Nuclear Fusion
From Slackerpedia Galactica
The process by which atomic nuclei combine to form heavier elements. The fusion of light elements into heavier ones provides the power source for stars. For most of a star's life, four hydrogen nuclei combine through a small number of processes to form one helium nucleus, and a lot of energy. The energy created is the result of the mass difference between four individual hydrogen nuclei (four protons) and one helium nucleus, and the magic of E=mc2. The processes that do this are known as the proton-proton chain, and the CNO Cycle (CNO standing for carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen). The proton-proton chain is the slow building up of protons into a helium nucleus, while the CNO cycle is a catalytic reaction where protons are added to carbon, creating nitrogen and oxygen isotopes that either react with more hydrogen or that decay into a helium nucleus and back into carbon, starting the reaction over. The proton-proton chain is the power source for low-mass stars, while the CNO cycle is only efficient in massive stars.
When nuclear fusion creates energy, it provides an energy source, and can serve to balance the gravitational force of a star. When it requires energy, stars tend to die rather dramatically. The fusion of iron nuclei requires energy rather than releasing it, so when especially massive stars have nothing but iron left in their cores, they collapse and then explode.
People have been trying to harness nuclear fusion here on Earth as a cheap power source, and have yet to be completely successful. People have also been trying to harness nuclear fusion here on Earth to blow stuff up, and have been spectacularly successful.
In some regions of Central Texas, this is called Nookular Fusion. See the Wictionary entry on nuclear [1] for more information on pronunciation.
