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Equation 8 · Part 2 · The Valley of Stability Is a Fitness Landscape

Symbol A

B(A,Z)=aVA−aSA2/3−aCZ(Z−1)A1/3−aA(A−2Z)2A+δ(A)B(A,Z) = a_V A - a_S A^{2/3} - a_C \frac{Z(Z-1)}{A^{1/3}} - a_A \frac{(A-2Z)^2}{A} + \delta(A)
AA

What this part means

A is an argument of the function-like quantity on the left; its role is set by that function’s stated inputs.

Its job in the formula

A is an argument of the function-like quantity on the left; its role is set by that function’s stated inputs.

The passage around this formula

The quantity that plays fitness’s role has a name in nuclear physics already: binding energy per nucleon, B(A,Z)/A , where A = N + Z is the mass number. It is the energy that would have to be supplied to disassemble a nucleus into Z free protons and N free neutrons, divided by the number of nucleons, and a higher value means a more tightly…

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Learn the underlying idea

A variable is a named place for a value. Its letter is a local label: x can mean position in one formula and a data point in another.

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Sources cited in the surrounding passage

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