Stable isotope tutorial
We at IsoForensics Inc. are interested in relating goods and materials to their geographic region-of-origin. We are also interested in investigating adulteration and synthesis processes in order to relate or discriminate manufactured items. The primary research tool we use in these investigations is stable isotope analysis.
What is a stable isotope?
Individual elements naturally occur in multiple forms called isotopes. Isotopes differ in the number of neutrons within the element's nucleus. Rarely these isotopes are unstable and referred to as radioactive isotopes. Most isotopes, however, are stable.
Consider the stable isotopes of the element hydrogen. As diagrammed below, hydrogen (H) atoms most commonly have a single proton in the nucleus and are referred to as 1H. In some cases a H atom will have an additional neutron within the nucleus and is referred to as 2H.
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