The Formula
In the following formulae, let A be the total number of nucleons, Z the number of protons, and N the number of neutrons.
The mass of an atomic nucleus is given by
where and are the rest mass of a proton and a neutron, respectively, and is the binding energy of the nucleus. The semi-empirical mass formula states that the binding energy will take the following form:
Each of the terms in this formula has a theoretical basis, as will be explained below.
Read more about this topic: Semi-empirical Mass Formula
Famous quotes containing the word formula:
“But suppose, asks the student of the professor, we follow all your structural rules for writing, what about that “something else” that brings the book alive? What is the formula for that? The formula for that is not included in the curriculum.”
—Fannie Hurst (1889–1968)
“My formula for greatness in human beings is amor fati: that one wants to change nothing, neither forwards, nor backwards, nor in all eternity. Not merely to endure necessity, still less to hide it—all idealism is mendacity in the face of necessity—but rather to love it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)