Sunday, 12 February 2017

Star, nature's own fusion reactor!


It all starts with interstellar dust and cloud
Collapsing under it’s own gravity to form
the core heating upto several million degrees
starting the fusion reaction, hydrogen atoms fusing
into helium releasing enormous energy, a star is born!

Star, the nature’s fusion reactor begins operations!
Spewing enormous energy, photons, solar winds,
Neutrinos all around the dazzling ball of light
The interstellar dust and clouds didn’t turn into
A star overnight, it took millions of years to do so

It all don’t stop at hydrogen fusion into helium
Only small stars stop at that level Stars more than
1.5 solar masses to 3 solar masses, more than
3 solar masses all continue fusion by Helium ,carbon
neon, oxygen,magnesium, silicon fusions

The fusion goes right upto iron core where it takes
More energy in reaction than to give out
Resulting in inward collapse and massive heating
and supernova explosion expelling dust and cloud
From dust & cloud stars form anew starting all over again!

Stars born, dazzle in fusion billions of years
exhaust all fusion stuff end up white dwarf, neutron stars,
black holes depending on the mass and size
of the stars after supernova explosion,expelling
dust and cloud to form star the nature’s fusion reactor!

-Mohan Sanjeevan

Pic: Successive stages of fusion
H: Hydrogen fusion, He: Helium fusion
C: Carbon fusion, Ne: Neon fusion
O: Oxygen fusion Si: Silicon fusion
Fe: Iron core





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