Abstract
Here we consider the large-scale structure of the atomic nucleus. A nucleus comprises a system of A nucleons, which, when well separated from each other and outside the range of the strongly attractive nuclear force, has as its energy just the sum of the rest mass of the individual nucleons (Fig. 3.1 left) . In bringing, in a hypothetical way, the nucleons close together, at the range of the strong force (approximately 10-14–10-13m), condensation into the bound atomic nucleus will result (Fig. 3.1 right) with a release of the corresponding binding energy. This causes an observable deficit in the mass of the actual nucleus as compared to the sum of the masses of the individual nucleons. This “loss” of mass is known as a mass defect.
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