A helium nucleus contains two protons and two neutrons. The mass of the helium nucleus is greater than the combined masses of two protons and two neutrons because binding energy has been added. True False

Question

Jamie Prince

Physics

28 January, 02:56

A helium nucleus contains two protons and two neutrons. The mass of the helium nucleus is greater than the combined masses of two protons and two neutrons because binding energy has been added. True False

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Answers (1)

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Ronald Myers · Answer 1

False

Explanation:

Actually, the converse is true. The mass number would be lower than the sum of the mass of the individual nucleons combined. According to Einstein's equation of E=MC², this will be due to a phenomenon called mass defect. This 'anomaly' is due to the loss of some energy (now the nuclear binding energy) when the nucleons were brought in together to form the nucleus.