Compared to the sum of the masses of its constituents, the mass of a nucleus (other than ¹H) is

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The mass of a nucleus is less than the sum of the masses of its constituents due to the mass defect, which is the difference between the mass of a completely assembled nucleus and the sum of the masses of its individual protons and neutrons. This mass defect is converted into binding energy that holds the nucleus together, according to Einstein's equation E=mc^2.

Compared to the Sum of the Masses of Its Constituents