Unusual Nitrogen-9 Isotope: Strong evidence’ unusual nitrogen-9 nucleus exists, scientists say

Source: The post is based on the article “Unusual Nitrogen-9 Isotope: Strong evidence’ unusual nitrogen-9 nucleus exists, scientists say” published in “The Hindu” on 21st November 2023

Why in the News?

Scientists have discovered “strong evidence” for the existence of the unusual nitrogen-9 isotope.

What is Nitrogen-9?

Atoms of the nitrogen-9 isotope are characterized by seven protons and two neutrons.

Why is Nitrogen-9 special?

Nitrogen-9 is special because it has seven protons and only two neutrons, which is an unusual high ratio of protons to neutrons. 

This ratio significantly affects its stability, making its decay and behavior different from what’s expected. Its high proton count also puts it outside the typical stability range.

What are Isotopes?

Atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons are called Isotopes.

There are stable isotopes, which do not emit radiation and there are unstable isotopes which do emit radiation. The latter are called radioisotopes.

What are Drip Lines?

In the world of nuclear physics, there are stability limits. The ratio of protons-neutrons determines an atoms stability. Physicists make sense of such stability using drip lines. These lines mark the boundary beyond which adding more particles to a nucleus makes it unstable. 

Physicists have a good handle on the neutron drip line for the first 10 elements. For example, that oxygen’s heaviest particle-bound isotope is oxygen-24, with 16 bound neutrons. Beyond that 16, the nucleus becomes far too unstable.

What are Nuclides?

A Nuclide is a specific type of atom characterized by the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus which approximates the mass of the nuclide.

For example, carbon-12 is a nuclide of carbon with 6 protons and 6 neutrons.

Scientists have developed an analogous table which is a two-dimensional graph of isotopes of the elements. This is known as the nuclide chart.

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