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The energy released by fusion in the core of a star produces an outward pressured force that counteracts gravity. When fusion stops, that force goes away and gravity takes hold, causing the core to collapse.

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In stars more massive than the Sun fusion continues until the core is almost all?

Iron. Iron is the heaviest element that can be produced through nuclear fusion in a star, and once the core of a massive star is mostly composed of iron, it can no longer sustain fusion reactions. This triggers its collapse and ultimately leads to a supernova explosion.


What comes after nuclear fusion?

After nuclear fusion, the next steps for a star depend on its mass. For lower-mass stars like our Sun, the core contracts and heats up, triggering helium fusion. For higher-mass stars, a series of fusion reactions occur with progressively heavier elements until iron is produced in the core. Once iron is produced, the star may undergo a supernova explosion or collapse to form a neutron star or black hole.


What element does a star run out of that causes them to die?

A star dies when it runs out of fuel to sustain nuclear fusion in its core. This fuel is mainly hydrogen, which gets converted into helium through nuclear fusion. Once the star runs out of hydrogen, it will expand and eventually collapse, leading to its death in a supernova explosion.


What is a limiting factor to the amount and type of fusion that occurs in stars?

The mass of the star and the related temperature of the stellar core determine the thermonuclear process type of the star. The stars of the solar mass produce energy from Hydrogen in the proton-proton cycle (two and three proton nuclei appear in intermediate stages of the fusion, end product is Helium); stars twice (or more) as heavy run the HNC cycle (Although Helium is here still the end product, Nitrogen and Carbon appear in intermediate fusion stages, too). Once the Hydrogen is used up, gravity collapse makes the temperatures rise until the next , heavier element fusion cycle is activated. As the temperature rises, other numerous fusion cycles can produce all existing elements. The heaviest ones are created in the extraordinary high temperatures of the supernovae-explosions


What is a star is born whenever a nebula expands?

A star is born when a nebula, a vast cloud of gas and dust in space, undergoes gravitational collapse. As the nebula contracts, the material within it becomes denser, leading to increased temperatures and pressure at its core. Once the conditions are right, nuclear fusion ignites, marking the birth of a new star. This process illustrates the life cycle of stars, where stellar formation begins from the remnants of previous stars.

Related Questions

How long does it take for the core of a massive star to collapse once fusion ceases?

Once fusion ceases in a massive star, it takes only a few seconds for the core to collapse and undergo a supernova explosion.


Why is the fusion of iron a problem for a star?

Unlike all lighter elements, fusing iron consumes more energy than it produces. Once a star's core starts iron fusion it stops producing energy and collapses. The collapse then blows away the outer layers of the star in a massive explosion called a supernova.


What happens to a massive star when its fusion period is over?

Once a star's nuclear fusion has ended, it will collapse inside its core and become what is known as a white dwarf. Its outer layers will shoot out into the universe as planet nebula. If they are very large, stars will explode into a Supernova and their core will collapse into a black hole.


In stars more massive than the Sun fusion continues until the core is almost all?

Iron. Iron is the heaviest element that can be produced through nuclear fusion in a star, and once the core of a massive star is mostly composed of iron, it can no longer sustain fusion reactions. This triggers its collapse and ultimately leads to a supernova explosion.


How are stars formed, step by step, from the initial collapse of a cloud of gas and dust to the ignition of nuclear fusion in their cores?

Stars are formed through a series of steps starting with the gravitational collapse of a cloud of gas and dust. As the cloud collapses, it heats up and forms a protostar. The protostar continues to contract and heat up until the core reaches temperatures high enough for nuclear fusion to begin. Once nuclear fusion ignites in the core, the star is born and begins to shine brightly.


What keeps stars core hot enough for hydrogen fusion?

Initially, a star's core is heated by compression as a nebula collapses. Once fusion is up and going, the fusion itself provides the necessary heat.


What comes after nuclear fusion?

After nuclear fusion, the next steps for a star depend on its mass. For lower-mass stars like our Sun, the core contracts and heats up, triggering helium fusion. For higher-mass stars, a series of fusion reactions occur with progressively heavier elements until iron is produced in the core. Once iron is produced, the star may undergo a supernova explosion or collapse to form a neutron star or black hole.


Explain why the sun does not collapse under the force of its own gravity?

Stars do not collapse because the inward force of gravity is balanced by the pressure generated by fusion. When stars die they do collapse. The cores of low to medium mass stars collapse to form white dwarfs. Further collapse is prevented y electron degeneracy pressure. More massive stars leave behind neutron stars, in which gravity is balanced by neutron degeneracy pressure. In the most massive stars, once fusion stops producing energy there is nothing to stop the collapse and the core becomes a black hole.


What are large stars that explodes in supernovas but are not big enough to form a black hole?

Neutron stars are as close as you get to a black hole without being a black hole. When a star of 25 or more solar masses depletes all of its fuel, it will be unable to counterbalance its own gravity through nuclear fusion or quantum degeneracy and the core will implode (Collapse) releasing a large amount of matter. Once its a few hundred kilometers in radius, quantum degeneracy stops the collapse. Any more than 3.2 solar masses and it will fully collapse into a singularity.


A protostar forms once the nebular cloud condenses and the core begins?

to grow dense and hot due to gravitational contraction. As the core heats up, it triggers the start of nuclear fusion, becoming a main sequence star.


Why is mass important for a supernova?

Stars produce energy through nuclear fusion, producing heavier elements from lighter ones. The heat generated by these reactions prevents gravitational collapse of the star. The star builds up a central core which consists of elements, where the temperature at the centre of the star is not sufficient to fuse them. For main sequence stars with a mass less than about 8 Suns, the mass of the core will eventually lose mass as planetary nebulae until only the core remains. Which becomes a white dwarf.Stars with higher mass will develop a degenerate core where the mass will grow until it exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit [See Link]. At this point the star will explode in a core collapse supernova, leaving behind either a neutron star or a black hole.For Type II supernova [See Link] [See related] mass flows into the core by the continued making of iron from nuclear fusion. Once the core has gained so much mass that it cannot withstand its own weight, the core implodes. This implosion can usually be halted by neutrons (the only things that can stop a gravitational collapse). When the mass of the star is so great even neutrons fail. The collapse is abruptly stopped by the neutrons, matter bounces off the hard iron core, and turns the implosion into an explosion.For Type Ia supernova, [See Link] [See related] the energy comes from the runaway fusion of carbon and oxygen in the core of the white dwarf.


What is a carbon fusion?

Carbon fusion is a stage towards the end of a star's life. See para below and link Carbon burning starts when helium burning ends. During helium fusion, stars build up an inert core rich in carbon and oxygen. Once the helium density drops below a level at which He burning can be sustained, the core collapses due to gravitation. This decrease in volume raises temperature and density of the core up to the carbon ignition temperature. This will raise the star's temperature around the core allowing it to burn helium in a shell around the core. The star increases in size and becomes a red supergiant.