carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycles
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carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycles
[¦kär·bən ¦nī·trə·jən ¦äk·sə·jən ‚sī·kəlz] (nuclear physics)
A group of nuclear reactions involving the interaction of protons with carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen nuclei; completion of any of the cycles results in the consumption of four protons and the production of a helium-4 nucleus, two positrons, two neutrinos, and energy. Abbreviated CNO cycles.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.