Question

What is the average binding energy per nucleon over a wide range?

Answer 1

Binding energy

• The minimal amount of energy necessary to remove a particle from a system of particles is known as binding energy.
• For example, the binding energy of the sodium $\mathrm{Na}$ atom is $194\mathrm{MeV}$.

Average binding energy per nucleon

• The total binding energy divided by the gives the average binding energy per nucleon.
• Except for a few lighter nuclei and a few heavier nuclei, the majority of the nucleus' binding energy is in the $8\mathrm{MeV}$ range.
• The average binding energy of sodium is as follows:

$\begin{array}{rcl}\mathrm{Average}\mathrm{binding}\mathrm{energy}& =& \frac{\mathrm{Binding}\mathrm{energy}}{\mathrm{Total}\mathrm{number}\mathrm{of}\mathrm{nucleons}}\\ & =& \frac{194\mathrm{MeV}}{23}\\ & =& 8.435\mathrm{MeV}\end{array}$