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binding energy
noun
: the energy required to break up a molecule, atom, or atomic nucleus completely into its constituent particles
Examples of binding energy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The researchers also confirmed that the goldene has a higher binding energy than regular gold; this should help expand its ability to catalyze or jump-start chemical reactions.
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Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 12 June 2024
For the Earth, our binding energy is somewhere around 2.5x1032 Joules.
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Paul Sutter, Ars Technica, 27 Mar. 2023
The weak binding energy means that these bodies must have formed in their current orientation, rather than originating elsewhere and later becoming a pair, which points to a starlike-formation mechanism.
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Katelyn Allers, Scientific American, 1 Aug. 2021
When a star collapses into an ultradense object like a pulsar or black hole, some of its matter turns into what’s called gravitational binding energy.
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Gabriel Popkin, Discover Magazine, 12 Mar. 2015
That suggests each pentaquark is just a baryon bound to a meson, with a tiny bit of mass taken up in binding energy.
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Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, 5 June 2019
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Word History
First Known Use
1907, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near binding energy
Cite this Entry
“Binding energy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/binding%20energy. Accessed 7 Feb. 2025.
Kids Definition
binding energy
noun
: the energy required to break up a molecule, atom, or atomic nucleus completely into the particles that make it up
More from Merriam-Webster on binding energy
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about binding energy
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