“THE CNO CYCLE refers to the Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen cycle, a process of stellar nucleosynthesis in which stars on the Main Sequence fuse hydrogen into helium via a six-stage sequence of reactions.” C12 —> N13 —> C13 —> N14 —> O15 —> N15 —> C12. “Thus, the carbon-12 nucleus used in the initial reaction is regenerated in the final one and hence acts as a catalyst for the whole cycle. Stars of lower mass convert hydrogen to helium via an alternative process known as the ‘proton-proton chain’.“
https://lnkd.in/gfyaz5f
linkedin post 2022-06-29 05:12:48
Nigel Fleming
September 21, 2022