Nuclear physics question?

Question

ok i know about nuclear fusion aand fission but how does the changing of a nucleus make matter into energy.

Answer 1

Nuclei are made up of protons and neutron, but the mass of a nucleus is always less than the sum of the individual masses of the protons and neutrons which constitute it. The difference is a measure of the nuclear binding energy which holds the nucleus together. This binding energy can be calculated from the Einstein relationship:

Nuclear binging energy = Δmc^2

For the alpha particle Δm= 0.0304 u which gives a binding energy of 28.3 MeV

The nuclear binding energies are on the order of a million times greater than the electron binding energies of atoms

Answer 2

The quantity of elementary particles are mainly conserved both in fusion and fission. So, the energy released is binding energy.

Answer 3

That's probably not the best way to put it.  Matter IS energy.  When you weigh something to measure its mass, you are mostly measuring various potential and kinetic energies that make up its mass.  So nuclear reactions, like any reactions, transform one kind of energy (differences in nuclear binding energy between reactants and products) into another kind of energy (kinetic energy of stuff shooting out that gets turned into heat).  If you want to, you can use mass as a bookkeeping device to keep track of your energy.  A difference in binding energy is a difference in mass.  So if your products are lighter than your reactants, that means you liberate energy.  So in that sense, you can say that matter goes into energy.

Answer 4

hard to describe, try this site: http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/200...