Sunday, March 14, 2021, 00:08
Let’s start to remember that atoms are formed by a core and electrons that turn around with a negative electrical charge. In the core there are two types of particles: protons that have positive electrical charge, of the same value as those of the electron, and neutrons, which have no electrical charge. Therefore, because the atom is neutral, the number of protons must be the same as that of electrons. With regard to the number of neutrons, according to their number it can vary to stable and unstable cores. Atoms with the same number of electrons and protons, but are called isotopes with different neutrons in their core. Each atom has its own number of isotopes that are mentioned with the same letter and a number that we will place in brackets, related to the masses. For example, carbon (C) has three isotopes. Two are stable, the C (12) that represents 98.89% and C (13) 1.11%. The third, C (14), is unstable and the share is very small. Unstable isotopes emit radiation and their number is small compared to the total number of known isotopes. Radioactive/radiogenic isotopes are converted into another isotope or perform a chain of transformations. The share of stable isotopes, except in living beings, has been established. The share From the unstable changes over time.
The first applications of the isotopes used the unstable. More recently, the stables in chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydrology, oceanography, archeology or physical anthropology were used. However, The application of stable isotopes in the field of living beings is bad Recently. Let’s look at two examples. The first has to do with the interesting quantitative evaluation of the dynamics of the kinetics of human metabolism, at rest or in stress conditions. For example, stress produced by exercise or, due to pathophysiological disorders such as cancer or diabetes. In these cases, isotopic tracers, unlike other techniques, provide critical information about the “in Vivo” kinetic of metabolism, for example carbohydrates, lipids and proteins. The technology consists of the introduction of one or more isotopes intravenously and the analysis of blood samples, fat and muscular tissue, before and after the introduction of the isotopes. The second application has to do with forensic anthropology. It is based on the fact that the amount of stable isotopes (for example C, N, N, H, etc.) depends on the type of food, its origin, etc. That is why the benchmark for the share of certain stable isotopes in different tissues (teeth, hair, nails, etc.) Number of the birth area of a non -ignored human peace, the long -term residence of an adult, a recent journey, food options, etc.
It can be said that the progress in the devices that, with precision, can measure small variations in the share of stable isotopes, they have converted into a flexible and powerful tool, an extensive number of applications.
