What is a chemical element?
Issue 364 | Page 37 | Published Mar 2017
Description
Contrary to current IUPAC recommendations, the chemical element X should be defined as the nucleus of the X atom. Consequently, different isotopes with their different nuclei belong to different elements, each one with its own physical and chemical properties. This view leads to the conclusion that we no longer have a periodic table of the elements, but a periodic table of isotopes instead.
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