Coulomb barrier

The electrostatic repulsion between positively charged nuclei creates an energy barrier that must be overcome for them to approach within the range of the strong nuclear force.

Coulomb's law: The law describing the electrostatic force between charged objects as proportional to their charges and inversely proportional to distance squared. Its inverse-square force between nuclear charges produces the repulsive potential behind the barrier.
Stellar nucleosynthesis: The production of chemical elements through nuclear reactions inside stars and during stellar explosions. Fusion reactions in stars proceed despite thermal energies far below the barrier's classical height.
Atomic nucleus: The small, dense central region of an atom, containing protons and neutrons bound by the strong interaction. The barrier concerns the approach of these charged nuclear cores.
Muon-catalyzed fusion: Fusion enabled by replacing an electron in hydrogen isotopes with a muon, bringing nuclei much closer together. The muon reduces nuclear separation and barrier width rather than raising the nuclei's collision energy.
Electrostatic potential energy: The energy associated with the positions of interacting electric charges. The barrier is the increase in this energy as two like-charged nuclei approach.
Proton–proton chain: A sequence of nuclear reactions that converts hydrogen into helium and supplies most of the Sun's energy. Its first reaction depends on proton tunneling through the Coulomb barrier.
Proton: A positively charged subatomic particle found in atomic nuclei. Protons supply the positive nuclear charge responsible for electrostatic repulsion.
Cold fusion: A proposed fusion phenomenon at or near room temperature that lacks reproducible experimental confirmation as a practical energy source. Its claims imply fusion despite ordinary conditions that make Coulomb-barrier penetration extremely unlikely.
Strong nuclear force: The fundamental interaction that binds quarks and, at nuclear distances, attracts protons and neutrons. At short range, its attraction can overcome the electrostatic repulsion between nuclei.
Carbon–nitrogen–oxygen cycle: A catalytic sequence of nuclear reactions that converts hydrogen into helium using carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen nuclei. Its charged-particle reactions occur at stellar temperatures where tunneling remains essential.

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