The process of carbon creation

摘要

In the Universe, the element carbon is created only in stars, in a remarkable reaction called the triple-α process. Fresh insights into the reaction now come from the latest experiments carried out on Earth. In the first few moments of the Universe'sexistence -- the famous 'three minutes' --no elements heavier than helium were made, with the exception of a tiny amount of lithium. So how were the other elements, including the carbon that is so important to life on Earth, created? On page 136 of this issue, Fynbo et al. present new and exciting measurements of the rate of the nuclear fusion reactions that produce ~(12)C. The element is mainly synthesized inside stars when they evolve to the red-giant and later stages (Fig. 1).