What process does the star's core undergo after its hydrogen has been converted to helium?

Link to this answer

CloseClose

Link to this answer

Share this credible answer with others. Simply paste this code into your blog or Web page:

<a href="http://qanda.encyclopedia.com/question/process-does-star-core-undergo-after-its-hydrogen-has-been-converted-helium-209095.html" >What process does the star's core undergo after its hydrogen has been converted to helium?</a>
E-mail this answer Link to this answer

After the bulk of a star's hydrogen has been converted to helium by either the proton-proton or carbon-nitrogen-oxygen process, the stellar core contracts (while the outer layers expand) until sufficiently high temperatures are reached to initiate "helium-burning" by the triple-alpha process; in this process, three helium nuclei (alpha particles) are fused to make a carbon nucleus.

Answer verified with
Get more facts and information about nucleosynthesis . Or, view the full encyclopedia entry from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.

Similar questions: After a star's hydrogen has been converted to helium, what process does its core undergo? What process takes place in a star's core after its hydrogen has been converted to helium? [ Hide these questions ]

Related research articles

See all results at HighBeam

HighBeam gives you access to newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles plus press releases, facts, information, and biographies from thousands of sources.