Mass defect & reaction energy University Physics V · Nuclear physics
Nuclear Ledger
Balance nuclear product batches before releasing their mass-defect energy into the ledger.
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Challenge 1 of 3
Deuterium–tritium ledger
The input batch contains one deuterium atom and one tritium atom. Load helium-4 atoms and free neutrons on the product side.
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Balance A and Z, then clear the 17.4–17.8 MeV energy gate.
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Test 1Restoring your saved experiment…
3 stars on your first test; 2 within three; 1 after that. A first clear earns 100 XP plus 10 per star. Better star records earn the difference; repeating a record earns no extra XP.
Your experiment is ready.
Conserve nucleon number and charge in three nuclear reactions, then compute their Q values from a consistent neutral-atom mass table.
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The physics behind the game
Conserve nucleon number and charge in three nuclear reactions, then compute their Q values from a consistent neutral-atom mass table.
ΣAᵢ = ΣA𝒻; ΣZᵢ = ΣZ𝒻; Q = (Mᵢ − M𝒻) × 931.494 MeV/u
Model assumptions. The reactions are D + T → ⁴He + n, D + D → ³He + n, and ⁶Li + n → ⁴He + T. Neutral atomic masses are used consistently; total electron number cancels when Z balances. Tiny electronic binding corrections, incident kinetic energy, reaction rates and branching ratios are omitted. Unbalanced mass differences are never scored as physical reaction Q values.