When an atom decays into another atom, what happens to the potential energy of the nucleus ?

i think it will get more negative because in general through fission and fusion the atom will try to get a greater binding energy meaning they have more potential energy stored in them. thus the walls of the potential well get higher for an nucleon to leave the nucleus and make it more stable in this way.

is this true ?

When an atom decays into another atom, what happens to the potential energy of the nucleus ?

I think it will get more negative because, in general, through fission and fusion an atom tries to get a greater binding energy and this means it has more potential energy stored. In this way the walls of the potential well get higher and it is harder for a nucleon to leave the nucleus. That makes the nucleus more stable.

is this true ?