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If the total number of neutrons and prot...

If the total number of neutrons and protons in a nuclear reaction is conserved how than is the energy absorbed or evolved in the reaction?

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(i) Since proton number and neutron number are conserved in a nuclear reaction, the total rest mass of neutrons and protons is the same on either side of a reaction.
(ii) But the total binding energy of nuclei on the left side need not be the same as that on the right hand side.
(iii) The difference in these binding energies appears as energy released or obsored in nuclear reaction.
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