> Isotopes of a given element have the same number of protons (92 for uranium), but different numbers of neutrons (143 for U-235 and 146 for U-238), meaning they behave the same chemically but differ in mass or radiation emissions.
A fun but off-topic note: "behave the same chemically" is only approximately true. For heavy atoms like the ones discussed in the article, it's basically true. But for hydrogen, adding one neutron doubles its mass and you can get real effects on chemical reaction rates.
The chemical differences are how deuterium isotope separation is performed. This used to be the Girdler sulfide process, now it's catalytic exchange stacks using the exchange of hydrogen isotopes between molecular hydrogen and water.
> Isotopes of a given element have the same number of protons (92 for uranium), but different numbers of neutrons (143 for U-235 and 146 for U-238), meaning they behave the same chemically but differ in mass or radiation emissions.
A fun but off-topic note: "behave the same chemically" is only approximately true. For heavy atoms like the ones discussed in the article, it's basically true. But for hydrogen, adding one neutron doubles its mass and you can get real effects on chemical reaction rates.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_isotope_effect
And of course, an obligatory "In The Pipeline" link on how it's used in drug discovery: https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/isotopes-get-your-...
The chemical differences are how deuterium isotope separation is performed. This used to be the Girdler sulfide process, now it's catalytic exchange stacks using the exchange of hydrogen isotopes between molecular hydrogen and water.