Isotopes are atoms of the same element with same number of protons but different number of neutrons. They have same chemical properties as they have same number of electrons hence same electronic configuration. Their physical properties are different due to a difference in mass number.
Isotopes
1. have same atomic number
2. have different mass number
Some common elements which have isotopes are:
Hydrogen, Carbon, Chlorine
Different isotopes have a wide range of applications in different fields like radiotherapy (cobalt-60), power generation (uranium-235), archaeology (carbon-14) etc. These are explained in more detail as follows:
