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The neutron number (symbol N) is the number of neutrons in a nuclide. Atomic number (proton number) plus neutron number equals mass number: Z + N = A. The difference between the neutron number and the atomic number is known as the neutron excess: D = N − Z = A − 2Z. Neutron number is not written explicitly in nuclide symbol notation, but ...
The mass number is different for each isotope of a given chemical element, and the difference between the mass number and the atomic number Z gives the number of neutrons (N) in the nucleus: N = A − Z. [2] The mass number is written either after the element name or as a superscript to the left of an element's symbol.
The number of neutrons is the neutron number. Neutrons do not affect the electron configuration. Atoms of a chemical element that differ only in neutron number are called isotopes. For example, carbon, with atomic number 6, has an abundant isotope carbon-12 with 6 neutrons and a rare isotope carbon-13 with 7 neutrons.
A set of nuclides with equal proton number (atomic number), i.e., of the same chemical element but different neutron numbers, are called isotopes of the element. Particular nuclides are still often loosely called "isotopes", but the term "nuclide" is the correct one in general (i.e., when Z is not fixed).
In physics, mirror nuclei are a pair of isobars of two different elements where the number of protons of isobar one (Z 1) equals the number of neutrons of isobar two (N 2) and the number of protons of isotope two (Z 2) equals the number of neutrons in isotope one (N 1); in short: Z 1 = N 2 and Z 2 = N 1.
A little more than three-quarters of naturally occurring elements exist as a mixture of isotopes (see monoisotopic elements), and the average isotopic mass of an isotopic mixture for an element (called the relative atomic mass) in a defined environment on Earth determines the element's standard atomic weight. Historically, it was these atomic ...
Monoisotopic elements are characterized, except in one case, by odd numbers of protons (odd Z), and even numbers of neutrons. Because of the energy gain from nuclear pairing, the odd number of protons imparts instability to isotopes of an odd Z , which in heavier elements requires a completely paired set of neutrons to offset this tendency into ...
The number of nucleons (both protons and neutrons) in the nucleus is the atom's mass number, and each isotope of a given element has a different mass number. For example, carbon-12 , carbon-13 , and carbon-14 are three isotopes of the element carbon with mass numbers 12, 13, and 14, respectively.