Iron-56 is often said to be the most stable nuclide

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Nuclear physics · Nuclear physics

Problem

Iron-56 is often said to be the most stable nuclide. Answer the following with reference to the binding-energy-per-nucleon curve and basic ideas of nuclear forces. (a) Explain rise from A=1A=1 to A≈20A\approx20 (b) Explain peak near A≈56A\approx56 (c) Compare stability of three specified nuclides (d) Justify which of two equal-mass samples releases more energy

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