A certain mass of hydrogen fuses to helium. The fusion mass defect is 0.02866 u. Using 1 u = 931 MeV/c², find energy liberated per one-u mass of fuel.
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Question

A certain mass of hydrogen fuses to helium. The fusion mass defect is 0.02866 u. Using 1 u = 931 MeV/c², find energy liberated per one-u mass of fuel.

G1 Physics · Accepted Answer

Fusion of four hydrogen nucleons gives approximately four units of initial mass. Energy released per fusion event is Q = Δmc² = 0.02866 × 931 ≈ 26.68 MeV. Per initial mass ≈ 4 u: E/u = 26.68/4 ≈ 6.67 MeV/u. Final answer: Option C (6.675 MeV/u).