nuclear binding energy

nuclear binding energy, the energy required to separate an atomic nucleus completely into its constituent protons and neutrons, or, equivalently, the energy that would be liberated by combining individual protons and neutrons into a single nucleus. For example, the nucleus of the hydrogen isotope deuterium, which is composed of one proton and one neutron, can be separated completely by supplying 2.23 million electron volts (MeV) of energy. Conversely, when a slowly moving neutron and proton combine to form a deuterium nucleus, 2.23 MeV are liberated in the form of gamma rays. The total mass of the bound particles is less than the sum of the masses of the separate particles by an amount equivalent (as expressed in Einstein’s mass–energy equation, E = mc²) to the binding energy. This difference between the mass of the bound and separate particles is called the mass defect.

A single mathematical equation accurately reproduces the nuclear binding energies of more than 1,000 nuclides. It can be written in the form

In this equation N is the number of neutrons in the nucleus. The terms c₁ = 15.677, c₂ = 18.56, c₃ = 0.717, c₄ = 1.211, and k = 1.79, while δ may take any of several values (see below). The numerical values of these terms do not come from theory but from a selection process that ensures the best possible agreement with experimental data. On the other hand, theory helps justify, at least qualitatively, the mathematical form of each term. Modeled on an analogy to a liquid drop, the first term represents the favourable contribution to the binding of the nucleus made by short-range, attractive nuclear forces between neutrons and protons. The second term corrects the first by allowing for the expectation that nucleons at the surface of the nucleus, unlike those in the interior, do not experience forces of nuclear attraction equally from all sides. Both the first and second terms have a second empirical component of the form k[(N − Z)/A]², which is referred to as the symmetry energy. It vanishes (neither helps nor hinders binding) when N is equal to Z (when the nucleus is “symmetric”), but then works increasingly to destabilize the nucleus as N and Z grow apart. The third term symbolizes the coulombic, or electrostatic, energy of repulsion of the protons; its derivation assumes a uniform distribution of charge within the nucleus. The fourth term makes a small correction to the third. This correction is necessitated by the observation that the nuclear charge distribution becomes somewhat more spread out near the surface of the nucleus. The last term, the so-called pairing energy, takes on any one of three values depending on whether N and Z are both even (δ = 11/Square root of√A), their sum is odd (δ = 0), or both are odd (δ = −11/Square root of√A). More-detailed treatments sometimes give other values for δ as well.

The largest observed deviations from the equation occur at certain favoured numbers (magic numbers) of neutrons or protons (2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, and 126). Magic nuclei are more stable than the binding energy equation would predict. The isotope of helium with 2 neutrons and 2 protons is said to be doubly magic. The shell nuclear model helps to explain its stability.

Division of the binding energy E_B by A, the mass number, yields the binding energy per nucleon, usually expressed in units of MeV per nucleon. This important quantity reaches a maximum value for nuclei in the vicinity of iron. When two deuterium atoms fuse to form helium, the binding energy per nucleon increases and energy is released. Similarly, when the nucleus of an atom of uranium-235 fissions into two smaller nuclei, the binding energy per nucleon again increases with a concomitant release of energy.