- #1
tylerc1991
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Homework Statement
Find the energy released for the reactions in the Proton-Proton chain.
Homework Equations
Proton-Proton Chain:
1H + 1H -> 2H + e+ + v
e+ + e- -> γ + γ
2H + 1H -> 3He + γ
3He + 3He -> 4He + 2 1H
The Attempt at a Solution
To find the energy released in each of these reactions, I am calculating the mass deficit.
For the first reaction, I am finding a mass deficit of
2(1.007825 u) - 2.014102 u - 0.0005486 = 0.0009994 u
because v (neutrino) is massless.
Then the energy in MeV of this reaction is 0.0009994 u x 931.5 MeV/u = 0.9309411 MeV.
However, I checked http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton–proton_chain_reaction#The_proton.E2.80.93proton_chain_reaction, and it looks like the energy released is 0.42 MeV.
Did I do the calculation correctly?
Thank you for any help!