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What is the physical difference between binding energy and binding energy per nucleon? Which one is the energy required to split nucleus into individual nucleons?

Qmechanic
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Neha L
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The energy required to split the nucleus up into its component nucleons is the binding energy.

The binding energy per nucleon parameter is interesting because it tells you, for a bunch of nucleons, how they would arrange themselves to maximise their total binding energy and hence minimise the total energy density of the material (because binding energy is in fact negative).

i.e. If you had a soup of nucleons at low density (low here means not at the high densities found in neutron stars, which would alter the binding energy per nucleon curve) and you allowed them to equilibriate then they would tend to form iron and nickel because these elements are at the peak of the binding energy per nucleon curve.

ProfRob
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  • Given infinite time, what prevents all matter from becoming Ni-62? Even at low energies, there is some tunneling chance right? – tobalt Feb 11 '23 at 08:23
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    Nothing, just the lack of infinite time. 62Ni is not the most common isotope because it can't be produced easily. See https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/182525/why-is-more-fe-56-than-ni-62-produced-by-fusion-in-massive-stars?noredirect=1&lq=1 – ProfRob Feb 11 '23 at 08:32