What Is the Isotope of Phosphorus?
An isotope of a chemical element is an atom with a different atomic mass. There are 23 different isotopes of the chemical element phosphorus, but only one is stable. The others have radioactive properties with rapid decay rates. Some of the isotopes have half-lifes of days while most have half-lifes of nanoseconds. Both stable and a few unstable isotopes are used in scientific study, such as medical diagnosis and DNA studies. Definition Isotopes are atoms of a chemical element with different atomic masses. All atoms of the same chemical element have nuclei with the same number of protons, but isotopes of the element have different numbers of neutrons. This is what affects the atomic mass of the atom. Isotopes have their own individual mass numbers, equated from adding the number of protons and neutrons found in the isotope’s nucleus. For example, the mass numbers of the phosphorus isotope range from 24 to 46. History In 1913, J. J. Thomson was studying the composition of canal rays and
