A given coin has a mass of 3.0 g. Calculate the nuclear energy that would be required to separate all the neutrons and protons from each other. For simplicity assume that the coin is entirely made of `._(29)^(63)Cu` atoms of mass 62.92960 u..

Explanation

Number of atoms in 3g coin `= (6.023xx10^(23)xx3)/(63)`
`= 2.868xx10^(22)`
Each atom of copper contains 29 protons and 34 neutrons. Therefore, mass defect of each atom `= [29xx1.00783+34xx1.00867]-62.92960=0.59225 u`
Total mass defect for all the atoms
`= 0.59225xx2.868xx10^(22)u`
`Delta M = 1.6985xx10^(22)u`
As, `1u = 931 MeV`
Nuclear energy required
`= 1.6985xx10^(22)xx931 MeV`
`= 1.58xx10^(25)MeV`