Basic Nuclear Fusion question on Binding energy

[JonDawe]

Hey guys, I'm getting a bit confused about nuclear fusion. I understand the basics of binding energy being the energy required to split the nucleons apart etc. and the fact that in nuclear fusion you are combining two particles e.g. (2 deuterium nuclei) with a lowish binding energy to form a particle (he-4 or something) with a higher binding energy. I'm just getting a bit confused at why a higher binding energy means that the mass of the particle relative to the masses of the 2 fusion reactants is lower? Can someone here help explain it?

I know nuclei with higher binding energy per nucleon have a lower*atomic weight*per nucleon, but I'm kind of confused at why?

 

[mfb]

Binding energy is always negative (otherwise the state is not bound), and "high" is usually meant as absolute value. So helium has a "high negative" binding energy, it is actually a low-energetic state. This means that fusion can release energy while forming this state.

 

[raining Pete]

Hi there! I can try to help explain this concept to you. When two particles fuse together, they release energy in the form of binding energy. This energy is what holds the particles together. So, when the two particles fuse, their binding energy is added together to form a new particle with a higher binding energy. This means that the new particle is more tightly bound together, and therefore has a lower mass than the two separate particles combined. This is because some of the mass has been converted into energy during the fusion process. I hope that helps clarify things for you! Let me know if you have any other questions.