The mass excess of a nuclide is the difference between its actual mass and its mass number in atomic mass units. It is one of the predominant methods for tabulating nuclear mass. The mass of an atomic nucleus is well approximated (less than 0.1 difference for any nuclid) by its mass number, which indicates that most of the mass of a nucleus arises from mass of its constituent protons and neutrons. Thus, the mass excess is an expression of the nuclear binding energy, relative to the binding energy per nucleon of Carbon-12 (which defines the atomic mass unit). If the mass excess is negative, the nucleus has more binding energy than 12C, and vice versa. If a nucleus has a large excess of mass compared to a nearby nuclear species, it can radioactively decay, releasing energy.
Read more about Mass Excess: Energy Scale of Nuclear Reactions, Example
Famous quotes containing the words mass and/or excess:
“The pathetic thing about the great wellintentioned mass of college and highschool students is that they have been so badly educated they have no knowledge or understanding of the complications of the world we live in and they have been so conditioned and prejudiced by generations of ill-taught teachers that they refuse to see a fact when they are confronted with one.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“The Declaration [of Independence] was not a protest against government, but against the excess of government. It prescribed the proper role of government, to secure the rights of individuals and to effect their safety and happiness. In modern society, no individual can do this alone. So government is not a necessary evil but a necessary good.”
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)