Learning Objectives

• Do simple calculations on nuclear transformations;

• Understand the concept of mass difference and binding energy;

• Understand the atomic mass unit, u;

• Convert from one unit to another using 1 u = 931.1 MeV, E = mc²;

• Appreciate that E = mc² applies to all energy changes;

• Know the graph of average binding energy per nucleon against nucleon number, A;

Key Questions

• What is meant by binding energy per nucleon?

• How do we get energy from fission?

• How do we get energy from fusion?

Atomic mass unit, mass defect, binding energy, fission, fusion