system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
I don't understand why Iron is the element that starts the supernova process? (Layman's terms please)

 What property does Iron have the kickstarts a supernova? Why not another metal? I just had someone breifly describe to me how a star's lifespan works (Fusion, going from one element to another down the line) but I can't find out why Iron is the magic element.
gpt
I think it is misleading to think of iron as "kickstarting" the supernova process.  When you burn a log, the wood turns to ash.  When you have no wood left, and only ash, the fire goes out.  But the ash didn't cause the fire to go out - the ash is there because the fuel is gone.

Similarly, stars need fusable atoms as fuel.  Fusion involving iron doesn't release any energy.  A supernova happens when the star runs out of fuel, because there is no longer any energy to keep gravity from collapsing the star.  Iron doesn't necessarily cause this reaction - it's just there when it happens.