Isotope fractionation become enriched in the liquid phase while the lighter isotopes (O and H) tend toward the vapor phase. Isotope fractionation Isotope fractionation describes processes that affect the relative abundance of isotopes, often used in isotope geochemistry. Normally, the focus is on stable isotopes of the same element. Isotopic fractionation in the natural environment can be measured by isotope analysis, using isotope-ratio mass spectrometry, to separate different element isotopes on the basis of their mass-to-charge ratio, an important tool to understand natural systems. For example, in biochemistry processes cause a fluctuation in the amount of isotopes of carbon ratios incorporated into
Aluminium number is 13. Of aluminium isotopes, only one is stable: Al. This is consistent with the fact aluminium's atomic number is odd. It is the only isotope that has existed on Earth in its current form since the creation of the planet. It is essentially the only isotope representing the element on Earth, which makes aluminium a mononuclidic element and practically equates its standard atomic weight to that of the isotope. Such a low standard atomic weight of aluminium has some effects on the properties of the element (see below). All other isotopes are radioactive and could not have survived;