Neutrinos prove the Sun is doing a second kind of fusion in its core

The central nylon balloon of the Borexino Detector. Credit: The Borexino Collaboration

Like all stars, our Sun is powered by the fusion of hydrogen into heavier elements. Nuclear fusion is not only what makes stars shine, it is also a primary source of the chemical elements that make the world around us. Much of our understanding of stellar fusion comes from theoretical models of atomic nuclei, but for our closest star, we also have another source: neutrinos created in the Sun’s core.

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