Binding energy is the energy required to split the nucleus of an atom, and is integral to discussions of nuclear fission and fusion. The missing mass in nuclear bonds is the source of binding energy. The ionization energy of electrons is more commonly called the ionization energy. Nuclear fission and fusion processes rely on the release of nuclear binding energy. The ionization energy of an electron varies according to the type of atom it is separated from and the number of electrons that have been previously removed from that atom.
Binding energy is the energy required to remove a particle from an atom. Each part of an atom has binding energy, but the term is commonly used to refer to the energy required to split the nucleus of an atom. This energy is integral to discussions of nuclear fission and fusion. The binding energy of electrons is more commonly called the ionization energy.
The energy in nuclear bonds can be observed by measuring the mass of an atom, which is less than the sum of the mass of its components. This is because part of the mass of nuclear particles is converted into energy according to the equation E=mc2. The missing mass is the source of the binding energy. The smallest atoms have the lowest nuclear binding energy. It tends to increase with atomic number up to iron, which has the highest binding energy; larger atoms are more unstable.
Nuclei are made up of protons and neutrons. Similar charges reject. Protons are positively charged and neutrons, which are neutral, provide no balancing negative charge. The bonds of the nucleus must be strong enough to overcome the repulsive forces of the positive charges on the protons. Consequently, there is a great deal of energy stored in those bonds.
Nuclear fission and fusion processes rely on the release of nuclear binding energy. In fusion, deuterium, a hydrogen atom with one neutron, and tritium, a hydrogen atom with two neutrons, bond to form a helium atom and a spare neutron. The reaction releases energy equal to the difference between the binding energy before and after the fusion. In fission, a large atom, such as uranium, splits into smaller atoms. The decaying nucleus releases neutron radiation and large amounts of energy from the changing strength of nuclear bonds in the new atoms.
The ionization energy of an electron varies according to the type of atom it is separated from and the number of electrons that have been previously removed from that atom. Removing the outer electrons requires less energy than removing the inner ones, and more energy is required to split a pair than to remove a lone electron. The difference in ionization energies is why some configurations are more stable than others: the higher the next ionization energy, the more stable the state of the atom. Stable compounds dominate in nature; ionization energies literally shape the world.
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