Isotope …, "m" are the atomic masses of each individual isotope, and "x", …, "x" are the relative abundances of these isotopes. Several applications exist that capitalize on properties of the various isotopes of a given element. Isotope separation is a significant technological challenge, particularly with heavy elements such as uranium or plutonium. Lighter elements such as lithium, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are commonly separated by gas diffusion of their compounds such as CO and NO. The separation of hydrogen and deuterium is unusual because it is based on chemical rather than physical properties, for example in the Girdler sulfide process.
Atomic mass called the relative isotopic mass (see section below). Thus, the atomic mass of a carbon-12 atom is 12 u or 12 daltons (Da), but the relative isotopic mass of a carbon-12 atom is simply 12. The atomic mass or relative isotopic mass refers to the mass of a single particle, and therefore is tied to a certain specific isotope of an element. The dimensionless standard atomic weight instead refers to the average (mathematical mean) of atomic mass values of a typical naturally-occurring mixture of isotopes for a sample of an element. Atomic mass values are thus commonly reported to many