The key difference between chlorine 35 and 37 is that chlorine 35 has 18 neutrons per atomic nuclei, whereas chlorine 37 has 20 neutrons per atomic nuclei.
Chlorine is a chemical element having the atomic number 17 and chemical symbol Cl. There are three major isotopes of chlorine, which are named chlorine-35, chlorine-36 and chlorine 37. These three forms differ from each other according to the number of neutrons per atomic nuclei.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Chlorine 35
3. What is Chlorine 37
4. Similarities Between Chlorine 35 and 37
5. Side by Side Comparison – Chlorine 35 vs 37 in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is Chlorine 35?
Chlorine 35 is an isotope of chlorine chemical element, and it has 17 protons and 18 neutrons in its atomic nuclei. It is the most stable and abundant isotope of chlorine. The abundance of this isotope in nature is about 75.77%.
Chlorine 35 and chlorine 37 contribute to the calculation of the standard atomic weight of chlorine chemical element, which is 35.45. In addition, there is a radioactive isotope of chlorine (chlorine 36) that occurs in trace amounts in nature. It has a half-life of 301 000 years. Additionally, there are some extremely rare forms of chlorine isotopes having a half-life below 1 hour.
What is Chorine 37?
Chlorine 37 is an isotope of chlorine chemical element, and it has 17 protons and 20 neutrons in its atomic nuclei. It is one of the stable isotopes of chlorine chemical element. We can write the symbol of this isotope as 37Cl. The sum of 17 protons and 20 neutrons in this atomic nucleus makes a total of 37 nucleons.
The chlorine 37 isotope tends to account for about 24.23% of the natural chlorine content, while the other stable isotope of chlorine, chlorine 35, accounts for about 75.77% of total chlorine content. Both these isotopic forms give the apparent atomic weight of chlorine which is equal to 35.453 g/mol.
This chlorine isotope is well known for its use in the discovery of solar neutrinos using radiochemical techniques. This method is done based on chlorine-37 transmutation. This is a historically important radiochemical method where solar neutrino detection depends on the inverse electron capture, which is triggered by the absorption of an electron neutrino. In this technique, a chlorine 37 atom usually undergoes transmutation to form an argon 37 atom, which tends to de-excite itself through electron capture into chlorine 37 later. This last reaction includes the Auger electrons having specific energies. We can detect these electrons, and it confirms the occurrence of a neutrino event.
What are the Similarities Between Chlorine 35 and 37?
- Chlorine 35 and Chlorine 37 are isotopes of the chlorine chemical element.
- They are stable in nature.
- And, both have 17 protons in their atomic nuclei.
What is the Difference Between Chlorine 35 and 37?
Chlorine is a chemical element having the chemical symbol Cl and atomic number 17. There are three isotopes of chlorine, which differ from each other according to the number of neutrons in their atomic nucleus. The key difference between chlorine 35 and 37 is that chlorine 35 has 18 neutrons per atomic nuclei, whereas chlorine 37 has 20 neutrons per atomic nuclei. Moreover, the abundance of chlorine 35 is about 76% while the abundance of chlorine 38 is about 24%.
The below infographic summarizes the differences between chlorine 35 and 37 in tabular form.
Summary – Chlorine 35 vs 37
Chlorine is a chemical element having the chemical symbol Cl and atomic number 17. There are three isotopes of chlorine that differ from each other according to the number of neutrons in their atomic nucleus. The key difference between chlorine 35 and 37 is that chlorine 35 has 18 neutrons per atomic nuclei, whereas chlorine 37 has 20 neutrons per atomic nuclei.
Reference:
1. Helmenstine, Anne Marie. “10 Chlorine Facts (Cl or Atomic Number 17).” ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Chlorine liquid in an ampoule” By Alchemist-hp (talk) (www.pse-mendelejew.de) – Own work (FAL) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Chlorine” By Albedo-ukr – Image:Chlorine.gif (CC BY-SA 2.5) Commons Wikimedia