Glossary term: 核聚變
Description: 核聚變是輕元素的原子核結合在一起形成重元素原子核的過程。
在宇宙中，核聚變扮演著兩個重要角色。第一，它為太陽等恆星的輻射提供能量。當足夠輕的原子核發生聚變時，產生的新原子核的總靜止質量略小於初始原子核的總靜止質量。這種“質量虧損”對應聚變反應所釋放的能量，通過愛因斯坦著名的公式E=mc2，可以將質量m、能量E和光速c聯繫起來。例如，在太陽的內核中，氫核融合在一起形成氦，並以輻射和中微子粒子的形式釋放能量。
核聚變的第二個作用是在宇宙中產生比氫和氦更復雜的元素。宇宙大爆炸之後，宇宙中只存在氫、氦和微量的鋰核。恆星內核中、超新星爆發過程中的聚變反應以及中子星碰撞引起的爆炸，是宇宙中（基本上）所有其餘較重化學元素的來源。按質量計算，構成人體最大部分的化學元素，尤其是氧和碳，都是在恆星核心或超新星爆發過程中通過核聚變形成的，因此有 "我們是星塵 "的說法。
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Term and definition status: The original definition of this term in English have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher The translation of this term and its definition is still awaiting approval
This is an automated transliteration of the simplified Chinese translation of this term
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