5. (5 marks) What is the mass of a proton, the mass of a neutron, and the mass o

Question

5. (5 marks) What is the mass of a proton, the mass of a neutron, and the mass of an alpha particle? If we directly fuse 2 protons and 2 neutrons (which results in 1 alpha particle), how much energy would be released? If this energy is fully converted to the kinetic energy of the alpha particle, what would be the speed of the particle (ignore relativity for this part)?
5. (5 marks) What is the mass of a proton, the mass of a neutron, and the mass of an alpha particle? If we directly fuse 2 protons and 2 neutrons (which results in 1 alpha particle), how much energy would be released? If this energy is fully converted to the kinetic energy of the alpha particle, what would be the speed of the particle (ignore relativity for this part)?

Explanation / Answer

We know that

Mass of proton,mp   =  1.00727647 u

mass of neutron , mn =  1.008664 u

mass of alpha particle , ma =  4.0012 u

mass defect after combination = 2 (mp + mn) - ma = 2 (1.00727647 + 1.008664) - 4.0012 = 0.03068

E = energy released = mass defect (931) = 0.03068 (931) = 28.6 MeV

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