Fusion in stars ends with silicon burning because the products of silicon burning, primarily nickel and iron, can no longer gain energy by combining them with one another! You can see this on the binding energy curve (+ why we get energy from fission of heavier nuclei).
Fusion in stars ends with silicon burning because the products of silicon burning, primarily nickel and iron, can no longer gain energy by combining them with one another! You can see this on the binding energy curve (+ why we get energy from fission of heavier nuclei).