How many neutrons does a standard hydrogen atom have in its nucleus?

1 Answer
anor277
May 21, 2016

Nada!

Explanation:

The protium isotope, #""^1H#, has only the #1# massive, positively charged particle in its nucleus. Protium has an isotopic abundance of over #99%#. A smaller percentage of hydrogen nuclei have 1 neutron in the nucleus to give #"deuterium"#, #""^2H#. An even smaller percentage is expressed by the #"tritium"# isotope, #""^3H#.

So called deuterium and tritium labels can be introduced into organic compounds relatively easily, the which allows specific and sensitive probes of structure and reactivity.

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