Isotopes of beryllium Isotopes of beryllium Beryllium (Be) has 12 known isotopes, but only one of these isotopes () is stable and a primordial nuclide. As such, beryllium is considered a monoisotopic element. It is also a mononuclidic element, because its other isotopes have such short half-lives that none are primordial and their abundance is very low (standard atomic weight is 9.0122). Beryllium is unique as being the only monoisotopic element with both an even number of protons and an odd number of neutrons. There are 25 other monoisotopic elements but all have odd atomic numbers, and even numbers of neutrons. Of the
Isomer the same degree but in opposite directions. Other types of isomerism exist outside this scope. In general, topological isomers called topoisomers are large molecules that wind about and form different-shaped knots or loops. Molecules with topoisomers include catenanes and DNA. Topoisomerase enzymes can knot DNA and thus change its topology. There are also isotopomers or isotopic isomers that have the same numbers of each type of isotopic substitution but in chemically different positions. In nuclear physics, nuclear isomers are excited states of atomic nuclei. Spin isomers have differing distributions of spin among their constituent atoms. Isomer An isomer (; from