Isotopes of nitrogen

Isotopes of nitrogen are atoms with seven protons and different numbers of neutrons. Nitrogen-14 and nitrogen-15 are stable; nitrogen-13 is radioactive.

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Isotope: An atom variant defined by a particular number of protons and a different number of neutrons from other variants of the same element. Nitrogen-14 and nitrogen-15 are specific members of this broader class.
Nuclear stability: The tendency of an atomic nucleus to remain intact rather than undergo radioactive decay. It accounts for the persistence of nitrogen-14 and nitrogen-15.
Stable isotope analysis: A method that uses variations in stable isotope abundances to investigate materials and processes. Nitrogen-15 to nitrogen-14 ratios reveal origins and transformations of nitrogen.
Nitrogen-14: A stable nitrogen isotope with seven protons and seven neutrons, making up nearly all natural nitrogen. It is the most abundant reference isotope in nitrogen ratio measurements.
Nitrogen: A chemical element with atomic number 7, found in Earth's atmosphere and in biological molecules. Every nitrogen isotope has seven protons, fixing its elemental identity.
Radioactive decay: The spontaneous transformation of an unstable atomic nucleus, often accompanied by emitted particles or radiation. Nitrogen-13 decays rather than remaining a stable nitrogen isotope.
Nitrogen cycle: The movement and transformation of nitrogen among the atmosphere, organisms, soils, and waters. Its processes alter nitrogen isotope ratios in environmental reservoirs.
Nitrogen-13: A radioactive nitrogen isotope with seven protons and six neutrons and a half-life of about ten minutes. Its decay makes it useful as a short-lived tracer in positron emission tomography.
Atomic number: The number of protons in an atom's nucleus, which determines its chemical element. Nitrogen's atomic number remains seven across all its isotopes.
Beta-plus decay: A radioactive process in which a proton becomes a neutron while emitting a positron and an electron neutrino. Nitrogen-13 decays by this process into carbon-13.