Isotope-ratio mass spectrometry isotopic make up of the sample is obtained. For example, carbon isotope ratios are measured relative to the international standard for C. The C standard is produced from a fossil belemnite found in the Peedee Formation, which is a limestone formed in the Cretaceous period in South Carolina, U.S.A. The fossil is referred to as VPDB (Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite) and has C:C ratio of 0.0112372. Oxygen isotope ratios are measured relative the standard, V-SMOW (Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water). It is critical that the sample be processed before entering the mass spectrometer so that only a single chemical species
Isotopes of hassium Isotopes of hassium Hassium (Hs) is a synthetic element, and thus a standard atomic weight cannot be given. Like all synthetic elements, it has no stable isotopes. The first isotope to be synthesized was Hs in 1984. There are 12 known isotopes from Hs to Hs and 1–4 isomers. The longest-lived isotope is Hs with a half-life of 10 seconds. Super-heavy elements such as hassium are produced by bombarding lighter elements in particle accelerators that induce fusion reactions. Whereas most of the isotopes of hassium can be synthesized directly this way, some heavier ones have only been observed as decay