On the tiny separation work of strong force in atomic nuclei and the real origin of energy released by nuclear fusion

The mainstream framework of nuclear physics interprets nuclear binding energy entirely as separation work stored by nuclear force. This framework cannot explain the experimentally observed energy fluctuation of nucleons inside atomic nuclei. Based on the fundamental principles of the Light Origin Theory, this paper distinguishes two types of energy effects with completely different properties. The first is the separation work corresponding to the short range strong force, which follows the work relation W=F·Δr. The strong force has a large peak value but an extremely short effective acting distance, so the separation work is tiny. It only serves as stored energy that must be consumed to break the binding structure. A single cycle of combination and separation will not release net energy. The second is the threshold effect of nucleon self locking energy. Protons and neutrons are not fixed energy constants and have adjustable self locking thresholds. When nucleons stay inside an atomic nucleus, the strong interaction from surrounding nucleons forms constraints and changes the stable threshold of individual nucleons. The number of nucleons generally remains unchanged during nuclear fusion. The nuclear energy released comes from the energy difference generated by the downward adjustment of nucleon self locking thresholds, which is independent of the separation work of strong force. This paper also compares the separation work of Coulomb attraction. The Coulomb separation work of the proton electron system is about 0.393 MeV, which is far larger than the strong force separation work of 0.02 MeV in the same system. The comparison clarifies the energy storage characteristics of different interactions. This paper sorts out the physical boundaries of various energy effects and corrects the long standing conceptual deviation that the energy difference of nuclear reaction equals the stored separation work of nuclear force. It also points out that the hypothesis of neutrino introduced in the theory of neutron decay arises from the omission in the accounting of separation work revenue and expenditure. Neutrinos are not real particles. This paper provides a self consistent physical explanation for the measured results of nucleon energy shift.