I found out that iron is the death element for stars, but I couldn't find why can anyone knowledgeable on stars explain why iron causes the star to die?
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2$\begingroup$ by simple research, futurism.com/what-happens-when-stars-produce-iron $\endgroup$– seVenVo1dJan 22, 2019 at 18:53
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2$\begingroup$ Related, but it doesn't exactly answer your question: physics.stackexchange.com/q/80256 Also see physics.stackexchange.com/q/79355 and physics.stackexchange.com/q/215769 and from our sister site astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/2231 $\endgroup$– PM 2RingJan 22, 2019 at 18:57
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1$\begingroup$ I would like it if people that down-vote explain rather than just annoy me by not helping me improve it $\endgroup$– Little BowsetteJan 25, 2019 at 20:04
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2 Answers
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This is the binding energy of some elements as a function of their number of nucleons
Since fusion leads to a higher number of nucleons, what a star does is to progressively move from left to right on this plot.
So if you start on the left, say H, you merge two, and the result has a larger binding energy, so energy is released. But that behavior is broken when you reach Fe$^{56}$, at that point, you need extra energy. Since the star cannot produce it, it stops fusing material, and it dies off
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$\begingroup$ @Luna It can be frustrating, sorry you had a bad experience with your first post $\endgroup$– caveracJan 25, 2019 at 20:12
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$\begingroup$ my bet is they down-voted thinking this person is crazy $\endgroup$ Jan 25, 2019 at 20:13
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$\begingroup$ @Luna The site has a strong policy against homework-type questions which, in my humble opinion, ends up being a bit counterproductive. But ... it is what it is. Maybe that's the reason some users decided to downvote your post (just guessing), I just hope this doesn't discourage you from keep posting your questions as it really helps growing the community $\endgroup$– caveracJan 25, 2019 at 21:05
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2$\begingroup$ @Luna I understand that, that's what I mean by counterproductive. Because some users prefer just to jump the guns and down-vote, or mark as off-topic, instead of taking the time to see the value in the question. $\endgroup$– caveracJan 25, 2019 at 21:11
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A star "dies" when the fusion stops. 56Fe is the most stable nucleus that exists so it is the ultimate fusion product. Any nucleons contained in it no longer contribute to the energy production.
