From nuclei to neutron stars: simple binding energy computer modelling in the classroom (Part 1)

TL;DR

This paper introduces a classroom activity using the liquid-drop model to help secondary students understand nuclear binding energy, model parameters, and the connection to real atomic data through spreadsheet-based manipulations.

Contribution

It presents an accessible educational activity that demonstrates how simple mathematical models relate to nuclear physics and astrophysics, emphasizing model validation and predictive power.

Findings

Students can optimize model parameters to fit atomic mass data.

The activity illustrates the significance of positive binding energy.

It provides a foundation for discussing theoretical models and their applications.

Abstract

We present a simple activity based on the liquid-drop model which allows secondary school students to explore the uses of mathematical models and gain an intuitive understanding of the concept of binding energy, and in particular the significance of positive binding energy. Using spreadsheets provided as Supplementary Material, students can perform simple manipulations on the different coefficients of the model to understand the role of each of its five terms. Students can use the spreadsheets to determine model parameters by optimising the agreement with real atomic mass data. %This will subsequently be used to predict the limit of existence of the Segr\'e chart and to find the minimum mass of a neutron star. This activity can be used as the starting point of a discussion about theoretical models, their validation when it comes to describing experimental data and their predictive power towards unexplored regimes.