{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.isotope","code":"thing-q25276","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q25276/","name":"isotope","alternateNames":["cosmogenic nuclide","isotope of uranium","isotope of oganesson","isotope of californium","radioisotope","isotope of yttrium","isotope of zirconium","isotope of niobium","isotope of osmium","isotope of tellurium","isotope of fluorine","isotope of iron"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.MAT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"One of two or more forms of a chemical element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons, and hence different mass, such as the isotopes of uranium, yttrium or oganesson, either stable or radioactive, and including cosmogenic nuclides formed by cosmic rays; isotopes are used in dating, tracing, medicine, energy and materials and are characterised by mass, abundance and decay.","purpose":"Let an agent explain isotopes and their properties, provide isotope data with sources, describe uses in dating, medicine and industry, and note radiation safety in general terms.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Neutron number","Mass difference","Stability varies","Traceable"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"define","name":"Define","description":"What isotopes are.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and notation.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is an isotope, how are isotopes written, and how do they differ from ions and allotropes?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Why do isotopes of an element behave alike chemically?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"data","name":"Data","description":"Isotope data.","findings":[{"id":"data-finding","name":"Data","description":"Data.","questions":[{"text":"What are the isotopes of this element, their abundances, masses and half-lives, according to nuclear data?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific isotope?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"use","name":"Use","description":"Applications.","layers":[{"id":"dating","name":"Dating","description":"Dating and tracing.","findings":[{"id":"dating-finding","name":"Dating","description":"Dating.","questions":[{"text":"How are isotopes used in radiometric dating, cosmogenic dating and tracing in earth and environmental science?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How do stable isotope ratios reveal diet and climate?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"medicine","name":"Medicine","description":"Medicine and industry.","findings":[{"id":"medicine-finding","name":"Medicine","description":"Medicine.","questions":[{"text":"How are radioisotopes used in diagnosis, therapy and industry, in general terms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the request seeking weapons-relevant information, which must be declined?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"physics","name":"Physics","description":"Stability and formation.","layers":[{"id":"stability","name":"Stability","description":"Stable and unstable isotopes.","findings":[{"id":"stability-finding","name":"Stability","description":"Stability.","questions":[{"text":"What determines whether an isotope is stable, and how do radioisotopes decay?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What are cosmogenic nuclides?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"origins","name":"Origins","description":"Where isotopes come from.","findings":[{"id":"origins-finding","name":"Origins","description":"Origins.","questions":[{"text":"How were isotopes formed in stars, and how are synthetic isotopes made?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which isotopes of superheavy elements are known?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"Teaching and history.","layers":[{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching isotopes.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can isotopes be taught with models and examples?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"Discovery.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How were isotopes discovered by Soddy, Thomson and Aston, and how did the concept develop?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain isotopes and their uses in dating, medicine and research.","Report isotope data from evaluated nuclear data."],"mustNot":["Provide weapons-relevant detail on enrichment or fissile isotopes.","Assist in obtaining radioactive isotopes outside licensed channels.","Confuse isotopes with ions or allotropes.","Advise handling radioactive sources without protection."],"requiresHuman":["Any handling or transport of radioactive isotopes."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Isotopes save lives in medicine and threaten lives in weapons.","Radiation exposure harms workers and the public."],"affectedParties":["Patients","Radiation workers","The public"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the concept; radiation regulators license radioactive sources.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Evaluated nuclear data libraries"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q108149","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"nuclide","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"atom","type":"related","note":"atomic structure"},{"target":"radioactivity","type":"related","note":"radioisotope decay"},{"target":"beta decay","type":"related","note":"a decay mode"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.isotope","Wikidata: Q25276 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25276)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Atomic mass:  Unified atomic mass unit - The mass of a specified isotope's atom is determined through precision mass measurements and reported in evaluated nuclide data.","Isotopic abundance:  Percent of atoms of the element - The fraction of an element's atoms belonging to a specified isotope is measured in a particular sample by isotope ratio analysis.","Radioactive half-life:  Seconds - For radioactive isotopes, half-life is determined from decay measurements, while stable isotopes have no measured radioactive half-life."]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Same protons, different neutrons","Stable or radioactive","Ions differ in electrons, not neutrons","Not visible; chemically alike forms of an element."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain isotopes and notation","provide isotope data","describe uses","note safety in general terms"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Radiation exposure","Confusing isotopes, ions and allotropes","Agents providing weapons-relevant detail"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["IUPAC and nuclear data conventions","Radiation protection rules for radioisotopes","Safeguards for fissile isotopes"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Forms of elements differing in neutron number.","stable isotopes","radioisotopes","cosmogenic nuclides","isotopes of specific elements such as uranium and yttrium","synthetic isotopes of superheavy elements such as oganesson"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q25276: isotope","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25276","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Isotope","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotope","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each element isotope set be a separate entry?","How should nuclear data be linked?","How should the dual-use boundary be enforced?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q25276/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q25276/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T23:24:12Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:29+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}