For 10 points, identify this process by which several small atomic nuclei combine to form a larger one.
For this reaction to occur, components occupying the Gamow window must tunnel through the Coulomb barrier. When elements heavier than iron are used in this process, a net energy absorption occurs. Attempts have been made to run current through contained plasma fuel for this process in toroidal magnetic chambers such as stellarators and [*] tokamaks. The proton-proton chain and the CNO cycle are two kinds of this process by which stars turn hydrogen into helium, and Fleischmann and Pons did not actually discover a "cold" version of this process. For 10 points, identify this process by which several small atomic nuclei combine to form a larger one.
For this reaction to occur, components occupying the Gamow window must tunnel through the Coulomb barrier.
nuclear {fusion}