Average Binding Energy of nucleus (or Binding Energy per Nucleon

Definition

The binding energy per nucleon is the average energy required to release a nucleon from the nucleus. It is given as

Mathematically

Binding energy per nucleon =

=

= using eqn. From binding energy of nucleus

The B.E. energy per nucleon (or average binding energy) of a nucleus is more important than total binding energy of the nucleus because determines the stability of the nucleus. Higher is the value of the binding energy per nucleon, more stable is the nucleus. The nuclei with less binding energy per nucleon are comparatives, less stable.

Table

The values of B.E. and for few nuclei are given in the following table.

Nuclei	Binding Energy	Binding Energy Per Nucleon
1H2	2.22 MeV	1.11 MeV
2He4	28.32 MeV	7.08 MeV
3Li7	37.66 MeV	5.38 MeV
17Cl35	287.84 MeV	8.22 MeV
26Fe56	492.26 MeV	8.79 MeV
83Bi209	1640.26 MeV	7.85 MeV
92U238	1786.0 MeV	7.6 MeV