Leumas Physics

Mass Defect

dm = (Z·m_p + Nn·m_n) - M_nucleus

What it says

The mass defect is the difference between the summed masses of a nucleus's constituent protons and neutrons and the measured mass of the assembled nucleus. Here m_p = 1.67262192369e-27 kg is the proton mass and m_n = 1.67492749804e-27 kg is the neutron mass, both inlined in the expression.

Symbols

SymbolQuantityDimension
ZProton number (dimensionless)1
NnNeutron number (dimensionless)1
M_nucleusMeasured nuclear mass (kg)M
dmMass defect (kg)M

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Connects to

Filed under Nuclear · derive through it in the explorer