Physics › Section V · Nuclear physics and its applications › Topic V.4
Binding energy and tunneling
A nucleus has less mass than the protons and neutrons that make it, and that missing mass measures how tightly it is held together. One curve of binding energy explains why both fission and fusion release energy, and quantum tunnelling explains how an alpha particle escapes a nucleus at all.
In this topic
- Lighter than its parts
- Calculating the binding energy
- Worked example: oxygen-16
- The curve of binding energy
- Why the curve has this shape
- Worked example: why splitting uranium releases energy
- Barriers and tunnelling
- Worked example: the barrier around polonium-210
- Tunnelling and alpha half-lives
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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