Reactors and Nuclear Energy

Mass Defect and Binding Energy

✬Nuclear reactions can be analyzed in terms of the masses and energies of the nuclei and particles before and after the reaction. Here, we shall use Einstein's equation E=mc2 in analyzing nuclear reactions.
✬The mass of the nucleus is equal to the combined masses of its protons and neutrons.
✬Nuclear masses are measured using an instrument called mass spectrometer.
✬1µ=1.6600 x 10-27 kg
✬mass of proton=1.0073µ
mass of neutron=1.0087µ
mass of electron=0.0005µ
✬The difference in mass is known as mass defect, ∆ m.
✬Mass seems to disappear when protons and neutrons combine to form a nucleus. Einstein's principle of mass-energy equivalence says that the missing mass (mass defect) is converted into energy.
✬The energy equivalent of the mass defect is known as the binding energy BE.
✬Nuclear binding energy is not energy stored in the nucleus; rather, it represents the difference in mass-energy of the nucleus due to conversion.
(...to be continued…)