I thought that helium wasn't fused until the sun swells up and becomes a red giant, engulfing us all... :/
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There is no timer in the sun saying oh its time to start fusing helium now its hot enough in the core of the sun, therefore the helium fuses
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Oh so what will cause it to swell and consume us all?
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Well not us we will be dead and forgotten but anyway they have used all the hydrogen in their core and the main area of hydrogen fusion is actually a shell around the core which has collapsed allowing the atmosphere of the sun to expand This collapsed core is helium and fusion proceeds as it would normally i believe carbon is produced If you think about it all the atoms in your body were once part of a star Unless of course you are a creationalist then your atoms which can be produced no other way than in the core of a star were dumper here in very specific quantities by a "creator"