- #1
Pigkappa
- 22
- 1
I'm having some trouble with the definition of binding energy and decay energy.
Consulting a nuclide table (http://atom.kaeri.re.kr/ton/nuc5.html) I found out that 53Fe has a binding energy of 458380.194 +- 2.107 keV and decays to 53Mn by electron capture. The decay energy is 3.743 MeV and the binding energy of 53Mn is 462904.899 +- 1.439 keV .
I expect the difference in binding energy to be equal to the decay energy, but it is [tex]\approx 4.5[/tex] MeV (with relative error [tex]< 0.01[/tex]) which is quite different from 3.743 MeV.
Why aren't they the same?
Consulting a nuclide table (http://atom.kaeri.re.kr/ton/nuc5.html) I found out that 53Fe has a binding energy of 458380.194 +- 2.107 keV and decays to 53Mn by electron capture. The decay energy is 3.743 MeV and the binding energy of 53Mn is 462904.899 +- 1.439 keV .
I expect the difference in binding energy to be equal to the decay energy, but it is [tex]\approx 4.5[/tex] MeV (with relative error [tex]< 0.01[/tex]) which is quite different from 3.743 MeV.
Why aren't they the same?