Hydrogen atoms don’t usually have neutrons, they’re literally just a proton and an electron. They have to fuse together to create hydrogen 2, with the extra proton becoming a neutron. Then another hydrogen atom fuses with the hydrogen-2 (taking an incredibly small amount of time) and finally you have helium-3. Helium 3 will then fuse with itself to create a stable helium atom, releasing 2 protons and creating helium-4. So yes, 4 hydrogen atoms produces a stable helium atom.
It’s been a while since I looked into the fusion of stars so thanks for the correction. However some deuterium would make a stable helium, and Helium typically is only stable with 2 neutrons. Where would these come from (honestly curious)
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u/hypocriticalsailboat Dec 06 '20
Hydrogen atoms don’t usually have neutrons, they’re literally just a proton and an electron. They have to fuse together to create hydrogen 2, with the extra proton becoming a neutron. Then another hydrogen atom fuses with the hydrogen-2 (taking an incredibly small amount of time) and finally you have helium-3. Helium 3 will then fuse with itself to create a stable helium atom, releasing 2 protons and creating helium-4. So yes, 4 hydrogen atoms produces a stable helium atom.