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Chlorine -37 undergoes fusion with sodium -23 and produces two neutrons and what isotopes?

User Joyette
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Final answer:

The fusion of chlorine-37 with sodium-23 to produce two neutrons cannot be accurately detailed without more information, as this type of reaction would be atypical and the resultant isotopes cannot be simply inferred.

Step-by-step explanation:

When chlorine-37 undergoes fusion with sodium-23, and produces two neutrons, the isotopes produced must have a combined mass equal to the sum of the original isotopes, minus the mass of the two neutrons. Since neutrons have a relative atomic mass close to 1 amu each, and chlorine-37 has a mass of approximately 36.97 amu while sodium-23 has a mass of approximately 23 amu, the total initial mass is 59.97 amu. Subtracting 2 amu for the neutrons gives us 57.97 amu for the remaining products of the reaction.

The atomic number must also be conserved. Chlorine-37 has 17 protons, and sodium-23 has 11 protons. Thus, the resulting isotopes must have a total of 28 protons. Given that the question asks for the isotopes produced after fusion and considering the conservation of mass and atomic number, the resultant isotopes cannot be simply inferred without additional information about the specific reaction pathway. Typically, fusion reactions such as these would be extremely unusual and not naturally occurring under standard conditions. Fusion reactions generally involve much lighter elements, such as hydrogen isotopes forming helium, as seen in thermonuclear fusion.

User Bogi
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