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	Podcast:		4. Chemistry and Physics
	Episode:		Isotopes
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:00:52
	Publish Date:		2011-07-13 19:35:21
	Description:		Transcript: The chemical properties of an element are defined by its atomic number, or the number of protons. In normal, electrically neutral matter there are equal numbers of protons in the nucleus and orbiting electrons. Most elements have roughly equal numbers of protons and neutrons. However, it is possible to have different elements with different numbers of neutrons and the same number of protons. Their atomic number is the same, but their atomic weights are different. These are called isotopes. Deuterium, for example, so-called heavy hydrogen, consists of a nucleus with one proton and one neutron orbited by one electron. Many of the heavier isotopes are radioactive and will decay into different elements of lower atomic numbers.
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