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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atomic mass | 2/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_mass | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T10:51:53.116357+00:00 | kb-cron |
protons and neutrons have different masses, and different nuclides have different ratios of protons and neutrons. atomic masses are reduced, by the binding energies between the protons and neutrons. The ratio of atomic mass to mass number (number of nucleons) varies from 0.9988381346(51) for 56Fe to 1.007825031898(14) for 1H. Any mass defect due to nuclear binding energy is experimentally a small fraction (less than 1%) of the mass of an equal number of free nucleons. When compared to the average mass per nucleon in carbon-12, which is moderately strongly bound compared with other atoms, the mass defect of binding for most atoms is an even smaller fraction of a dalton. Since free protons and neutrons differ from each other in mass by a small fraction of a dalton (1.38844933(49)×10−3 Da), rounding the relative isotopic mass, or the atomic mass of any given nuclide given in daltons to the nearest whole number, always gives the nucleon count, or mass number. Additionally, the neutron count (neutron number) may then be derived by subtracting the number of protons (atomic number) from the mass number (nucleon count).
== Mass defect ==
The amount that the ratio of atomic masses to mass number deviates from 1 is as follows: the deviation starts positive at hydrogen-1, then decreases until it reaches a local minimum at helium-4. Isotopes of lithium, beryllium, and boron are less strongly bound than helium, as shown by their increasing mass-to-mass number ratios. At carbon, the ratio of mass (in daltons) to mass number is defined as 1, and after carbon it becomes less than one until a minimum is reached at iron-56 (with only slightly higher values for iron-58 and nickel-62), then increases to positive values in the heavy isotopes, with increasing atomic number. This corresponds to the fact that nuclear fission in an element heavier than zirconium produces energy, and fission in any element lighter than niobium requires energy. On the other hand, nuclear fusion of two atoms of an element lighter than scandium (except for helium) produces energy, whereas fusion in elements heavier than calcium requires energy. The fusion of two atoms of 4He yielding beryllium-8 would require energy, and the beryllium would quickly fall apart again. 4He can fuse with tritium (3H) or with 3He; these processes occurred during Big Bang nucleosynthesis. The formation of elements with more than seven nucleons requires the fusion of three atoms of 4He in the triple-alpha process, skipping over lithium, beryllium, and boron to produce carbon-12. Here are some values of the ratio of atomic mass to mass number:
== Measurement of atomic masses == Direct comparison and measurement of the masses of atoms is achieved with mass spectrometry.
== Relationship between atomic and molecular masses == Similar definitions apply to molecules. One can calculate the molecular mass of a compound by adding the atomic masses (not the standard atomic weights) of its constituent atoms. Conversely, the molar mass is usually computed from the standard atomic weights (not the atomic or nuclide masses). Thus, molecular mass and molar mass differ slightly in numerical value and represent different concepts. Molecular mass is the mass of a molecule, which is the sum of its constituent atomic masses. Molar mass is an average of the masses of the constituent molecules in a chemically pure but isotopically heterogeneous ensemble. In both cases, the multiplicity of the atoms (the number of times it occurs) must be taken into account, usually by multiplication of each unique mass by its multiplicity.
== History ==