The nuclear reaction that powers the sun is the fusion of four protons into a helium nucleus. The process involves several steps, but the net reaction is simply 4p → ⁴He + energy. The mass of a proton, to four significant figures, is 1.673 x 10^-27 kg, and the mass of a helium nucleus is known to be 6.644 x 10^-27 kg. What fraction of the initial rest mass energy is this energy?

The sun radiates energy at the rate 3.8 x 10²⁶ W. The source of this energy is fusion, a nuclear reaction in which mass is transformed into energy. The mass of the sun is 2.0 x 10³⁰ kg. Fusion takes place in the core of a star, where the temperature and pressure are highest. A star like the sun can sustain fusion until it has transformed about 0.10% of its total mass into energy, then fusion ceases and the star slowly dies. Estimate the sun's lifetime, giving your answer in billions of years.

The sun radiates energy at the rate 3.8 x 10²⁶ W. The source of this energy is fusion, a nuclear reaction in which mass is transformed into energy. The mass of the sun is 2.0 x 10³⁰ kg. What percent is this of the sun's total mass?

Some particle accelerators allow protons (p⁺) and antiprotons (p⁻) to circulate at equal speeds in opposite directions in a device called a storage ring. The particle beams cross each other at various points to cause p⁺ + p⁻ collisions. In one collision, the outcome is p⁺ + p⁻ → e⁺ + e⁻ + γ + γ, where γ represents a high-energy gamma-ray photon. The electron and positron are ejected from the collision at 0.9999995c and the gamma-ray photon wavelengths are found to be 1.0 x 10^-6 nm. What were the proton and antiproton speeds, as a fraction of c, prior to the collision?

An electron moving to the right at 0.90c collides with a positron moving to the left at 0.90c. The two particles annihilate and produce two gamma-ray photons. What is the wavelength of the photons?

At what speed, as a fraction of c, is the kinetic energy of a particle twice its Newtonian value?