Welcome to the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF). Our college is a federally-chartered degree-granting institution that serves the United States Air Force's enlisted total force.
Isotopes of an element have nuclei with the same number of protons (the same atomic number) but different numbers of neutrons. Therefore, isotopes have different mass numbers, which give the total number of nucleons-the number of protons plus neutrons.
The nucleus is surrounded by electrons. The half-life of a radioactive isotope is the time taken for half its radioactive atoms to decay. There are three main types of radiation, called alpha, beta and gamma radiation, which all have different properties.Radiation can damage cells and make them cancerous.ll the atoms of a given element have the same number of protons and electrons. However, the number of neutrons can vary. Atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes of that element.