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I just need to clear something up.

As I understand it, the mass defect of a system is the result of a loss of potential energy of a system. So (for example) when a nucleus forms, energy is released, the potential energy of the system decreases AND there is a loss of mass.

However, I understand annihilation as the conversion of mass and energy: A particle and it's antiparticle coming together, and converting their mass into energy, which is different to the mass defect? There is no loss of potential energy, but rather the conservation of energy comes directly from the conversion of mass to energy.

Yet with regards to the problem of mass defect, there is a release of energy and an associated drop in potential energy (to conserve energy) AND there is a loss of mass?

I can't quite get my head around the distinction between these two ideas, or whether there is a distinction at all and I am misunderstanding. Any help in clearling the distinction up would be appreciated.

Benjamin Rogers-Newsome
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  • See https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/11449/109928 – Stéphane Rollandin Jan 27 '18 at 14:59
  • The energy released in annihilation is not potential energy of the system. After the mass conversion, the energy is electromagnetic/photonic and there aren't conservative forces doing work. In the mass defect, the drop in potential energy is related to conservative forces doing work. The drop in mass is a consequence of the drop in energy: $\Delta E = (\Delta m)c^2$. If $E$ of the system decreases, $m$ of the system decreases. – Bill N Jan 27 '18 at 15:37

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