Understanding Energy Release in Nuclear Fusion Reactions

The Explanation:

When two or more small nuclei combine together to form a larger nuclei then this process is known as a nuclear reaction. The smaller an atom, the more energy it requires to release an electron. This energy is known as binding energy. Thus, when two small nuclei fuse together then there will be more binding energy as compared to when two large nuclei fuse together. For example, the fusion of two hydrogen atoms releases more energy than one helium atom, and upon binding, excess energy is released into space. Hence, we can conclude that energy is released in a nuclear fusion reaction based on mass-energy equivalence because, for small nuclei, the binding energy of the lighter nuclei is greater than the binding energy of the heavier nucleus.