Chemistry › Section U · Nuclear chemistry › Topic U.1
Nuclear structure and stability
Every chemical reaction so far has rearranged electrons and left nuclei untouched. Nuclear chemistry looks inside the nucleus itself: what holds it together, how much energy is locked up there, and why some nuclei last forever while others fall apart.
In this topic
- A tiny, crowded centre
- The strong nuclear force
- Mass defect
- Binding energy and E = mc²
- Worked example: binding energy of helium-4
- Binding energy per nucleon
- Worked example: iron-56, near the peak
- The band of stability
- Even numbers and magic numbers
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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