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
Standard atomic weight "atomic" either, as it does not correspond to the property of any individual atom. The same argument could be made against "relative atomic mass" used in this sense. IUPAC publishes one formal value for each stable element, called the "standard atomic weight". Any updates are published biannually (in uneven years). The last change was published in 2015, setting a new value for ytterbium In 2017, no changes were published. The value published can have and uncertainty be an "interval" like for neon: , or can be an interval, like for boron: [10.806, 10.821]. Next to these 84 values, IUPAC also