Fusion, the Coulomb barrier, and tunnelling

Does binding energy per nucleon computed from tabulated atomic masses locate the maximum of the curve and predict which reactions release energy? Useful evidence includes computed B/A across the nuclide chart, the nuclide that actually maximises it, Q values for one fission and one fusion reaction, and comparison with published energy releases.

This GioPhysics course map is an adaptable learning sequence, not academic credit, accreditation, or a universal university syllabus. Third-semester content is the least standardised of the introductory sequence: departments place oscillations, waves, optics, and thermal physics differently, and the modern-physics units here are a bounded survey rather than a complete course in relativity, quantum mechanics, atomic, nuclear, or particle physics. Follow your institution's published scope, notation, laboratory programme, and assessment rules. A result should be checked against units, signs, limiting cases, and the conditions under which its model was derived.