ISOTOPES

CONCEPT

Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have different masses due to differences in the number of neutrons they contain. Many isotopes are stable, meaning that they are not subject to radioactive decay, but many more are radioactive. The latter, also known as radioisotopes, play a significant role in modern life. Carbon-14, for instance, is used for estimating the age of objects within a relatively recent span of time—up to about 5,000 years—whereas geologists and other scientists use uranium-238 to date minerals of an age on a scale with that of the Earth. Concerns over nuclear power and nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere have heightened awareness of the dangers posed by certain kinds of radioactive isotopes, which can indeed be hazardous to human life. However, the reality is that people are subjected to considerably more radiation from non-nuclear sources.

HOW IT WORKS

Atoms and Elements

The elements are substances that cannot be broken down into other matter by chemical means, and an atom is the fundamental particle in an element. As of 2001, there were 112 known elements, 88 of which occur in nature; the rest were created in laboratories. Due to their high levels of radioactivity, they exist only for extremely short periods of time. Whatever the number of elements—and obviously that number will increase over time, as new elements are synthesized—the same number of basic atomic structures exists in the universe.

What distinguishes one element from another is the number of protons, subatomic particles with a positive electric charge, in the nucleus, or center, of the atom. The number of protons, whatever it may be, is unique to an element. Thus if an atom has one proton, it is an atom of hydrogen, because hydrogen has an atomic number of 1, as shown on the periodic table of elements. If an atom has 109 protons, on the other hand, it is meitnerium. (Meitnerium, synthesized at a German laboratory in 1982, is the last element on the periodic table to have been assigned a name as of 2001.)

THE NUCLEUS AND ELECTRONS.

Together with protons in the nucleus are neutrons, which exert no charge. The discovery of these particles, integral to the formation of isotopes, is discussed below. The nucleus, with a diameter about 1/10,000 that of the atom itself, makes up only a tiny portion of the atom's volume, but the vast majority of its mass. Thus a change in the mass of a nucleus, as occurs when an isotope is formed, is reflected by a noticeable change in the mass of the atom itself.

Far from the nucleus (in relative terms, of course), at the perimeter of the atom, are the electrons, which have a negative electric charge. Whereas the protons and neutrons have about the same mass, the mass of an electron is less than 0.06% of either a proton or neutron. Nonetheless, electrons play a highly significant role in chemical reactions and chemical bonding. Just as isotopes are the result of changes in the number of neutrons, ions—atoms that are either positive or negative in electric charge—are the result of changes in the number of electrons.

Unless it loses or gains an electron, thus becoming an ion, an atom is neutral in charge, and it maintains this electric-charge neutrality by having an equal number of protons and electrons. There is, however, no law of the universe stating that an atom must have the same number of neutrons as it does protons and electrons: some do, but this is far from universal, as we shall see.

Neutrons

The number of neutrons is variable within an element precisely because they exert no charge, and thus while their addition or removal changes the mass, it does not affect the electric charge of the atom. Therefore, whereas the importance of the proton and the electron is very clear to anyone who studies atomic behavior, neutrons, on the other hand, might seem at first glance as though they are only "along for the ride." Yet they are all-important to the formation of isotopes.

Not surprisingly, given their lack of electric charge, neutrons were the last of the three major subatomic particles to be discovered. English physicist J. J. Thomson (1856-1940) identified the electron in 1897, and another English physicist, Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937), discovered the proton in 1914. Rutherford's discovery overturned the old "plum pudding" model, whereby atoms were depicted as consisting of electrons floating in a positively charged cloud, rather like raisins in an English plum pudding. As Rutherford showed, the atom must have a nucleus—yet protons alone could not account for the mass of the nucleus.

There must be something else at the heart of the atom, and in 1932, yet another English physicist, James Chadwick (1891-1974), identified what it was. Working with radioactive material, he found that a certain type of subatomic particle could penetrate lead. All types of radiation known at the time were stopped by the lead, and therefore Chadwick reasoned that this particle must be neutral in charge. In 1932, he won the Nobel Prize in physics for his discovery of the neutron.

NEUTRONS AND NUCLEAR FUSION.

Neutrons played a critical role in the development of the atomic bomb during the 1940s. In nuclear fission, atoms of uranium are bombarded with neutrons. The result is that the uranium nucleus splits in half, releasing huge amounts of energy. As it does so, it emits several extra neutrons, which split more uranium nuclei, creating still more energy and setting off a chain reaction.

This explains the destructive power in an atomic bomb, as well as the constructive power—providing energy to homes and businesses—in a nuclear power plant. Whereas the chain reaction in an atomic bomb becomes an uncontrolled explosion, in a nuclear plant, the reaction is slowed and controlled. One of the means used to do this is by the application of "heavy water," which, as we shall see, is water made with a hydrogen isotope.

Isotopes: The Basics

Two atoms may have the same number of protons, and thus be of the same element, yet differ in their number of neutrons. Such atoms are called isotopes, atoms of the same element having different masses. The name comes from the Greek phrase isos topos, meaning "same place": because they have the same atomic number, isotopes of the same element occupy the same position on the periodic table.

Also called nuclides, isotopes are represented symbolically as follows: where S is the symbol of the element, a is the atomic number, and m is the mass number—the sum of protons and neutrons in the atom's nucleus. For the stable silver isotope designated as for instance, Ag is the element symbol; 47 its atomic number; and 93 the mass number. From this, it is easy to discern that this particular stable isotope has 46 neutrons in its nucleus.

Because the atomic number of any element is established, sometimes isotopes are represented simply with the mass number, thus: ⁹³Ag. They may also be designated with a subscript notation indicating the number of neutrons, so that this information can be obtained at a glance without having to do the arithmetic. For the silver isotope shown here, this is written as Isotopes can also be indicated by simple nomenclature: for instance, carbon-12 or carbon-13.

Stable and Unstable Isotopes

Radioactivity is a term describing a phenomenon whereby certain materials are subject to a form of decay brought about by the emission of high-energy particles or radiation. Forms of particles or energy emitted in radiation include alpha particles (positively charged helium nuclei); beta particles (either electrons or subatomic particles called positrons); or gamma rays, which occupy the highest energy level in the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the Sun. Radioactivity will be discussed below, but for the present, the principal concern is with radioactive properties as a distinguishing factor between the two varieties of isotope.

Isotopes are either stable or unstable. The unstable variety, known as radioisotopes, are subject to radioactive decay, but in this context, "decay" does not mean what it usually does. A radioisotope does not "rot"; it decays by turning into another isotope of the same element—or even into another element entirely. (For example, uranium-238 decays by emitting alpha particles, ultimately becoming lead-206.) A stable isotope, on the other hand, has already become what it is going to be, and will not experience further decay.

Most elements have between two and six stable isotopes. On the other hand, a few elements—for example, technetium—have no stable isotopes. Twenty elements, among them gold, fluorine, sodium, aluminum, and phosphorus, have only one stable isotope each. The element with the most stable isotopes is easy to remember because its name is almost the same as its number of stable isotopes: tin, with 10.

As for unstable isotopes, there are over 1,000, some of which exist in nature, but most of which have been created synthetically in laboratories. This number is not fixed; in any case, it is not necessarily important, because many of these highly radioactive isotopes last only for fractions of a second before decaying to form a stable isotope. Yet radioisotopes in general have so many uses, in comparison to stable isotopes, that they are often referred to simply as "isotopes."

Understanding Isotopes

Before proceeding with a discussion of isotopes and their uses, it is necessary to address a point raised earlier, when it was stated that some atoms do have the same numbers of neutrons and protons, but that this is far from universal. In fact, nuclear stability is in part a function of neutron-to-proton ratio.

Stable nuclei with low atomic numbers (up to about 20) have approximately the same number of neutrons and protons. For example, the most stable and abundant form of carbon is carbon-12, with six protons and six neutrons. Beyond atomic number 20 or so, however, the number of neutrons begins to grow: in other words, the lowest mass number is increasingly high in comparison to the atomic number.

For example, uranium has an atomic number of 92, but the lowest mass number for a uranium isotope is not 184, or 92 multiplied by two; it is 218. The ratio of neutrons to protons necessary for a stable isotope creeps upward along the periodic table: tin, with an atomic number of 50, has a stable isotope with a mass number of 120, indicating a 1.4 to 1 ratio of neutrons to protons. For mercury-200, the ratio is 1.5 to 1.

The higher the atomic number, by definition, the greater the number of protons in the nucleus. This means that more neutrons are required to "bind" the nucleus together. In fact, all nuclei with 84 protons or more (i.e., starting at polonium and moving along the periodic table) are radioactive, for the simple reason that it is increasingly difficult for the neutrons to with stand the strain of keeping so many protons in place.

One can predict the mode of radioactive decay by noting whether the nucleus is neutron-rich or neutron-poor. Neutron-rich nuclei undergo beta emission, which decreases the numbers of protons in the nucleus. Neutron-poor nuclei typically undergo positron emission or electron capture, the first of these being more prevalent among the lighter nuclei. Elements with atomic numbers of 84 or greater generally undergo alpha emission, which decreases the numbers of protons and neutrons by two each.

REAL-LIFE APPLICATIONS

Deuterium and Tritium

Only three isotopes are considered significant enough to have names of their own, as opposed to being named after a parent atom (for example, carbon-12, uranium-238). These are protium, deuterium, and tritium, all three isotopes of hydrogen. Protium, or ¹H, is hydrogen in its most basic form—one proton, no neutrons—and the name "protium" is only applied when necessary to distinguish it from the other two isotopes. Therefore we will focus primarily on the two others.

Deuterium, designated as ²H, is a stable isotope, whereas tritium—³H—is radioactive. Both, in fact, have chemical symbols (D and T respectively), just as though they were elements on the periodic table. What makes these two so special? They are, as it were, "the products of a good home"—in other words, their parent atom is the most basic and plentiful element in the universe. Indeed, the vast majority of the universe is hydrogen, along with helium, which is formed by the fusion of hydrogen atoms. If all atoms were numbers, then hydrogen would be 1; but of course, this is more than a metaphor, since its atomic number is indeed 1.

Ordinary hydrogen or protium, as noted, consists of a single proton and a single electron, the simplest possible atomic form possible. Its simplicity has made it a model for understanding the atom, and therefore when physicists discovered the existence of two hydrogen atoms that were just a bit more complex, they were intrigued.

Just as hydrogen represented the standard against which atoms could be measured, scientists reasoned, deuterium and tritium could offer valuable information regarding stable and unstable isotopes respectively. Furthermore, the pronounced tendency of hydrogen to bond with other substances—it almost never appears by itself on Earth—presented endless opportunities for study regarding hydrogen isotopes in association with other elements.

ISOLATION OF DEUTERIUM.

Deuterium is sometimes called "heavy hydrogen," and its nucleus—with one proton and one neutron—is called a deuteron. It was first isolated in 1931 by American chemist Harold Clayton Urey (1893-1981), who was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery.

Serving at that time as a professor of chemistry at Columbia University in New York City, Urey started with the assumption that any hydrogen isotopes other than protium must exist in very minute quantities. This assumption, in turn, followed from an awareness that hydrogen's average atomic mass—measured in atomic mass units—was only slightly higher than 1. There must be, as Urey correctly reasoned, a very small quantity of "heavy hydrogen" on Earth.

To separate deuterium, Urey collected a relatively large sample of liquid hydrogen: 4.2 quarts (4 l). Then he allowed the liquid to evaporate very slowly, predicting that the more abundant protium would evaporate more quickly than the isotope whose existence he had hypothesized. After all but 0.034 oz (1 ml) of the sample had evaporated, he submitted the remainder to a form of analysis called spectroscopy, adding a burst of energy to the atoms and then analyzing the light spectrum they emitted for evidence of differing varieties of atom.

CHARACTERISTICS AND USES OF DEUTERIUM.

Deuterium, with an atomic mass of 2.014102 amu, is almost exactly twice as heavy as protium, which has an atomic mass of 1.007825. Its melting point, or the temperature at which it changes from a solid to a liquid −426°F (−254°C), is much higher than for protium, which melts at −434°F (−259°C). The same relationship holds for its boiling point, or the temperature at which it changes from a liquid to its normal state on Earth, as a gas: −417°F (−249°C), as compared to −423°F (−253°C) for protium. Deuterium is also much, much less plentiful than protium: protium represents 99.985% of all the hydrogen that occurs naturally, meaning that deuterium accounts for just 0.015%.

Often, deuterium is applied as a tracer, an atom or group of atoms whose participation in a chemical, physical, or biological reaction can be easily observed. Radioisotopes are most often used as tracers, precisely because of their radioactive emissions; deuterium, on the other hand, is effective due to its almost 2:1 mass ratio in comparison to protium. In addition, it bonds with other atoms in a fashion slightly different from that of protium, and this contrast makes its presence easier to trace.

Its higher boiling and melting points mean that when deuterium is combined with oxygen to form "heavy water" (D₂O), the water likewise has higher boiling and melting points than ordinary water. Heavy water is often used in nuclear fission reactors to slow down the fission process, or the splitting of atoms.

DEUTERIUM IN NUCLEAR FUSION.

Deuterium is also applied in a type of nuclear reaction much more powerful that fission: fusion, or the joining of atomic nuclei. The Sun produces energy by fusion, a thermonuclear reaction that takes places at temperatures of many millions of degrees Celsius. In solar fusion, it appears that two protium nuclei join to form a single deuteron.

During the period shortly after World War II, physicists developed a means of duplicating the thermonuclear fusion process. The result was the hydrogen bomb—more properly called a fusion bomb—whose detonating device was a compound of lithium and deuterium called lithium deuteride. Vastly more powerful than the "atomic" (that is, fission) bombs dropped by the United States over Japan in 1945, the hydrogen bomb greatly increased the threat of worldwide nuclear annihilation in the postwar years.

Yet the power that could destroy the world also has the potential to provide safe, abundant fusion energy from power plants—a dream that as yet remains unrealized. Among the approaches being attempted by physicists studying nuclear fusion is a process in which two deuterons are fused. The result is a triton, the nucleus of tritium, along with a single proton. The triton and deuteron would then be fused to create a helium nucleus, with a resulting release of vast amounts of energy.

TRITIUM.

Whereas deuterium has a single neutron, tritium—as its mass number of 3 indicates—has two. And just as deuterium has approximately twice the mass of protium, tritium has about three times the mass, 3.016 amu. As is expected, the thermal properties of tritium are different from those of protium. Again, the melting and boiling points are higher: thus tritium heavy water (T₂O) melts at 40°F (4.5°C), as compared with 32°F (0°C) for H₂O.

Because it is radioactive, tritium is often described in terms of half-life, the length of time it takes for a substance to diminish to one-half its initial amount. The half-life of tritium is 12.26 years. As it decays, its nucleus emits a low-energy beta particle, and this results in the creation of the helium-3 isotope. Due to the low energy levels involved, the radioactive decay of tritium poses little danger to humans.

Like deuterium, tritium is applied in nuclear fusion, though due to its scarcity, it is usually combined with deuterium. Furthermore, tritium decay requires that hydrogen bombs containing the radioisotope be recharged periodically. Also, like deuterium, tritium is an effective tracer. Sometimes it is released in small quantities into groundwater as a means of monitoring subterranean water flow. It is also used as a tracer in biochemical processes.

Separating Isotopes

As noted in the discussion of deuterium, tritium can only be separated from protium due to the differences in mass. The chemical properties of isotopes with the same parent element make them otherwise indistinguishable, and hence purely chemical means cannot be used to separate them.

Physicists working on the Manhattan Project, the U.S. effort to develop atomic weaponry during World War II, were faced with the need to separate ²³⁵U from ²³⁸U. Uranium-238 is far more abundant, but what they wanted was the uranium-235, highly fissionable and thus useful in the processes they were attempting.

Their solution was to allow a gaseous uranium compound to diffuse, or separate, the uranium through porous barriers. Because uranium-238 was heavier, it tended to move more slowly through the barriers, much like grains of rice getting caught in a sifter. Another means of separating isotopes is by mass spectrometry.

Radioactivity

One of the scientists working on the Manhattan Project was Italian physicist Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), who used radium and beryllium powder to construct a neutron source for making new radioactive materials. Fermi and his associates succeeded in producing radioisotopes of sodium, iron, copper, gold, and numerous other elements. As a result of Fermi's work, for which he won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics, scientists have been able to develop radioactive versions of virtually all elements.

Interestingly, the ideas of radioactivity, fission reactions, and fusion reactions collectively represent the realization of a goal sought by the medieval alchemists: the transformation of one element into another. The alchemists, forerunners of chemists, believed they could transform ordinary metals into gold by using various potions—an impossible dream. Yet as noted in the preceding paragraph, among the radioisotopes generated by Fermi's neutron source was gold. The "catch," of course, is that this gold was unstable; furthermore, the amount of energy and human mental effort required to generate it far outweighed the monetary value of the gold itself.

Radioactivity is, in the modern imagination, typically associated with fallout from nuclear war, or with hazards resulting from nuclear power—hazards that, as it turns out, have been greatly exaggerated. Nor is radioactivity always harmful to humans. For instance, with its applications in medicine—as a means of diagnosing and treating thyroid problems, or as a treatment for cancer patients—it can actually save lives.

HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH RADIOACTIVITY.

It is a good thing that radiation, even the harmful variety known as ionizing radiation, is not fatal in small doses, because every person on Earth is exposed to small quantities of radiation every year. About 82% of this comes from natural sources, and 18% from manmade sources. Of course, some people are at much greater risk of radiation exposure than others: coal miners are exposed to higher levels of the radon-222 isotope present underground, while cigarette smokers ingest much higher levels of radiation than ordinary people, due to the polonium-210, lead-210, and radon-222 isotopes present in the nitrogen fertilizers used to grow tobacco.

Nuclear weapons, as most people know, produce a great deal of radioactive pollution. However, atmospheric testing of nuclear armaments has long been banned, and though the isotopes released in such tests are expected to remain in the atmosphere for about a century, they do not constitute a significant health hazard to most Americans. (It should be noted that nations not inclined to abide by international protocols might still conduct atmospheric tests in defiance of the test bans.) Nuclear power plants, despite the great deal of attention they have received from the media and environmentalist groups, do not pose the hazard that has often been claimed: in fact, coal-and oil-burning power plants are responsible for far more radioactive pollution in the United States.

This is not to say that nuclear energy poses no dangers, as the disaster at Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union has shown. In April 1986, an accident at a nuclear reactor in what is now the Ukraine killed 31 workers immediately, and ultimately led to the deaths of some 10,000 people. The fact that the radiation was allowed to spread had much to do with the secretive tactics of the Communist government, which attempted to cover up the problem rather than evacuate the area.

Another danger associated with nuclear power plants is radioactive waste. Spent fuel rods and other waste products from these plants have to be dumped somewhere, but it cannot simply be buried in the ground because it will create a continuing health hazard through the water supply. No fully fail-safe storage system has been developed, and the problem of radioactive waste poses a continuing threat due to the extremely long half-lives of some of the isotopes involved.

Dating Techniques

In addition to their uses in applications related to nuclear energy, isotopes play a significant role in dating techniques. The latter may sound like a subject that has something to do with romance, but it does not: dating techniques involve the use of materials, including isotopes, to estimate the age of both organic and inorganic materials.

Uranium-238, for instance, has a half-life of 4.47 · 10⁹ years, which is nearly the age of Earth; in fact, uranium-dating techniques have been used to determine the planet's age, which is estimated at about 4.7 billion years. As noted elsewhere in this volume, potassium-argon dating, which involves the isotopes potassium-40 and argon-40, has been used to date volcanic layers in east Africa. Because the half-life of potassium-40 is 1.3 billion years, this method is useful for dating activities that are distant in the human scale of time, but fairly recent in geological terms.

Another dating technique is radiocarbon dating, used for estimating the age of things that were once alive. All living things contain carbon, both in the form of the stable isotope carbon-12 and the radioisotope carbon-14. While a plant or animal is living, there is a certain proportion between the amounts of these two isotopes in the organism's body, with carbon-12 being far more abundant. When the organism dies, however, it ceases to acquire new carbon, and the carbon-14 present in the body begins to decay into nitrogen-14. The amount of nitrogen-14 that has been formed is thus an indication of the amount of time that has passed since the organism was alive.

Because it has a half-life of 5,730 years, carbon-14 is useful for dating activities within the span of human history, though it is not without controversy. Some scientists contend, for instance, that samples may be contaminated by carbon from the surrounding soils, thus affecting ratios and leading to inaccurate dates.

WHERE TO LEARN MORE

"Carbon 14 Dating Calculator" (Web site). <http://www.museum.mq.edu.au/eegypt2/carbdate.html> (May 15, 2001).

Ebbing, Darrell D.; R. A. D. Wentworth; and James P. Birk. Introductory Chemistry. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995.

"Exploring the Table of Isotopes" (Web site). <http://ie.lbl.gov/education/isotopes.htm> (May 15, 2001).

Goldstein, Natalie. The Nature of the Atom. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 2001.

"The Isotopes" (Web site). <http://chemlab.pc.maricopa.edu/periodic/isotopes.html> (May 15, 2001).

"Isotopes" University of Colorado Department of Physics (Web site). <http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/isotopes/index.html> (May 15, 2001).

Milne, Lorus Johnson and Margery Milne. Understanding Radioactivity. Illustrated by Bill Hiscock. New York: Atheneum, 1989.

Smith, Norman F. Millions and Billions of Years Ago: Dating Our Earth and Its Life. New York: F. Watts, 1993.

"Stable Isotope Group." Martek Biosciences (Web site). <http://www.martekbio.com/frmain.htm> (May 15, 2001).

"Tracking with Isotopes" (Web site). <http://whyfiles.org/083isotope/2.html> (May 15, 2001).

KEY TERMS

ATOM:

The smallest particle of an element. Atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Atoms that have the same number of protons—that is, are of the same element—but differ in number of neutrons are known as isotopes.

ATOMIC MASS UNIT:

An SI unit (abbreviated amu), equal to 1.66 · 10⁻²⁴ g, for measuring the mass of atoms.

ATOMIC NUMBER:

The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. Since this number is different for each element, elements are listed on the periodic table of elements in order of atomic number.

AVERAGE ATOMIC MASS:

A figure used by chemists to specify the mass—in atomic mass units—of the average atom in a large sample.

ELEMENT:

A substance made up of only one kind of atom. Hence an element cannot be chemically broken into other substances.

ELECTRON:

Negatively charged particles in an atom, which spin around the protons and neutrons that make up the atom's nucleus.

HALF-LIFE:

The length of time it takes a substance to diminish to one-half its initialamount.

ION:

An atom or atoms that has lost or gained one or more electrons, and thus has a net electric charge.

ISOTOPES:

Atoms that have an equal number of protons, and hence are of the same element, but differ in their number of neutrons. This results in a difference ofmass. Isotopes may be either stable or unstable. The latter type is known as aradioisotope.

NEUTRON:

A subatomic particle that has no electric charge. Neutrons are found at the nucleus of an atom, alongside protons.

NUCLEUS:

The center of an atom, a region where protons and neutrons are located, and around which electrons spin. The plural of "nucleus" is nuclei.

NUCLIDES:

Another name for isotopes.

PERIODIC TABLE OF ELEMENTS:

A chart that shows the elements arranged in order of atomic number.

PROTON:

A positively charged particle in an atom. Protons and neutrons, which together form the nucleus around which electrons spin, have approximately the same mass—a mass that is many times greater than that of an electron. The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is the atomic number of an element.

RADIATION:

In a general sense, radiation can refer to anything that travels in astream, whether that stream be composed of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves. In a more specific sense, the term relates to the radiation from radio active materials, which can be harmful to humanbeings.

RADIOACTIVITY:

A term describing a phenomenon whereby certain materials are subject to a form of decay brought about by the emission of high-energy particles or radiation, including alpha particles, beta particles, or gamma rays.

RADIOISOTOPE:

An isotope subject to the decay associated with radioactivity. A radioisotope is thus an unstable isotope.

TRACER:

An atom or group of atoms whose participation in a chemical, physical, or biological reaction can be easilyobserved. Radioisotopes are often used astracers.

isotopes Forms of elements with the same chemical properties, differing in atomic mass because of differing numbers of neutrons in the nucleus. Thus, hydrogen has three isotopes, of atomic masses 1, 2, and 3, generally written as ¹H, ²H (deuterium), and ³H (tritium). ¹H is the most abundant isotope of hydrogen; ²H is stable, while ³H is radioactive.

Radioactive isotopes are unstable, and decay to stable elements, emitting radiation in the process. This may be α‐radiation, β‐radiation (electrons), γ‐radiation, or X‐rays, depending on the isotope. The time taken for half the radioactivity to decay is the half‐life of the isotope, and can vary from a fraction of a second, through several days to years (e.g. the half‐life of ³H is 12½ years, that of ¹⁴C is 5200 years).

Stable isotopes can be detected only by their different atomic mass. Since they emit no radiation, they are safe for use in labelled compounds given to human beings. Examples of stable isotopes commonly used in nutrition research include ²H, ¹³C, ¹⁵N, and ¹⁸O.

isotope One of two or more atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons in their nucleus but different numbers of neutrons. Hydrogen (1 proton, no neutrons), deuterium (1 proton, 1 neutron), and tritium (1 proton, 2 neutrons) are isotopes of hydrogen. Most elements in nature consist of a mixture of isotopes.