What are isotopes and why do some of them give off radiation?
Atom's Bedtime Story
What are isotopes and why do some of them give off radiation?
Every atom has a tiny center called a nucleus, and inside it live two kinds of crumbs: protons and neutrons. The number of protons decides what element you are — six protons make carbon, every single time. But the neutrons? They like to wander in and out, and that's where our story begins.
Isotopes are just the same element wearing different numbers of neutrons. Carbon-12 and carbon-14 are both carbon — same protons, same name, same chemistry. One simply packs two extra neutrons in its belly. Think of identical twins where one ate a bigger breakfast.
