RE: Article: "Sun is Mostly Iron, Not Hydrogen"

From: Amara Graps (amara@amara.com)
Date: Thu Jan 10 2002 - 11:04:49 MST


>It's a fascinating process, the aging of stars. You start off fusing
>hydrogen to helium in the core. Then you run out of hydrogen, and the fusing
>moves to an expanding shell. The inner helium core grows and collapses
>without the sustaining radiation pressure of fusion reactions until it gets
>hot and dense enough to ignite. Which it does pretty much all at once. Bang!
>Helium fusion generates much more energy, so the star expands to a new
>equilibrium. Now you have a helium fusing core surrounded by a hydrogen
>fusing shell.
>
>Later on, you start to run out of helium, and build up a carbon core.

Plus,

More nucleosynthesis words here, in these other extropians threads

Subject: "Carbon in the Grand Scheme" 21 October 1999
http://www.lucifer.com/exi-lists/extropians.4Q99/1109.html

Subject: "Universe Principles" 24 October 1999
http://www.lucifer.com/exi-lists/extropians.4Q99/1266.html

Amara

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Amara Graps, PhD email: amara@amara.com
Computational Physics vita: ftp://ftp.amara.com/pub/resume.txt
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"Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the
future of the human race." -- H. G. Wells



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