All About the Atomic Species (Isotopes, Isobars, Isotones, Isoelectronic)

In the year 1803, the chemist John Dalton proposed that all matter consisted of small unbreakable bits known as atoms. Each atom is composed of three elementary particles called neutrons, protons, and electrons, which were subsequently found. The total mass of neutrons, protons, and electrons found in an atom determines its mass number or atomic number. There are several atomic species centred on this. They are known as isotopes, isotones, isobars, and isoelectronic.

A primary distinction between isotopes, isotones, and isobars is that isotopes are referred to the atoms having an alike amount of protons, but a different quantity of neutrons, whereas isobars are referred to the atoms of specific chemical components with equal atomic mass values, and isotones are referred to the atoms of distinct chemical components with an equivalent amount of neutrons inside the nucleus of the atom.

What do you mean by Isotopes?

• Isotopes are referred to as atoms with different densities of neutrons in the very same chemical substance. 
• As a result, whereas isotopes from the same chemical substance have an identical atomic number, they have distinct atomic weights.
• The atomic number of a particular atom is determined by the density of protons in that atom. The mass of protons in a chemical substance is constant. 
• As a result, the atomic number of different atoms hailing from alike chemical substances is comparable to one another. 
• Isotopes are thus atoms from the same chemical substance. 
• The atomic mass can be determined by the aggregate amount of neutrons and protons. The atomic masses of isotopes differ.
• Isotopes of the same chemical substance have similar chemical activity, but their physical qualities differ. 
• There are isotopes of almost every chemical substance. There are almost 275 confirmed isotopes of around 81 stable chemical components. 
• There are both stable isotopes and radioactive isotopes of each chemical element.
• The label of an isotope is derived from the chemical component’s nomenclature and the isotope’s atomic weight. Helium’s two isotopes, for instance, are designated as “helium-4” & “helium-2.”

What do you mean by Isobars?

• Isobars are referred to atoms from distinct chemical components. As a result, atomic numbers remain fundamentally different.
• Isobars are referred to atoms with equal atomic masses from distinct chemical substances. The total of an atom’s neutrons and protons is known as its atomic mass. A nucleon is defined as a neutron or a proton. Isobars contain an equal amount of nucleons as one another.
• Since various chemical components have a varying number of atoms, the atomic numbers of their isobars also differ. 
• According to the Mattauch rule of isobars, if two neighbouring components from the periodic table contain isotopes with an alike mass number ( known as isobars), at least one isotope would definitely be radioactive. 
• Whenever three successive isobars occur, the first, as well as final isobars, are generally stable, but the intermediate one might suffer radioactive decay. 
• The isobar series seems to be a grouping of isotopes having identical atomic masses.

What do you mean by Isotones?

• Isotones are referred to as the atoms of various elements with the same density of neutrons in their nucleus. Isotones possess various atomic numbers (owing to the varying density of protons in their nucleus) and atomic masses. We can express it as mentioned below:

Z is the atomic number

A is referred to the atomic mass

The number of neutrons is denoted by the symbol N.

A is not equal to Z but (A-Z)=N for every isotone in a single series.

What do you mean by Isoelectronic?

• Isoelectronic species refer to ions or atoms that have the same density of electrons. The density of electrons is about identical in all isoelectronic species, however, the components would change.
•  It is generated when at least two or more components have an identical structure (atom locations and linkages, as well as electrical configurations), however, differ for which particular components are placed at various positions in the molecule.
• Example – Na+, F–

Fluorine and sodium ions each have ten electrons. These are referred to as isoelectronic species because their electron count is the same.

Conclusion

Various Atomic Species have been described and classified in a variety of ways. One of those classifications is determined by the density of neutrons, electrons, and protons in the nucleus. This classification includes isotopes, isotones, isoelectronic species, and isobars. Isotopes are defined as chemical components that share an alike quantity of protons or an identical atomic number. The density of neutrons and electrons in them may vary. Chemical substances having an identical mass number are known as isobars. Alternatively, the same density of nucleons. Isotones are neutron-rich entities with the same amount of protons. The number of protons and electrons differs between isotones. Chemical components with the same amount of electrons are known as isoelectronic species.