Contact site moderator Dr. Robert E. Belford The IUPAC Periodic
Table of Isotopes introduces students, teachers and society to
the existence and importance of stable and radioactive isotopes
of the chemical elements. This Table provides information about
the basic properties of stable isotopes, their total number,
their mass and abundance, which allows determination of atomic
weight values of the chemical elements. This Table also provides
the total number and half-lives of radioactive isotopes of each
element and information on the applications of isotopes in our
everyday life, as noted in the following examples. In the area
of medical applications, radioactive isotopes provide for the
diagnosis of disease and for its treatment. In industry,
radioactive isotopes enable smoke detectors to alarm and provide
an early warning of a potential fire. In geochronology,
radioactive isotopes enable the dating of materials, which can
provide information about migration trends of ancient peoples
around the world. In the