Fusion and Main Sequence Questions

Be able to answer the following questions:

1. Conceptually, what does E=mc² mean? What are each of the variables representing? How does this connect to the Mass - luminosity relationship (L~M⁴)? How does E=mc² play a role in fusing Hydrogen (H) into Helium (He)?

2. What prevents stars from collapsing in on themselves?

3. Why do we get particles called neutrinos from fusion?

4. What would happen if mass could be dumped onto the sun? What would happen internally in the Sun? Would it appear differently on the outside? What would happen to the sun if mass were removed from the Sun?

5. How do 2 positive charges, such as protons get close together when they should repel one another?

6. Why do stars that are more massive than the Sun have shorter lives if they have more fuel to burn?

   Discussion

   1. Know the basic H fusion steps
   2. Know how the strong force plays a role in fusion
   3. Know the conservation laws (charge, baryon number, lepton number) and how to apply them to the H fusion reaction steps and any given reaction.