Nitrogen 15 (N-15) is an isotope of nitrogen with a mass number of 15. It is the most common isotope of nitrogen, making up about 99.6% of all naturally occurring nitrogen. N-15 has a half-life of about 965 seconds and is used in nuclear medicine and agriculture.
N-15 is used in agriculture as a fertilizer because it is radioactively decay to release nitrates, which are essential plant nutrients. N-15 is also used in nuclear medicine as a tracer for medical imaging. When injected into the body, N-15 can be detected by PET scans and used to diagnose conditions such as cancer.
N-15 is produced artificially in nuclear reactors by bombarding other elements with neutrons. It can also be produced using a particle accelerator, such as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.