Nuclear Binding

Energy and the

Mass Defect
 INTODUCTION
 A neutron has a slightly larger mass than the
proton. These are the often given in the terms of an
atomic mass unit, where one atoic mass unit (u)
isdefied as 1/12th of the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
Particle Mass in kg Mass in atomic
mass units
electron 9.11 x 10−31 kg 5.486 x 10−4 u

proton 1.673 x 10−27 kg 1.0073 u

neutron 1.675 x 10−27 kg 1.0087 u

 Something should probably strike you as being a bit odd here. The carbon-
12 atom has a mass of 12.000u, and yet it contains 12 objects (6 protons and 6
neutrons) that each have a mass greater than 1.000 u. The fact is that these six
protons and six neutrons have a larger mass when they’re bound together into a
carbon-12 nucleus.
This is true for all nuclei, that the mass of the nucleus is alittle less than
the mass of the individual neutrons and protons. This missing mass is known as
the mass defect, and is essentially the equivalent mass of the binding energy.
Einstein’s famous equation relates energy and mass:
E = m𝒄𝟐
 If you convert some mass to energy, Eintein’s equation tells you how
much energy you get. In any nucleus there is some binding energy, the
energy you would need to put in to split the nucleus into individual protons
and neutrons. To find the binding energy, then, all you need to do is to add
up the mass of individual protons and neutrons and subtract the mass of the
nucleus:
Mass defect: Δm = mass of individual nucleons – mass of the nucleus
The binding energy is then:
binding energy = Δm𝒄𝟐
 In a typical nucleus the binding energy is measured in
MeV, considerably larger than the few eV associated with the
binding energy of electrons in the atom. Nuclear reactions
involve changes in the nuclear binding energy, which is why
nuclear reactions give you much more energy than the
chemical reactions; those involve changes in electron binding
energies
 Radioactive decay

Many nuclei are radioactive. This means they are unstable, and will eventually decay by
emitting a particle, transforming the nucleus into another nucleus, or into a lower energy state.
A chain of decays takes place until a stable nucleus is reached.
There are three common types of radioactive decay, alpha, beta, and gamma. The
difference between them is the particle emitted by the nucleus during the decay process.
 Alpha Decay
In alpha decay, the nucleus emits an alpha particle; an alpha particle is
essentially a helium nucleus, so it’s a group of two protons and two neutrons. A
helium nucleus is very stable.
 Beta Decay

A beta particle is often an electron, but can also be a positron, a positively-charged

particle that is the anti-matter equivalent of the electron. If an electron is involved,
the number of neutrons in the nucleus decreases by one and the number of protons
increases by one.
 Beta Decay
Positron Emission
Atoms with too many protons, an unstable nucleus, can convert a proton into a
neutron an emit a positron.
A positron is a positively charged particle that has the equivalent mass of an
electron.
Electron Capture
If too many protons are present, another decay may occur where an inner shell electron is
captured by the nucleus and combined with a proton to form a neutron; called electron
capture.
 Gamma Decay
The third class of radioactive decay is gamma decay, in which the nucleus changes
from a higher-level energy state to a lower level. Similar to the energy levels for
electrons in the atom, the nucleus has energy levels. The concepts of shells, and
more stable nuclei having filled shells, apply to the nucleus as well.