Red giants derive their energy not from nuclear ructions involving hydrogen, but by reac- tions involving helium. Specifically, a reaction where 3 helium nuclei change into 1 carbon nucleus. The mass of a helium nucleus is 6.645x10-27 kg, and the mass of a carbon nu- cleus is 1.9922x10-26 kg. Use the data to calculate: (1) the mass lost in one such reaction, (2) the energy released in one such reaction, (3) the energy released when a kilogram of helium fuses to become carbon, (4) the ratio between this and the amount of energy re- leased when a kilogram of hydrogen fuses to become helium, and finally (5) the length of time a 10 solar luminosity star of 1 solar mass could continue shining if it were powered by this reaction.
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