Free Mass Defect Calculator
Calculate the mass defect of a nucleus from its number of protons, neutrons, and measured atomic mass.
u
Mass Defect
0.514226 u
Binding Energy479.00 MeV
Packing Fraction-11.63
Mass Defect vs Number of Protons (Z)
Nuclear Mass Defect
The mass defect is the difference between the total mass of individual nucleons and the actual mass of the assembled nucleus.
Formula
delta_m = (Z × m_p + N × m_n) - M_atom
where m_p = 1.007276 u (proton), m_n = 1.008665 u (neutron), and M_atom is the measured atomic mass. The mass defect is converted to binding energy via E = delta_m × 931.494 MeV/u.
Example Calculation
Fe-56: Z=26, N=30, measured mass = 55.9349 u.
- 01Expected mass = 26 × 1.007276 + 30 × 1.008665
- 02Expected = 26.1891 + 30.2600 = 56.4491 u
- 03Mass defect = 56.4491 - 55.9349 = 0.5142 u
- 04BE = 0.5142 × 931.494 = 479.1 MeV
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