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How many helium nuclei fuse together when making carbon?

User Jdkealy
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2 Answers

5 votes

Final answer:

When making carbon through nuclear fusion, three helium nuclei fuse together. The collision between two helium nuclei is not stable, so three helium nuclei are required to form a stable carbon nucleus. The temperature required for this fusion process is 100 million K.

Step-by-step explanation:

When making carbon through nuclear fusion, three helium nuclei fuse together. It takes three helium nuclei coming together simultaneously to make a stable nuclear structure because the product of a collision between two helium nuclei is not stable and falls apart quickly. Due to the repulsion between protons, it requires a temperature of 100 million K for three helium nuclei (six protons) to stick together and form a carbon nucleus.

User Jonni
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8.8k points
4 votes
The answer is the 3. Hope this helped!
User Berezovskyi
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