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Nuclear Fusion Processes, those that form new elements, require both high temperatures and pressures. These are only found at or near the center of the star. Hydrogen fusion is the easiest (excepting deuterium but that's a bit too detailed for here) and takes place in the smallest of stars. (Brown Dwarves don't count as no fusion is going on there). For successively heavier fusion reactions creating heavier elements higher temperatures and pressures are required and therefore take place nearer the center of the star within the sphere of hydrogen fusion. The very largest star therefore have an onion like structure where more and more internal layer are forming heavier and heavier elements. The heaviest element that can be formed by energy producing reactions is Iron. After that the formation of even heavier elements absorbs energy. This is why all the elements above Iron are thought to form in Super-novas reactions where there is incredible temperatures and pressures and no worry that energy absorbing reactions are going to shut things down.

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Why can elements be produced in the sun but not in the earth atmosphere?

Over time, the fusion reactions can form as the reactions that form nuclei of slightly heavier elements, such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Thank you = )


How are the elements carbon nitrogen and oxygen produced in stars like the sun?

These fusion (carbon , nitrogen , and oxygen) reactions form nuclei of sightly heavier elements.


What percent of the sun is water?

None. The sun is made of pure elements, mostly hydrogen, which fuse together, creating energy in the form of heat and light. When the hydrogen has fused into helium, the helium fuses into the heavier elements. Eventually, a couple billion years in the future, the sun will be made almost entirely of iron, at which point the fusion will cease and the sun will DIE. But you won't be around to see it. At no point does water form without it being immediately consumed and fused into heavier elements.


What did the planets near the sun lose because of the sun's temperature?

Planets near the sun likely lost lighter elements like hydrogen and helium due to the sun's high temperature and solar wind. These elements were blown away, leaving behind the heavier elements that make up the terrestrial planets closer to the sun.


What are some characteristics of stars that might account for the fact that some have more complex elements in their spectra?

Older age might account for it. As a star ages, it uses up the simplest elements (hydrogen . . . helium . . .) then starts fusing heavier and heavier elements. Our Sun will get to the point of fusing iron, which is pretty heavy, but the truly large stars out there will fuse elements much heavier than Iron. These heavier and heavier elements may account for some stars having more complex elements in their spectra.

Related Questions

Why does your sun have 2 percent heavier elements and from where do they come?

I think it's our Sun which gets heavier elements from fusion of hydrogen and other light elements.Edit: Our Sun does create helium from hydrogen by fusion, but that's all. The reason it has heavier elements is that these come from the nebula that formed the Sun. The heavier elements are thought to have come from stars that exploded as "supernovas", a long time ago.


Why can elements be produced in the sun but not in the earth atmosphere?

Over time, the fusion reactions can form as the reactions that form nuclei of slightly heavier elements, such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Thank you = )


Why can elements be produced in the sun but not in the earth's atmosphere?

Over time, the fusion reactions can form as the reactions that form nuclei of slightly heavier elements, such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Thank you = )


Why elements be produced in the sun but not in the earth's atmosphere?

Over time, the fusion reactions can form as the reactions that form nuclei of slightly heavier elements, such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Thank you = )


What is the term describing the fusing of lighter elements into heavier elements?

That process is known as nuclear fusion. In nuclear fusion, lighter elements such as hydrogen combine to form heavier elements, releasing energy in the process. This is the process that powers stars like our sun.


What it a process in which lighter elements stick together to create heavier elements?

This process is known as nuclear fusion. It occurs in stars like the sun when lighter elements such as hydrogen are combined to form heavier elements like helium, releasing a large amount of energy in the process.


Fusing hydrogen atoms into heavier elements produces?

Fusing hydrogen atoms into heavier elements produces helium and releases a large amount of energy in the form of heat and light. This process, known as nuclear fusion, occurs in the core of stars like our sun and is responsible for the sun's energy output.


What is the nuclear process that converts helium and hydrogen from lighter to heavier elements?

The nuclear process that converts helium and hydrogen into heavier elements is nuclear fusion. In this process, the nuclei of lighter elements combine to form the nuclei of heavier elements, releasing large amounts of energy in the process. This is the process that powers stars like our Sun.


How does stars light up?

Inside stars atoms are fused together to form heavier elements in a process called nuclear fusion. Our very own Sun is our closest star. Our Sun fuses hydrogen atoms together to form helium. Our Sun will eventually produce heavier elements when it reaches a certain age, and will in fact create even heavier elements as it dies! This process of fusion releases energy in the form of heat and light. The light travels from the star to your eye and you can see it. Interestingly, because light takes time to travel this distance, when you look at stars you are actually seeing them as they were in the past.


Is stars the size of the sun can produce elements heavier than oxygen true or false?

True. Our Sun will eventually produce elements as heavy as iron.


Why can the Sun not produce heavier elements beyond carbon and oxygen?

The Sun can only produce elements up to carbon and oxygen through nuclear fusion in its core. For elements heavier than carbon and oxygen, higher temperatures and pressures are required, which can only be achieved in more massive stars or during supernova explosions.


What forms when the sun fuses?

It forms helium. After it runs out of hydrogen, it'll form carbon. As I recall, the sun begins to die at the carbon stage because it's too small to fuse heavier elements.