The nuclear binding energy equation, when it is discovered, will shed light on the quantum nature of space and its structure.

In the Standard Model of physics the nuclear binding energy is derived by measuring the mass of atomic isotopes and then subtracting the calculated mass based on the number of electrons, protons, and neutrons in the atom. Since the electron is less than 1/1000th of the mass of the proton and neutron, it really doesn't make a significant contribution to the mass of the atom, but it does make a tiny contribution.

Let's say we want to know the binding energy in He₄. We would add the masses of two electrons, two protons, and two neutrons. (The number of protons and electrons are always the same when calculating the binding energy.)

The total calculated mass of He₄ is:

Scientists prefer to work with atomic weights in terms of mass units. One mass unit is equal to:

So in terms of mass units, the calculated mass of the He₄ isotope is:

The actual mass of the He₄ isotope in terms of mass units can be found at NIST:

He₄ = 4.002603

The difference between the calculated mass and the measured mass is:

4.032977 - 4.002603 = .030374

To convert this result to units of energy, the Standard Model would have us multiply .030374 times a conversion factor equal to 931.395 MeV.

.030374 * 931.395 MeV = 28.29 MeV

So the total binding energy of the He4 atom is equal to 28.29 MeV. The problem with the above method for obtaining the nuclear binding energy is that the measured value is empirically derived. In order to understand the quantum nature of space, we will need an equation that predicts the measured nuclear binding energy. So far, this equation does not exist.

A New Method

The method used by the Standard Model is somewhat misleading. The calculations and measurements show that mass is "disappearing" in the atom and being converted to "binding energy". Binding energy does not mean the missing energy is now holding the atom together. The strong nuclear force holds the atom together. The term "binding energy" only means that there is mass missing while the atom is held together.

The strong nuclear force holds the atom together. Energy is equal to force times distance. The missing mass is locked up as a vibration as the subatomic particles move toward and away from each other even while they are bound together.

In the Aether Physics Model the nuclear binding energy can be directly calculated for the strong nuclear forces present. In the QPM the strong nuclear force for the electron, proton, and neutron are:

The equation for calculating the nuclear binding energy based on the strong nuclear charges, where the number of protons is Z and the number of neutrons is N:

where k_c is Coulomb's constant and is the Compton wavelength.

The equation for calculating the nuclear binding energy of the atom is based on the strong nuclear forces moving a constant length of one Compton wavelength. But a thorough examination of all the known isotopes show that no atom has a wavelength equal to the Compton wavelength.

With the exceptions of isotopes with either a single proton or single neutron, the average wavelength of the strong nuclear forces in motion is greater than .5 Compton wavelength and less than 1.5 Compton wavelengths.

The nuclear binding energy equation rests on discovering the mathematical basis for the length the strong nuclear force moves in the atom. The strong nuclear forces, obviously, are dependent on the distances between the subatomic particles.

One such mechanism that can make the particles vibrate is the magnetic moment of the particles. I have converted the magnetic moments (and even corrected the magnetic moment of the neutron) to the Quantum Pulse Model system of units.

It may also be that the length the particles move in each atomic isotope is related directly to the nuclear shell structure. It appears that the number of nucleons (or just protons) that will fit in a shell follows the pattern of 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, 126. This is similar to the electron shells which follow the pattern of 2n² where n is the shell number. If quantum space will only allow so many nucleons in a shell structure, then the structure of quantum space must be taken into account. In fact, the atom with the greatest nuclear binding energy is Fe₅₆. In this case the second, third, and fourth shells of the nucleus are completely filled.

Maybe you're the person who can provide the equation for calculating the percentage of the Compton wavelength in the nuclear binding energy equation! Below is a sample of the data to work with. A complete table of elements and their binding energies can be found here. If you have questions or successfully solve this puzzle, please contact David Thomson at the submit1 address below.

Z = Number of Protons; EL = Element; A = Atomic Number; N = Neutrons