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Maybe we can do the same for "bond energy". That way, students may be
less inclined to think that breaking a bond always "releases" energy.
Since "binding energy" is (always?) defined as a positive quantity, I find it confusing. We can define it as
1) The minimum energy needed to separate the particles (which makes it, in my mind, the unbinding energy) and/or
2) As you say, the minimum energy released when the system is formed.
I think that the "binding energy" should actually be a negative quantity, but we are not going to change tradition.
Tom Sandin