What type of fusion occurs in a high mass star near the end stages of its life cycle CNO cycle helium burning proton proton chain helium capture?

What type of fusion occurs in a high mass star near the end stages of its life cycle CNO cycle helium burning proton proton chain helium capture?

Nuclear fusion powers a star for most of its life. Initially the energy is generated by the fusion of hydrogen atoms at the core of the main-sequence star. Later, as the preponderance of atoms at the core becomes helium, stars like the Sun begin to fuse hydrogen along a spherical shell surrounding the core.

What type of fusion occurs in a high mass star?

hydrogen fusion core
High mass stars go through a similar process to low mass stars in the beginning, except that it all happens much faster. They have a hydrogen fusion core, but much of the hydrogen fusion happens via the CNO cycle.

What happens to a high mass star when the fusion process ends?

At the end of a high-mass star’s fusion process, iron composes the star’s core. The star’s core collapses in an instant into a sphere; it simply cannot withstand the immense pressure and gravitational attraction. At collapse a sphere of Neutrons remains.

What types of elements do high mass stars form?

The oxygen and heavier elements in our bodies were made in the nuclear furnace of high mass stars. High core temperatures allow helium to fuse with heavier elements. allow fusion to elements as heavy as iron. Advanced reactions in stars make elements like Si, S, Ca, and Fe.

How is hydrogen fusion in main sequence high mass stars different from that in main sequence low mass stars?

A main sequence star is powered by fusion of hydrogen into helium in its core. Fusion is stabilized by a natural pressure-temperature thermostat. High-mass main sequence stars have shorter lifetimes than low-mass main sequence stars.

What is high or very high mass star?

High mass stars. High mass stars (stars with masses greater than three times the mass of the Sun) are the largest, hottest and brightest Main Sequence stars and blue, blue-white or white in colour. High mass stars use up their hydrogen fuel very rapidly and consequently have short lives.

What elements are in a high mass star?

What are the stages of fusion in a high mass star?

The exact stages of evolutions are:

• Subgiant Branch (SGB) – hydrogen shell burning – outer layers swell.
• Red Giant Branch – helium ash core compresses – increased hydrogen shell burning.
• First Dredge Up – expanding atmosphere cools star – stirs carbon, nitrogen and oxygen upward – star heats up.

How is hydrogen fusion in high mass stars different from that in low mass stars?

The energy produced by the fusion of hydrogen into helium is given off as heat. In high mass stars, fusion happens more rapidly than in low mass stars, so they produce more heat and are hotter than low mass stars.

What allows a high mass star to fuse different elements from low mass stars?

What allows a high-mass star to fuse different elements from a low-mass star? More mass means more compression and thus a hotter core that allows heavier elements to fuse.

When does fusion occur in the core of a star?

Fusion Inside the Stars. Fusion in the core of stars is reached when the density and temperature are high enough. There are different fusion cycles that occur in different phases of the life of a star. These different cycles make the different elements we know. The first fusion cycle is the fusion of Hydrogen into Helium.

How does the life cycle of a massive star differ from a low mass star?

On the right of the illustration is the life cycle of a massive star (10 times or more the size of our Sun). Like low-mass stars, high-mass stars are born in nebulae and evolve and live in the Main Sequence. However, their life cycles start to differ after the red giant phase. A massive star will undergo a supernova explosion.

What happens when stars reach the red giant phase?

Once stars that are 5 times or more massive than our Sun reach the red giant phase, their core temperature increases as carbon atoms are formed from the fusion of helium atoms. Gravity continues to pull carbon atoms together as the temperature increases and additional fusion processes proceed, forming oxygen, nitrogen, and eventually iron.

Which is the first fusion cycle in the Sun?

The first fusion cycle is the fusion of Hydrogen into Helium. This is the stage that our Sun is in. In stars with a very high temperature there are other fusion cycles that take place ( CNO cycle ). At higher temperatures, Helium burning produces Carbon.