20.5 Energy of Nuclear Reactions & Nuclear Binding Energy | General Chemistry

Chad provides a comprehensive lesson on the energy released by nuclear reactions and nuclear binding energy. In a nuclear reaction a small amount of mass is converted into a large amount of energy. The difference in mass between the reactants and the products is referred to as the mass defect. The mass defect is used to calculate the energy released in a nuclear reaction from Einstein's famous equation: E = mc^2.

The nuclear binding energy is the energy holding the nucleus together (the energy associated with the strong nuclear force). A nucleus always weighs less than its constituent nucleons (i.e. protons and neutrons). The difference in mass is also referred to as the mass defect. This mass defect can be used to calculate the nuclear binding energy once again from Einstein's famous equation: E = mc^2. Most commonly the nuclear binding energy is presented in units of Joules per nucleon. The higher the value the more stable the nucleus, and iron-56 has the highest nuclear binding energy per nucleon of any nucleus. The nuclear binding energy of iron-56 and uranium-235 are both calculated as examples to conclude the lesson.

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00:00 Lesson Introduction
00:30 Energy Released in Nuclear Reactions Sample Calculation
08:23 Nuclear Binding Energy
13:57 Nuclear Binding Energy of Iron-56 Calculation
19:14 Nuclear Binding Energy of Uranium-235 Calculation

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