure
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Tags: chemistry, atoms, isotopes
Isotopes differ only in their neutrons: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Two atoms of one element can hold different numbers of neutrons and still behave alike. The figure is taken from IUPAC, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a science fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.