ABSTRACT
The discovery by Holmgren and Johnston (1958, 1959) of an unexpectedly large cross-section for the He3(α, γ)Be7 reaction led to studies by Fowler (1958) and Cameron (1958) which showed that the proton-proton chain in the present sun is frequently completed by a series of reactions involving Be7. Fowler and Cameron also discussed the possibility that the decay of B8, formed by Be7(p, γ)B8 reactions in the interior of the sun, produces a terrestrially measurable flux of high-energy neutrinos (0 < E, < 14 Mev). The detection of solar neutrinos is the only experiment that we can think of which could provide direct evidence of specific nuclear reactions occurring in the interior of a star.
