What is the consequence of fusing iron in the stellar core?
Answer
It consumes energy from the core to proceed.
The formation of an iron core represents a critical energy crisis for the massive star because iron is the heaviest nucleus for which fusion is endothermic. Unlike the fusion of lighter elements which releases energy and generates the thermal pressure necessary to counteract the immense inward pull of gravity, fusing iron requires an input of energy. Once the core is composed predominantly of iron, this energy consumption means the core can no longer generate the outward thermal pressure needed for hydrostatic equilibrium. Consequently, gravity overwhelms the core, leading directly to catastrophic gravitational collapse.
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