Ask Ethan: When do stars turn the most mass into energy?

Ask Ethan: When do stars turn the most mass into energy?

Deep inside every star in the Universe, an incredible process occurs: the nuclear fusion of light elements and isotopes into heavier ones. Because heavier elements (at least, up to iron) have slightly lower rest masses than the sum of the light elements masses that fuse into them, the act of nuclear fusion in stars releases energy via Einstein’s most famous equation: E = mc². That energy powers the stars and causes them to shine, and as stars ru…

New Theory Suggests Stars Dissolve Into Neutrons to Forge Heavy Elements

New theory suggests stars dissolve into neutrons to forge heavy elements