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
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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. Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 12 June 2024 For the Earth, our binding energy is somewhere around 2.5x1032 Joules. 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. 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. 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. Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, 5 June 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of binding energy was in 1907

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 25 Nov. 2024.

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

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