this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2023
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Splitting Helium doesn't release energy.
....I need to know more. We can just break open helium all Willy nilly? What's the biggest atom we can safely split?
Atoms lighter than iron take energy to split, and release energy when fusing. For atoms heavier than iron, it's the opposite.
Close, the maximum binding energy per atomic mass unit is iron-56, but splitting heavier atoms does not guarrentee releasing energy. If you consider the graph of specific bonding energy against atomic mass, then also consider that you need two numbers that add up to the original mass, it is clear that you need approximately more than 100u to release energy on fission.