Mass Defect | Physics | Britannica

Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos mass defect References Contents mass defect physics Ask Anything Homework Help Britannica AI Ask Anything

Learn about this topic in these articles:

atomic mass measurement

• In atomic mass

  The difference, called the mass defect, is accounted for during the combination of these particles by conversion into binding energy, according to an equation in which the energy (E) released equals the product of the mass (m) consumed and the square of the velocity of light in vacuum (c);…

  Read More
• In isotope

  …the mass excess or the mass defect (symbol Δ; see table).

  Read More
• In nuclear fission: Structure and stability of nuclear matter

  …difference is known as the mass defect and is a measure of the total binding energy (and, hence, the stability) of the nucleus. This binding energy is released during the formation of a nucleus from its constituent nucleons and would have to be supplied to the nucleus to decompose it…

  Read More

binding energy measurement

• In radioactivity: Calculation and measurement of energy

  …masses may be expressed as mass defect, symbolized by the Greek letter delta, Δ (the difference between the exact mass M and the integer A, the mass number), either in energy units or atomic mass units.

  Read More