An isobar is chemically and physically identical to an isotope
An isobar refers to nuclides of different chemical elements that share the same mass number, whereas an isotope refers to different forms of the same chemical element with varying neutron numbers; therefore, isobars are neither chemically nor physically identical.
The claim confuses isobars and isotopes. Isotopes are atoms of the same element (same atomic number Z) with different mass numbers, while isobars are atoms of different elements that happen to have the same total mass number (sum of protons and neutrons). Because they are different chemical elements, they have completely different chemical and physical properties. The retrieved papers discuss isobaric interferences in mass spectrometry where distinct elements (e.g., U and Pu, or different actinides) share mass numbers, confirming they are distinct entities.
Michael R Savina, Brett H Isselhardt, Reto Trappitsch. Simultaneous Isotopic Analysis of U, Pu, and Am in Spent Nuclear Fuel by Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry.. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.1c01360
Paper 1 discusses how mass spectrometry must resolve isobaric interferences between different elements, such as 238U and 238Pu, demonstrating that isobars are different chemical elements with the same mass number rather than identical substances.
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M Ballan, E Vettorato, L Morselli, M Tosato, S Nardella, F Borgna, S Corradetti, A Monetti, M Lunardon, A Zenoni, V Di Marco, N Realdon, A Andrighetto. Development of implantation substrates for the collection of radionuclides of medical interest produced via ISOL technique at INFN-LNL.. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.109795
Paper 2 notes that radionuclides can be chemically harvested from collected isobars, confirming that isobars are chemically distinct species.
Andreas Wiederin, Hiromitsu Haba, Martin Martschini, Peter Steier, Aya Sakaguchi, Akihiko Yokoyama, Karin Hain. Characterization and first application of a new 236Np spike for (A)MS measurements of 237Np.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2026.129949
Paper 5 discusses isobaric composition and interferences in mass spectrometry applications, highlighting that different elements or nuclides can share a mass number while retaining distinct chemical identities.
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