What Is The Change In Binding Energy Per Nucleon In This Reaction?

Binding free energy per nucleon

Another useful quantity is the binding free energy per nucleon. It can be defined but as:

Binding Energy per nucleon = Binding Free energy/ Nucleon Number

The graph beneath (Effigy 1) shows the binding energy per nucleon against nucleon number. Elements with a high binding energy per nucleon are very difficult to break up. Iron 56 is close to the height of the curve and has 1 of the highest bounden energies per nucleon of any isotope.

(N.B the determination of the value of bounden energy per nucleon for a given nucleus is a circuitous process and depends on the precise style information technology is calculated. Nickel 62, with a bounden energy per nucleon of 8.7948 MeV exceeds that for iron 56 (8.7906 MeV).

The office of the curve to the left shows that two light elements can produce energy past fusion while the part of the curve to the right shows that a heavy element can produce free energy by fission. Notice that the diagram has been drawn with the binding energies per nucleon beingness shown every bit positive � this represents the free energy needed to separate the particles.

Therefore if a reaction takes place where the products are closer to the base of operations then the original nucleus (nuclei) then energy is given out.

For helium the binding free energy per nucleon is 28.three/four = 7.i MeV.

The helium nucleus has a high bounden energy per nucleon and is more stable than some of the other nuclei close to information technology in the periodic table.

Some of the binding energies per nucleon for some common elements are shown in the post-obit tabular array.

Element	Mass of nucleons (u)	Nuclear mass (u)	Binding energy (MeV)	Binding energy per nucleon (MeV)
Deuterium	2.01594	two.01355	2.23	1.12
Helium 4	four.03188	four.00151	28.29	vii.07
Lithium 7	seven.05649	seven.01336	40.15	v.74
Glucinium nine	nine.07243	ix.00999	58.13	6.46
Atomic number 26 56	56.44913	55.92069	492.24	viii.79
Silvery 107	107.86187	106.87934	915.23	viii.55
Iodine 127	128.02684	126.87544	1072.53	8.45
Pb 206	207.67109	205.92952	1622.27	vii.88
Polonium 210	211.70297	209.93683	1645.16	7.83
Uranium 235	236.90849	234.99351	1783.80	7.59
Uranium 238	239.93448	238.00037	1801.63	7.57

A very useful web site containing a huge nuclear database is to be plant at Nuclear data

It may be more helpful to consider the bounden free energy per nucleon diagram in the grade shown in Figure 2 where reactions tend to move the nuclei towards the valley at the bottom of the curve. (In this instance notation that the bounden energies per nucleon are given as negative values).