What Elements Do Stars Fuse

For most of their lives, stars fuse elemental hydrogen into helium in their cores. Two atoms of hydrogen are combined in a series of steps to create helium-4. These reactions account for 85% of the Sun’s energy. The remaining 15% comes from reactions that produce the elements beryllium and lithium.

Which element do stars fuse in their cores?

They begin by fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores. This process continues for billions of years, until there is no longer enough hydrogen in the star’s core to fuse more helium. Without the energy from fusion, there is nothing to counteract the force of gravity, and the star begins to collapse inward.

What elements are forged in stars?

Apart from hydrogen, as many have heard from the Carl Sagan and Neil DeGrasse Tyson Cosmos series, every ingredient in the human body is made from elements forged by stars. The calcium in our bones, the oxygen we breathe, the iron in our blood – all those are forged in the element factories of stars.