Binding Energy Per Nucleon Calculator

Formula

The formula to calculate the Binding Energy Per Nucleon (BE) is:

\[ BE = \frac{\Delta m \times c^2}{A} \]

Where:

\( BE \) is the binding energy per nucleon (MeV).
\( \Delta m \) is the mass defect (atomic mass units).
\( c \) is the speed of light in a vacuum (approximately 931.494 MeV per atomic mass unit).
\( A \) is the number of nucleons (protons and neutrons in the nucleus).

What is Binding Energy Per Nucleon?

Binding energy per nucleon is the energy required to split a nucleus into individual protons and neutrons. It is a measure of the stability of a nucleus; the higher the binding energy per nucleon, the more stable the nucleus. This concept is crucial in nuclear physics and helps explain phenomena such as nuclear fission and fusion.

Example Calculation

Consider an example where:

Mass Defect (Δm): 0.1 atomic mass units
Number of Nucleons (A): 10

Using the formula to calculate the Binding Energy Per Nucleon:

\[ BE = \frac{0.1 \times 931.494}{10} = 9.31 \text{ MeV} \]

This means that the binding energy per nucleon for this example is 9.31 MeV.