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Nuclear Fusion in Stars

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This simple and engaging activity explains nuclear fusion and how radiation is generated by stars, using marshmallows as a model.

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Related Programming Resources

Hints for uses in your library Download ready-to-use resources, including a PowerPoint file, supernova movie, and star maps here
Related Links NASA Universe Discovery Guide - January
Where Does the Sun's Energy Come From? Space Place in a Snap!
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ANS Nuclear Fusion
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NASA | Afterschool Universe: Supernova Ball Bounce
How Stars Explode: Four Ways to Make a Supernova
Astronomy Activity: Let's Make a Supernova
Explore the Remains of a Massive Supernova
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What Is a Supernova?
NASA Knows! What Is a Supernova?
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Space: What Is a Supernova?
Variable Stars: Eta Carinae
Originating Source Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Night Sky Network
Related Books
[Suggest a book]
Astrophysics for young people in a hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Gregory Mone
Supernova! by Heather Hammonds and Lisa Simmons
Fusion by James A Mahaffey

Reviews

 
Rating 
Participants Enjoyed the Activity 
Participants Learned from This Activity 
Activity Instructions Were Clear and Easy to Follow 
Would Recommend 
04/28/2018

Great dramatization

This was quite a crowd-pleaser, and a really effective way to demonstrate the collision of nuclei to create new ones and energy in the sun. I appreciated both the clarity and the detail of the explanations. The visual tie-in with the periodic table was particularly effective, as they readily tracked the conversion to helium, then beryllium, with the explanation of the instability of that and further transition to carbon if another collision happens soon enough.

I added a brief moment of zooming around in crazy paths before the nuclei collided to represent the randomness of their motion, and participants thought it was hilarious while understanding the rationale for the motion. It didn't take as much effort as I expected to stick the marshmallows together, so my first "helium" was a little smaller than the original two marshmallows and very sticky. After that, I was more careful to just attach them and not pulverize them.

I will definitely use this demo again to describe nuclear reactions.

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Nuclear Fusion in Stars

Nuclear Fusion in Stars

This simple and engaging activity explains nuclear fusion and how radiation is generated by stars, using marshmallows as a model.