INSTABILITY OF LARGE NUCLIDES WITH RESPECT TO DECAY BY ALPHA-PARTICLE EMISSION

The well-known curve of nuclear binding energy per nucleon (1) shows how this quantity varies with nuclear size and demonstrates the optimum binding of the nucleons when the nucleus is about the size of A = 58, reached by iron. However, the related but rarely featured curve of total nuclear binding energy more clearly indicates the possibility of nuclide decay by α-particle emission.