Scientists discovered hints of the new isotope, called nitrogen-9, by smashing beams of oxygen isotopes into beryllium atoms in the U.S. National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory.

NMR makes use of specific stable isotopes, commonly 13 C, but there is only one NMR-active stable isotope for oxygen, 17 O. The effects of using this oxygen isotope over other isotopes include ...

The researchers set up two experiments involving three stable isotopes of oxygen. These are oxygen-16 and oxygen-18, which both have zero nuclear spin, and oxygen-17, which has a nuclear spin of 5/2.

The most abundant form of oxygen, 16 O, is doubly magic, because of its eight protons and eight neutrons. Oxygen-28, with 8 protons and 20 neutrons, has long been predicted to be doubly magic, too.

Concentrations of the oxygen-18 isotope (δ18O) in precipitation are dependent on temperature and distance traveled from the moisture source. Snow during the pre-monsoon season of 2012, arriving from ...

The paper, titled Distinct oxygen isotope compositions of the Earth and Moon, may challenge the current understanding of the formation of the Moon.