The SEMF calculates nuclear binding energy, which is a measure of how tightly bound a nucleus is. This is useful because it is possible for a nuclear decay to happen if the binding energies of the products are higher than that of the initial nucleus. This is due to the fact that all nuclei want to change to their more stable (more bound) state. We can also use the difference between the reactants’ and the products’ binding energies to calculate how much energy will be produced in a nuclear reaction.