As is with all things, once you start getting down to the details most our mental models are just that - mental models. I am guessing other people have downvot

As is with all things, once you start getting down to the details most our mental models are just that - mental models. I am guessing other people have downvoted you for adopting an ignorantly confident tone on something you are not a specialist for - this is probably a bit harsh but perhaps this can be a friendly reminder to keep an open mind about these things. Yes, Chemistry is effectively the study of electrons, but nature has been shown to be isotopically sensitive. Moreover, I have heard of chemistry on radioactive chemicals being a nightmare to reproduce because there are certain reactions where there are competing reaction pathways which are kinetically controlled and so isotopic interactions can wreak havoc on your products.