EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Nuclear fusion is what happens in the Sun and other stars and involves joining two atomic nuclei to make one larger one. Both reactions release large amounts of energy, but with nuclear fusion there is very high energy yield and very low nuclear waste production.

Detailed explanation-2: -Energy from Hydrogen Fusion In going from hydrogen to iron, energy is released as nuclei fuse to make bigger ones. Why? The protons and neutrons are held together through a type of energy called nuclear binding energy.

Detailed explanation-3: -The energy released from the collapse of the gas into a protostar causes the center of the protostar to become extremely hot. When the core is hot enough, nuclear fusion commences. Fusion is the process where two hydrogen atoms combine to form a helium atom, releasing energy.

Detailed explanation-4: -Larger stars have more fuel, but they have to burn (fuse) it faster in order to maintain equilibrium. Because thermonuclear fusion occurs at a faster rate in massive stars, large stars use all of their fuel in a shorter length of time. This means that bigger is not better with respect to how long a star will live.

Detailed explanation-5: -The sheer mass of the Sun crushes the atoms of hydrogen within it under gravity, forcing the pressure and temperature up to the point where the nuclei of hydrogen atoms fuse together. A chain of nuclear reactions then takes place, creating nuclei of the next heaviest chemical element, helium.