Isotopes of a given element have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons in the core. Isotopes have the same electronic structure as the given element and thus have a nearly identical chemical behavior. Larger elements tend to have more stable isotopes than smaller ones.
For example, I123, I125 and I131 are isotopes of iodine; they have a different mass number.

[Radioactive Isotope] Radioisotopes are atoms with an unstable nucleus, which try to reach a more stable state by emitting radiation. Through one or more steps down its decay chain a more stable number of protons and neutrons is reached. Approximately 3,800 natural and artificial (fission, generator) radioisotopes exist. Radioisotopes are commonly used in science, industry, and nuclear medicine.

See also Isotope, Decay and Decay Chain.

See Radioisotope.

A radiation meter is used to measure radioactivity.
Beta emitting isotopes, such as C-14, P-32, P-33, and S-35, are best detected with a Geiger-Mueller counter (GM).
Gamma emitting isotopes, such as I-125, I-123, I-131, and Tc-99m are easily detected with a gamma meter equipped with a sodium iodide (NaI) probe.
An isotope that cannot be detected with most survey meters, unless present in large activities, is tritium (H-3). Tritium emits beta particles with energies insufficient to enter the sensitive volume of most detectors.

The atomic mass is the mass of the naturally occurring mixture of isotopes of an element.

See also Mass Number, Atomic Mass Unit and Isotope.