Nuclear stability is best measured by binding energy PER NUCLEON, not total binding energy; nickel-62 (and iron-56) sit at the peak of the binding-energy-per-nucleon curve, making them the most tightly bound nuclides in nature.
Nickel's most stable isotope has the highest binding energy per nucleon of any known nuclide (very slightly exceeding even iron-56), which is why it represents...
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