Nitrogen-9 nucleus

Table of Contents☰

About Nitrogen-9 nucleus

It is characterised by seven protons and two neutrons – which is an unusually high proton-to-neutron ratio.
This disparity has a critical effect on the isotope’s stability, influencing its decay processes as well as overall behaviour.
For one, the high proton content places nitrogen-9 atoms beyond the conventional stability thresholds.
Most nitrogen comes as the isotope nitrogen-14, with seven protons and seven neutrons. But physicists say they have glimpsed a far more elusive variant with just two neutrons.

What are Isotopes?

These are atoms of a given element that vary only in the number of neutrons. This difference sets apart one isotope from another.
Many isotopes are also unstable, especially those whose atoms have too few neutrons for the number of protons.
Unstable isotopes are short-lived, and often decay by releasing some energy to achieve a more stable configuration.

What are nuclides?

It is an analogous table for atomic nuclei characterised by a unique combination of protons and neutrons.
A table or chart of nuclides is a two-dimensional graph of isotopes of the elements.
One axis shows the number of neutrons (N) and the other shows the number of protons (Z) in each atomic nucleus.
Each point on the graph denotes a nuclide.

Q1) What are Neutrons?

Neutrons are electrically neutral particles with mass approximately equal to that of a hydrogen atom. High-energy neutrons are emitted from a chemical source. The neutrons collide with nuceli of the formation minerals in elastic-type collisions.

Source: Strong evidence’ unusual nitrogen-9 nucleus exists, scientists say