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amypinecone OP t1_jczsxk7 wrote

Reply to comment by RobusEtCeleritas in What the hell is the actual difference between an isotope and a nuclide?? by amypinecone

does that essentially mean that nuclide is more used generally as just describing something by its number of protons and neutrons (as opposed to just describing an element it with it's atomic number for example), and then the term isotopes would more often be used when talking about variations of something (such as carbon having carbon-12, 13, and 14)? sorry if I have it confused still

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QuentaAman t1_jd52mw9 wrote

Just think of nuclide as describing a random atom the has Z protons and N neutrons whereas isotopes is refering to a specific element (Z) with varying number of neutrons N.

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