What Are Atoms and Isotopes?

Most people recognize that atoms are the fundamental building blocks of all matter around us. An atom itself is composed of protons, neutrons and electrons. The simplest atom is the hydrogen atom because it consists of only one proton and one electron. If a neutron is added to the nucleus, the atom is still hydrogen, just a more massive version. Atoms of the same element (i.e. those with the same number of protons) but different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes.

[Aleschu]

So a different amout of
Protons = different element
Electrons = ion
Neutron = isotope

[hudsonshi]

If you're wondering, the isotope of hydrogen with the extra neutron is called Deuterium.

[BrianFedirko]

Wow, Veritasium has come a long way since these early days. I feel like I'm watching an old show from when I was a little kid, even though it's not. Historical. If this is your first view of one of his video's, please watch a more current episode with a title that interests you.

[maj.peppers]

I learned about isotopes like 4 times in high school and for the first time, he's said it in a way that makes sense....WHY COULDN'T YOU BE MY TEACHER????

[veritasium]

and it should be deep inelastic scatter but that's harder to say. Love the song!

[veritasium]

I was planning on making Uranium, and in fact I rolled the balls for it. But it's never made it to a video :(

[NehaPd]

All the confusion = GONE.
I love this guy. :')

[Lotrfan]

I'm watching all your videos from the beginning and its been such a treat. Love your work!

[ajdene]

Derek it's so funny to see your face expression in these older videos :D

[QuantumCraziness]

Isotopes confused me so much in high school and your 2 minute video could have saved me so much pain. Veritasium rocks!

[just-a-fan]

0:40 Haha I love that the guy is drinking from a juice box

[veritasium]

@DirtyShots47 another reason that atomic masses have decimals is because the masses of individual isotopes are not whole numbers. Only carbon-12 has a mass of exactly 12 because it was defined this way. The mass of iron-56 for example is 55.93

[schlafanzyk]

Basically, every atom is like an extremely tiny solar system, where the sun is like a magnet that can be all kinds of strengths and sizes and all the planets are iron pellets of the same size and the number depends on the core. They spin around like crazy, never actually touching the core, and without a predictable orbit like our planets, but rather predictable areas in which they can be found while orbiting the nucleus.
Chemistry is how those areas interfere with each other and physics is why.

[veritasium]

@jamesahibbard Here is the crazy thing: a) protons and neutrons don't weigh exactly 1, they weigh 1.00728u and 1.00866u respectively), and b) they get lighter when they form bigger nuclei. e.g. in Iron-56 the proton and neutron weigh less than 1u!

[mightiemousie]

I watch a lot of YouTube videos, but VERY rarely log in to comment.
Thank you for these videos! Veritasium is becoming an addiction and I have no regrets!
Some times I already 'knew' the answer, but the concepts were sketchy, your videos provide a surprisingly clear visual concept.
THANK YOU!

[Antelieris]

I already understand more about isotopes from this video than I did from a few weeks of the subject in school.

[wtfbbq]

aww man, old Veritasium videos are too short.. just when this video was getting good it was over lol! I want 15 more minutes of this haha, I was hoping to learn something I didnt already know

I absolutely love his (newer) longer 15-20+minute videos where he really goes into detail about a topic, I've watched every 10+ minute video he's ever made and was looking for more and had to dive down here in the depths of history hoping it would suffice, but sadly it doesn't cut it =(

Keep up the great work man! Don't be shy to post videos of really obscure topics on the basis that it might be too complex for your average YouTuber... I'm more interested in cosmology and physics but even stuff like his "3x+1" video about numbers is absolutely fascinating! Or the "invention of imaginary numbers" video! more more more!!! =)

[camilopere]

It doesn't have a "orbit" it's more of an electron shroud with the probabilities of the electrons' location described by orbitals... right?

[StealthNinjaK]

Hey @Derek, long time viewer of your channel, hopefully you see this. I think you should revisit some of these kinds elemental/physics videos and explain different parts which you haven't before. For example, here you show what the definition of an atom is. But I think it would be cool and beneficial for you to explain more detail about how different isotopes change the element. You said you could consider an isotope with more neutrons heavier, but didn't really give that context. Which I mean, its not really your job to do that, I just think it would be cool and beneficial. What I mean by context is, for example, what does changing the weight of a Hydrogen atom do? does that cause it to have different physical behavior? What about an Iron atom, or a Carbon atom; is the behavioral changes (if any) between isotopes consistent across elements? In other words, does changing the weight of Hydrogen have the same behavioral affect (again, if any) of making the same change to Iron and Carbon?

[leenie]

I can't stop looking at your toaster...glad your productions have become a little grander :)