Chemical element hydrogen and deuterium). Thus, all carbon isotopes have nearly identical chemical properties because they all have six protons and six electrons, even though carbon atoms may, for example, have 6 or 8 neutrons. That is why the atomic number, rather than mass number or atomic weight, is considered the identifying characteristic of a chemical element. The symbol for atomic number is "Z". Isotopes are atoms of the same element (that is, with the same number of protons in their atomic nucleus), but having "different" numbers of neutrons. Thus, for example, there are three main isotopes of carbon. All carbon atoms
Chemical oscillator the consuming pathway. Different theoretical models for this type of reaction have been created, including the Lotka-Volterra model, the Brusselator and the Oregonator. The latter was designed to simulate the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. A Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction is one of several oscillating chemical systems, whose common element is the inclusion of bromine and an acid. An essential aspect of the BZ reaction is its so-called "excitability" — under the influence of stimuli, patterns develop in what would otherwise be a perfectly quiescent medium. Some clock reactions such as the Briggs–Rauscher reactions and the BZ using the chemical ruthenium bipyridyl as catalyst can