Nuclear binding energy

Minimum energy required to separate particles within a nucleus

Nuclear binding energy in nuclear physics and nuclear engineering is the minimum energy that is required to fully disassemble the nucleus of one atom into its constituent protons and neutrons, known collectively as nucleons. The binding energy for stable nuclei is always a positive number, as the nucleus must gain energy for the nucleons to move apart from each other. Nucleons are attracted to each other by the strong nuclear force.

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