Question: Q. 4. If both the number of protons and neutrons in a nuclear reaction is conserved, in what way is mass converted into energy (or vice versa) ? Explain giving one example.
U [Foreign, 2016; Delhi I, II, III 2015]
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Solution:
Ans. ${ }{1}^{2} \mathrm{H}+{ }{1}^{2} \mathrm{H} \rightarrow{ }{2}^{3} \mathrm{He}+{ }{0}^{1} n+$ energy
If we take above example, we observe that the proton number and neutron number get conserved. We see that total rest mass of neutron and protons will be similar on both sides in a nuclear reaction. Further, it is examined that total binding energy of nuclei on left side should not be same as that of right hand side where difference between binding energies will result in release of energy in a reaction.
