Energy Sources in Stars (§10.3)

Proton-Proton ChainSince the Sun’s s mass consists mostly of H and He, we anticipatenuclear reactions involving these two elementsegp + + p + → 2 Hep + + 4 He → 5 Li4 He + 4 He → 8 BeBut there is a problem here - what is it?All these reactions produce unstable particlesegp + + p + → 2 He → p + + p +p + + 4 He → 5 Li → p + + 4 He4 He + 4 He → 8 Be → 4 He + 4 HeSo among light elements there are no two-particle exothermicreactions producing stable particles. We have to look tomore peculiar reactions or those involving rarer particles