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What Fuel does a Star burn to create its own energy?
A star will use fusion to combine lighter atoms into heavier atoms. A main-sequence star (that's the majority of stars) will convert hydrogen-1 into helium-4, so in this case, hydrogen-1 is the fuel. Once it starts running out of hydrogen-1, it will start fusing the helium into heavier elements - in which case the main fuel will be the helium-4. Later in the life cycle of a star, the fuel can be even heavier elements.
What is the source of all elements in the universe that are more massive than iron?
The primary sources of these elements are fusion reactions in stars (the plural is there because there are hundreds, if not thousands, of different reactions that take place in stars).The reason that iron is significant is that two of its isotopes (56Fe and 58Fe) are the around the most stable nuclei of any element (56Fe is often wrongly attributed to be the most stable nuclide, but that distinction actually goes to 62Ni - 56Fe comes in third after 62Ni and 58Fe).As a result, fusion reactions (nuclear reactions that combine smaller elements to make larger ones) that take place to give progressively heavier elements up to nickel (just beyond iron in the periodic table) will give out energy. To form elements larger than iron, energy has to be put in to the reaction. It is the fusion reactions that give elements up to nickel, which give out the energy from stars.The consequence of this is that any elements heavier than nickel which may be temporarily formed in a star will undergo fission reactions that give smaller elements. Elements heavier than iron are generally formed in supernovae, where a star coming to the end of its life (and therefore containing plenty of heavy elements) produces a massive energy output that fuels the formation of heavy elements and scatters them to interstellar space before significant losses due to fission can take place.
If a star runs out of fuel when all of the elements inside it are fused to iron how are the heavier elements created?
During the main life cycle of a star, no elements heavier than iron can be created, and that's only in very massive stars (our sun is only massive enough to fuse hydrogen into helium). Your question is a very good one, and if you thought of it on your own, you should be proud. Every element heavier than iron is created when the star dies. Specifically, when it becomes a super-nova. When all the lighter elements have been fused, the star can't generate enough energy to resist its own gravity, so it collapses in on itself. The result is a sudden gigantic spike in pressure that creates all the heavier elements. As if it weren't cool enough that we're all made from star-stuff, a good bit of us is made from supernovae, too!
Why is iron the heaviest element that can be produced by star?
It isn't; heavier elements can be, and are, produced by DYING stars. The reason is the "packing fraction curve". As atomic nuclei would fuse together within the cores of normal stars, hydrogen atoms as "fuel" would fuse into helium "ash"; when the star became old, the core of the stars would heat up and become more dense as the star began to collapse into itself. The denser stellar core material would heat up and begin to fuse into heavier elements; carbon, oxygen, and heavier elements, releasing a little energy every time a new atom was formed by fusing together lighter ones - UNTIL they got to iron. Once you get to iron, any additional fusion sucks energy OUT of the star's core, and every fusion from there on sucks even MORE energy out of the star, leading to the star's quick collapse. This is one scenario for how a "nova" might occur. If a star EXPLODES in a supernova, then there's LOTS of energy to crash even heavy elements together into even HEAVIER elements. So all of the gold, uranium, lead, and every atom heavier than iron, was formed in a supernova explosion.
Why is the inner core of Earth metal?
Iron is one of the denser atoms formed via fusion when stars collapse in spectacular novae or supernovae at the end of their cycles. As the earth was formed by the accretion of colliding planetesimals, iron is one of the elements that was incorporated into its mass. The energy released as a result of repeated impacts at extremely high velocities manifested largely as heat, causing widespread melting. The mass of the earth is large, so its gravitational force is high. Just as heavy stones sink faster than lighter stones, iron sank to the Earth's center of mass (the core) faster than lighter elements, such as silicon and aluminum. These lighter elements are more common on the earth's surface, while heavier elements such as iron and nickel are much more abundant at the center of the Earth.
What is the composition of lighter elements in comparison with heavier element?
Lighter elements are composed of fewer protons and neutrons compared to heavier elements. They tend to have fewer total nucleons and lower atomic numbers. Lighter elements are typically found at the beginning of the periodic table, while heavier elements are found towards the end.
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.
When The heavier elements in the universe where formed by?
The heavier elements in the universe were primarily formed through processes such as stellar nucleosynthesis and supernova explosions. In stars, nuclear fusion combines lighter elements like hydrogen and helium into heavier elements up to iron. Elements heavier than iron are typically formed during supernovae, where the intense energy and neutron capture processes create these elements. Additionally, some heavy elements may also form through the merging of neutron stars.
How are heavier elements formed from hydrogen within the core of a star?
Heavier elements are formed through nuclear fusion processes that take place in the core of a star. Hydrogen atoms undergo fusion to form helium, and then this process continues to create heavier elements by fusing helium atoms together. As the star fuses lighter elements, it produces heavier elements through a series of nuclear reactions.
What is the name of the stellar process in which the fusion of hydrogen produces other elements?
The stellar process in which the fusion of hydrogen produces other elements is called nucleosynthesis. This is a key process in the evolution of stars, where lighter elements such as hydrogen and helium are fused together to form heavier elements like carbon, oxygen, and iron.
What process turns a star into energy?
Nuclear fusion, of lighter elements onto heavier elements.
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.
Is hydrogen a fission or fusion?
Hydrogen undergoes fusion, not fission. Fusion is the process of combining lighter elements, like hydrogen, to form heavier elements and release energy. Fission, on the other hand, is the process of splitting heavier elements into lighter ones.
What process turns a star matter into energy?
Nuclear fusion, of lighter elements onto heavier elements.
Which object forms by the contraction of a large sphere of gases causing the nuclear fusion of lighter elements into heavier elements?
A star forms by the contraction of a large sphere of gases. This contraction causes the nuclear fusion of lighter elements into heavier elements, releasing energy in the process.
The heavier elements in the universe were formed by .?
They were formed in supernovae.
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.
