How does carbon release energy fusion or fission?

Answer:
Two carbon-12 nuclei can fuse into a magnesium-24 nucleus in a star with enough pressure and temperature. Two magnesium-24 nuclei can fuse into a chromium-48 nucleus in a star with enough pressure and temperature. Chromium-48 decays by K capture with a half life of 23.5 hours to vanadium-48. Vanadium-48 decays by Beta+ emission or K capture with a half life of 16.1 days to titanium-48. Two titanium-48 nuclei can fuse into a ruthenium-96 nucleus in a star with enough pressure and temperature. In this chain, fusion ends here and the product is stable.

In the most typical fusion chain from carbon upward in stars it is more complex and the final product is a mixture of iron and nickel isotopes that are all stable and fusion ends there.

The difficulty in getting to carbon in the first place is that helium-helium fusion is a "forbidden" reaction, only the rare helium-helium-helium fusion reaction which is allowed at high enough density, pressure, and temperature can produce carbon. This is the fusion reaction that powers red giant stars and is why they grow so gigantic and their photosphere is so far from the energy source that it cools to red heat.
First answer by Knapp1. Last edit by Eccles-Jordan Trigger. Contributor trust: 127 [recommend contributor recommended]. Question popularity: 1 [recommend question].