In the many online explanations of the p-11B fusion reaction it is stated that at the moment of fusion, a carbon-12 nucleus is formed for one fleeting moment, which then decays into three helium-4 nuclei.
Now I wonder what is wrong with this newborn carbon-12 nucleus, that it falls apart by spontaneous fission instead of just shedding any surplus energy through a gamma ray as so many nuclei do when they get “excited”
Isn’t carbon-12 the stable, most ordinary, life-bearing, kitchen&garden, crude-oil, diamonds-are-a-girls-best-friend kind of carbon isotope we are all made from?
I’m obviously missing something important here so can anyone explain?
Chris