Solved cryptogram
Two atoms of one element can have different weights. The neutron count is free to vary.
Chemistry Facts, sourced to U.S. Department of Energy.
Solve it yourself
This fact is a cryptogram here: 70 letters over 19 different ones, graded medium.
Or go to the puzzle’s own page first.
What it means
What makes an atom carbon is having six protons. The number of neutrons alongside them can be six, seven or eight, and the chemistry barely notices, because chemistry is done by the electrons and the electron count follows the protons. Some combinations are stable and some fall apart, which is where radiocarbon dating, medical tracers and nuclear fuel all come from: the same element, sorted by a property its chemistry ignores.
The claim comes from U.S. Department of Energy.
- SourceU.S. Department of Energy
- CollectionChemistry Facts
- Difficultymedium
- Length70 letters, 19 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
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