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What would stars be like if carbon had the smallest mass per nuclear particle?

Answer 1

If carbon had the smallest mass per nucleon many common fusion reactions couldn't exist.

Nuclear fusion only produces energy if the binding energy per nucleon is reduced as a result of the reaction. In our universe, #"iron"# is the element which is at the limit.

If carbon had the lowest binding energy per nucleon, all elements heavier than carbon could only be produced as a result of a #"supernova explosion."#

Because no more fusion reactions could occur once fusion produced carbon, the primary impact on stars would be significantly shorter lifespans.

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Answer 2

Parker Albertson

Carbon fusion would produce shorter-lived stars with different energy outputs and element production than those powered by hydrogen fusion, and if carbon had the smallest mass per nuclear particle, stars would primarily fuse carbon instead of hydrogen, leading to different stellar evolution paths.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.