For
the lighter nuclei region, A < 30, and for the heavier nuclei region,
A > 170, the binding energy per nucleon is less than 8 0 MeV, as we
have noted earlier Now, the greater the binding energy, the less is the
total mass of a bound system, such as a nucleus Consequently, if nuclei
with less total binding energy transform to nuclei with greater binding
energy, there will be a net energy release