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400 Chapter Eleven

Hydrogen mH = 1.0078 u
atom
2.0165 u

Neutron mn = 1.0087 u

Deuterium mD = 2.0141 u
atom

Figure 11.10 The mass of a deuterium atom (21H) is less than the sum of the masses of a hydrogen
atom (11H) and a neutron. The energy equivalent of the missing mass is called the binding energy of
the nucleus.

proton. The required energy indeed turns out to be 2.224 MeV (Fig. 11.11). When
less energy than 2.224 MeV is given to a 21H nucleus, the nucleus stays together. When
the added energy is more than 2.224 MeV, the extra energy goes into kinetic energy of
the neutron and proton as they fly apart.
Deuterium atoms are not the only ones that have less mass than the combined
masses of the particles they are composed of—all atoms are like that. The energy equiv-
alent of the missing mass of a nucleus is called the binding energy of the nucleus. The
greater its binding energy, the more the energy that must be supplied to break up the
nucleus.
The binding energy Eb in MeV of the nucleus AZ X, which has N ! A " Z neutrons,
is given by

Eb ! [Zm(11H) # Nm(n) " m(AZ X)](931.49 MeV/u) (11.7)

where m(11H) is the atomic mass of 11 H, m(n) is the neutron mass, and m( AZ X) is the
atomic mass of AZ X, all in mass units. As mentioned before, atomic masses, not nuclear
masses, are used in such calculations; the electron masses subtract out.
Nuclear binding energies are strikingly high. The range for stable nuclei is from
2.224 MeV for 21 H (deuterium) to 1640 MeV for 209 83 Bi (an isotope of the metal bis-
muth). To appreciate how high binding energies are, we can compare them with more
familiar energies in terms of kilojoules of energy per kilogram of mass. In these units,
a typical binding energy is 8 $ 1011 kJ/kg—800 billion kJ/kg. By contrast, to boil water

Deuterium Proton
nucleus
=
2.224-MeV
gamma ray
Neutron

Figure 11.11 The binding energy of the deuterium nucleus is 2.224 MeV. A gamma ray whose energy
is 2.224 MeV or more can split a deuterium nucleus into a proton and neutron. A gamma ray whose
energy is less than 2.224 MeV cannot do this.