Isotopes Spinning Apart?

摘要

The fractionation of a mixture of stable isotopes is typically governed by mass differences. A few processes, however, exhibit a mass-independent effect, such as the impact of molecular symmetry on oxygen isotope fractionation during the formation of ozone in the atmosphere. The effects of an external gradient on isotopic fractionation are not as well understood, but recent experiments have demonstrated that under certain conditions, O_2 gas shows signs of mass-independent fractionation along a thermal gradient.