Mass Defect

Mass defect is the difference between the mass of an atomic nucleus and the sum of the masses of its individual protons and neutrons.

Binding energy is the energy required to disassemble a nucleus into its constituent protons and neutrons, equivalent to the mass defect.

Δm = (Zm_p + Nm_n) - m_nucleus where Z is the number of protons and N is the number of neutrons.

Z represents the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.

N represents the number of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.

Binding energy is directly proportional to mass defect, as described by Einstein's equation E=mc².

Mass defect indicates the stability of a nucleus; a larger mass defect generally means a more stable nucleus.

A greater mass defect usually correlates with higher binding energy, indicating greater nuclear stability.

Binding energy is typically measured in mega-electronvolts (MeV) or joules (J).

During nuclear fission, the mass defect increases as the products have a greater binding energy than the original nucleus.