Why are Isotopes important?

Isotopes are necessary for radioactive decay. Radioactive decay is the breakdown of the nucleus due to instability. In the nucleus, the neutrons surround the protons in order to keep the nucleus stable. The unstable isotopes undergo radioactive decay because there is an imbalance of neutrons attach to neutrons rather than neutrons attach to protons. This instability decays a neutron into a proton and an electron. We know that the number of proton determines the element, however under this decay, we have an additional proton that changes the entire element. This process is called Beta Radiation. This process helps us find the half life of unstable atoms. The half life is the time it takes for half of the atom to decay. Half lives help us date the time of certain matter. Some isotopes have really long half lives, while some end in milliseconds. Xenon isotopes such as Xe-129, Xe-130, and Xe-136 are used as tools to measure the dating of the solar system with half lives.