Even and odd atomic nuclei abundant isotopes of their element, the former only by a small margin, and the latter only because the expected beryllium-8 has lower binding energy than two alpha particles and therefore immediately alpha decays. Actinides with odd neutron number are generally fissile (with thermal neutrons), while those with even neutron number are generally not, though they are fissionable with fast neutrons. Only , and have odd neutron number and are the most naturally abundant isotope of their element. Even and odd atomic nuclei In nuclear physics, properties of a nucleus depend on evenness or oddness of its atomic number "Z", neutron
Oddo–Harkins rule neutrons form the atomic nucleus, which accumulates electrons to form atoms. The number of protons in the nucleus, called atomic number, uniquely identifies a chemical element. The Oddo-Harkins rule argues that elements with odd atomic numbers have one unpaired proton and are more likely to capture another, thus increasing their atomic number. It is possible that in elements with even atomic numbers, Protons are paired, with each member of the pair balancing the spin of the other; even parity thus enhances nucleon stability. This postulate, however, does not apply to the universe's most abundant, and simplest element from the periodic