Mass number number of protons in a nucleus, and thus uniquely identifies an element. Hence, the difference between the mass number and the atomic number gives the number of neutrons ("N") in a given nucleus: . The mass number is written either after the element name or as a superscript to the left of an element's symbol. For example, the most common isotope of carbon is carbon-12, or , which has 6 protons and 6 neutrons. The full isotope symbol would also have the atomic number ("Z") as a subscript to the left of the element symbol directly below the mass number:
Transuranium element found. Transuranium elements may be utilized to synthesize other super-heavy elements. Elements of the island of stability have potential important military applications, including the development of compact nuclear weapons. The potential every-day applications are vast; the element americium is utilized in devices like smoke detectors and spectrometers. Transuranium element The transuranium elements (also known as transuranic elements) are the chemical elements with atomic numbers greater than 92, which is the atomic number of uranium. All of these elements are unstable and decay radioactively into other elements. Of the elements with atomic numbers 1 to 92, most can be found in