Binding Energy per Nucleon

Binding Energy per Nucleon

[danielm]

I missed a word in my second-to-last sentence: "the electric repulsion between protons causes the **[unbalanced]** nuclear force to be a little weaker." The nuclear force itself isn't weaker--it's the net force that is weakened due to the repulsion from distant protons.

Here's something I wish I had said more clearly: when the nucleus is small, adding more nucleons **increases** the net force because more nucleons means more attractive nuclear force. But the nuclear attraction is short-range, whereas electric repulsion is long-range. In larger nuclei, we've already "maxed out" the nuclear force. Larger and larger nuclei contain more and more electric repulsion due to the increasing number of distant protons. And those distant nuclei *aren't* contributing more nuclear attraction, because they're too far to participate in the nuclear force. This is why "medium-sized" nuclei act like the strongest magnets.

[daliadeak]

Thank you so much! This is the only thing that helped me understand this graph. A great teacher always comes up with great analogies!

[ExtaTer]

One of the few videos that actually explains why energy of a nucleus is SMALLER than the energy of the initial components.

[primeirrational]

Very underrated!
This was exactly what l needed. There are so few people who have the ability to explain things like this. You're clearly one of them!

[PaulHigginbothamSr]

Looks like I am going to have to listen to this more than once. Yes all those protons jammed together have a huge amount of electrical charge trying to push the nucleus apart and electrons down near the core are being pulled in 92 times harder with uranium, why the inner electrons produce gamma radiation to jump a couple levels. But it seems like you said one thing then turned around later and said the opposite with nuclear force. Why I need to listen a couple more times. I am hugely in favor of molten salt thorium reactors. Does uranium 233 make as much cesium as u235? It seems to be a daughter element of zenon. I was wondering why no one is talking about Zenon135 being a good shielding material for the reactor pot outside as it is the only noble gas which makes compounds, since it has such a huge neutron cross section.

[chiranjeebsekhar]

Is the amount of energy given out while breaking of the proton from the nucleus equivalent to the P.E given out while extracting protons to the nucleons ???

:)Just a minor doubt.
This vid was really helpful to me.Love from India

[brianbaek]

Thanks Daniel
Binding energy curve confuses me. You explained that its the energy to lose which makes sense.
but just looking at the curve it looks like it's the energy required.
so as an example deuterium has 2Mev and tritium has 8Mev and they fuse to form helium which has 28 Mev
I can see 18Mev difference but how come it is release not absorbed because helium needs more binding energy then deuterium and tritium combined ?
I am no nuclear scientist. so please forgive me and educate me.
Thanks Daniel

[spyhunter]

Your average mass of a nucleon idea does not look right to me. You are kind of suggesting that the proton or the neutron mass changes depending on the nuclide they consitute. Are you trying to talk about the mass defect and the difference between the bound paricle and the free particle ? Could you give you reference book or article? Thanks.