{"text":"When you do the math and examine how much energy is produced per atomic union, you find that fusing anything to iron’s twenty-six protons costs energy. That means post-ferric fusion* does an energy-hungry star no good. Iron is the final peal of a star’s natural life.","author":"Sam Kean","tags":["atoms","elements","energy","iron","stars"],"id":11897,"author_id":"Sam+Kean"}