All of the atoms in the universe began as hydrogen. The energy that process releases is actually what keeps the star’s gravity from collapsing it entirely. The fusion process forces hydrogen atoms together, transforming them into heavier elements such as helium, carbon and oxygen. In cases where the interacting nuclei belong to elements with low atomic numbers (e.g., hydrogen [atomic number 1] or its isotopes deuterium and tritium), substantial amounts of energy are released. When the new star reaches a certain size, a process called nuclear fusion ignites, generating the star's vast energy. Silicon Fusion: Silicon fusion in stars is the last stage of fusion. When the core is hot enough, nuclear fusion commences. A star lives while there’s balance between the outward push of energy from nuclear fusion and the inward press of gravity. Stars created everything else, including most of the atoms in your body. This promotes the fusion of heavier and heavier elements, ultimately forming all the elements up to iron. Fusion inside stars transforms hydrogen into helium, heat, and radiation. Hydrogen Fusion. Nuclear Reactions in Stars The energy of the stars comes from nuclear fusion processes. The Details. Hydrogen fusion is the fundamental nuclear reaction in stars. The two most prominent reactions that fuse hydrogen into helium are: PP Chain and CNO Cycle. Fusion is the process by which the sun and other stars generate light and heat. The fusion of hydrogen nuclei uses up hydrogen to produce helium and energy. Hydrogen fusion (nuclear fusion of four protons to form a helium-4 nucleus) is the dominant process that generates energy in the cores of main-sequence stars. When the star dies after millions or billions of years, it may release heavier elements such as gold. It’s most easily … The fourth possible fusion process creates sulfur-31 plus a neutron, and it releases 1.459 MeV. This process is called nuclear fusion. Every second, a star like our Sun converts 4 million tons of its material into heat and light through the process of nuclear fusion. For stars like the sun which have internal temperatures less than fifteen million Kelvin, the dominant fusion process is proton-proton fusion.For more massive stars which can achieve higher temperatures, the carbon cycle fusion becomes the dominant mechanism. Hydrogen is the fuel for the process. Nuclear Fusion It is a nuclear process, where energy is produced by smashing together light atoms. In the article of Hertzsprung Russell Diagram, we learnt that any star that is fusing hydrogen in its core is known as a main sequence star.Our Sun is a main sequence star. It is the opposite reaction of fission, where heavy isotopes are split apart. Our Sun has provided an essentially constant amount of heat and light to Earth for about 4.5 billion years. The energy released from the collapse of the gas into a protostar causes the center of the protostar to become extremely hot. is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus Fusion is the process that powers active stars, the hydrogen bomb and experimental devices examining fusion power for electrical generation. A fifth possible end-product is sulfur-32 plus a photon, and this releases the most energy of the different oxygen fusion processes, 16.539 MeV. Nuclear fusion, process by which nuclear reactions between light elements form heavier elements (up to iron). Fusion is the process where two hydrogen atoms combine to form a helium atom, releasing energy. It is also called "hydrogen burning", which should not be confused with the chemical combustion of hydrogen in an oxidizing atmosphere. As the hydrogen is used up, the core of the star condenses and heats up even more. 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