Why does the nucleus have lower mass than its constituents?
Is it because the final thing i.e. the arrangements of protons and neutrons in the nucleus is much more stable than the independant constituents?
But consider this :- A proton and an electron are far away. They will attract each other and come close to each other as they are much more stable if they are close- so they will come together and release energy in the form of kinetic energy(they will speed up)
So similarly when protons and neutrons come together to form a nucleus they can release energy in any other form. Why does mass have to be lost??
Is it because the final thing i.e. the arrangements of protons and neutrons in the nucleus is much more stable than the independant constituents?
But consider this :- A proton and an electron are far away. They will attract each other and come close to each other as they are much more stable if they are close- so they will come together and release energy in the form of kinetic energy(they will speed up)
So similarly when protons and neutrons come together to form a nucleus they can release energy in any other form. Why does mass have to be lost??
-
You have almost answered your own question! Remember mass and energy are equivalent: E=mc² so m = E/c².
Think of a simple 'system' containing 2 protons and 2 neutrons spaced far apart; total mass M1, so total energy E1=m1c².
When these nucleons are attracted and move together they will accelerate and some of E1 will be converted into kinetic energy. When the nucleons collide and form the nucleus, the kinetic energy (KE) will be converted to something else, such as a gamma photon or particle-antiparticle pair. The new nucleus will have a total energy of E1-KE and therefore its mass will be (E1-KE)/c², which is less than the starting mass.
In fact the process would be a bit more complex than described as accelerating charges emit photons, but that doesn’t change the final picture.
Whenever nucleons form more stable arrangements (e.g. small nuclei fusing together or large nuclei splitting) energy is lost and the mass of the products is smaller than the starting mass. The difference is called the ‘mass deficit’ and equals (energy released)/c².
Hope that helps.
Think of a simple 'system' containing 2 protons and 2 neutrons spaced far apart; total mass M1, so total energy E1=m1c².
When these nucleons are attracted and move together they will accelerate and some of E1 will be converted into kinetic energy. When the nucleons collide and form the nucleus, the kinetic energy (KE) will be converted to something else, such as a gamma photon or particle-antiparticle pair. The new nucleus will have a total energy of E1-KE and therefore its mass will be (E1-KE)/c², which is less than the starting mass.
In fact the process would be a bit more complex than described as accelerating charges emit photons, but that doesn’t change the final picture.
Whenever nucleons form more stable arrangements (e.g. small nuclei fusing together or large nuclei splitting) energy is lost and the mass of the products is smaller than the starting mass. The difference is called the ‘mass deficit’ and equals (energy released)/c².
Hope that helps.