Nucleosynthesis · 3 ⁴He → ¹²C
The Triple-Alpha Process
How stars make carbon: three helium-4 nuclei (alpha particles) combine into carbon-12. It requires temperatures around a hundred million kelvin and proceeds through a finely-tuned nuclear resonance, so it only switches on in the helium-burning cores of evolved giant stars.
Highlights
- ›The origin of the carbon in living things
Stars, stages & concepts
Across stellar astrophysics
Knowledge connections
- Associated withThe Helium Flash
- Associated withThe Horizontal Branch
- Associated withThe Horizontal Branch
- Associated withThe Helium Flash
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.