Module 5 : MODERN PHYSICS
Lecture 27 : Nuclear Energy
  Example 19
The Helium nucleus $ ^4_2$He (also called the alpha particle ) has a mass of 4.001 506 u. Determine its binding energy in terms of the atomic mass units and in MeV.
  Solution :
\includegraphics{fig4.35.eps}
 
Alpha particle has two protons and two neutrons. Binding energy calculation in atomic mass unit is shown alongside. In terms of MeV, the binding energy is $ 0.030 377\times 931.5 = 28.296$ MeV, i.e. 7.074 MeV per nucleon.

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