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Does the Sun produce energy by using nuclear fusion?

1 Answer

Apr 15, 2018

Yes

Explanation:

The sun converts mass to energy by nuclear fusion. As a main sequence star, this is primarily by the fusion of hydrogen nuclei to form helium.

The most common reactions involve the following:

$_{1}^{1} H +_{1}^{1} H \to_{1}^{2} H + p^{+} + ν$ $""_1^1 H + ""_1^1H -> ""_1^2H + p^+ + nu$
$_{1}^{2} H +_{1}^{1} H \to_{2}^{3} H e$ $""_1^2H + ""_1^1H -> ""_2^3He$
$_{2}^{3} H e +_{2}^{3} H e \to_{2}^{4} H e + 2_{1}^{1} H + 2 p^{+}$ $""_2^3He + ""_2^3He -> ""_2^4He + 2 ""_1^1H + 2p^+$

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