Atomic mass

Atomic mass ( or ) is the mass of a single atom. The atomic mass mostly comes from the combined mass of the protons and neutrons in the nucleus, with minor contributions from the electrons and nuclear binding energy. The atomic mass of atoms, ions, or atomic nuclei is slightly less than the sum of the masses of their constituent protons, neutrons, and electrons, due to mass defect (explained by mass–energy equivalence: ). Atomic mass is often measured in dalton (Da) ( unified atomic mass unit (u)). One dalton is equal to the mass of a carbon-12 atom in its natural state, given by the atomic mass constant , where is the atomic mass of carbon-12. Thus, the numerical value of the atomic mass of a nuclide when expressed in daltons is close to its mass number. The relative isotopic mass (see section below) can be obtained by dividing the atomic mass of an isotope by the atomic mass constant , yielding a dimensionless value. Thus, the atomic mass of a carbon-12 atom is by definition, but the relative isotopic mass of a carbon-12 atom is simply 12. The sum of relative isotopic masses of all atoms in a molecule is the relative molecular mass. The atomic mass of an isotope and the relative isotopic mass refers to a certain specific isotope of an element.…

Atomic mass ( or ) is the mass of a single atom. The atomic mass mostly comes from the combined mass of the protons and neutrons in the nucleus, with minor contributions from the electrons and nuclear binding energy. The atomic mass of atoms, ions, or atomic nuclei is slightly less than the sum of the masses of their constituent protons, neutrons, and electrons, due to mass defect (explained by mass–energy equivalence: ). Atomic mass is often measured in dalton (Da) ( unified atomic mass unit (u)). One dalton is equal to the mass of a carbon-12 atom in its natural state, given by the atomic mass constant , where is the atomic mass of carbon-12. Thus, the numerical value of the atomic mass of a nuclide when expressed in daltons is close to its mass number. The relative isotopic mass (see section below) can be obtained by dividing the atomic mass of an isotope by the atomic mass constant , yielding a dimensionless value. Thus, the atomic mass of a carbon-12 atom is by definition, but the relative isotopic mass of a carbon-12 atom is simply 12. The sum of relative isotopic masses of all atoms in a molecule is the relative molecular mass. The atomic mass of an isotope and the relative isotopic mass refers to a certain specific isotope of an element. Because substances are usually not isotopically pure, it is convenient to use the elemental atomic mass which is the average atomic mass of an element, weighted by the abundance of the isotopes. The dimensionless (standard) atomic weight is the weighted mean relative isotopic mass of a (typical naturally occurring) mixture of isotopes. NIST relative atomic masses of all isotopes and the standard atomic weights of the elements AME2003 Atomic Mass Evaluation from the National Nuclear Data Center

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377330431 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.