Kinetic Isotope Effects of RuBisCO carbon, oxygen, and/or hydrogen, though currently only a significant isotope effect is seen for carbon isotope substitution. Isotopes are atoms that have the same number of protons but varying numbers of neutrons. "Lighter" isotopes (like the stable Carbon-12 isotope) have a smaller overall mass, and "heavier" isotopes (like the stable Carbon-13 isotope or radioactive Carbon-14 isotope) have a larger overall mass. Stable isotope geochemistry is concerned with how varying chemical and physical processes preferentially enrich or deplete stable isotopes. Enzymes like RuBisCO cause isotopic fractionation because molecules containing lighter isotopes have higher zero-point energies (ZPE), the lowest possible quantum energy
On-Line Isotope Mass Separator more than 60 physics experiments are active there. Radioactive nuclei are produced at ISOLDE by impinging a high energy beam of protons on a stationary target. There are a number of target materials depending on the desired final species. Collisions between the proton beam and the target produce a variety of fragments, which are extracted and filtered to yield the desired isotope. The time required for extraction places a lower limit on the half life of isotopes which can be produced by this method. Once extracted, the isotopes are directed either to one of several detectors, an isotope harvesting area,