system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
If the sun converts hydrogen to helium where does it get the neutrons to do so?

I'm a pretty sciency guy but my 12 year old daughter has stumped me with a few question. 

If the sun starts out as a dense ball of hydrogen (one proton and one electron) and uses nuclear fusion to convert it into helium (2 protons, 2 neutrons, 2 electrons), where does it get the neutrons? 

Also if the atoms in the sun are a plasma (stripped of their electrons) where do the electrons go? Does that mean the sun is a giant positively charged object if it has no electrons? 

Daddy doesn't know everything.
gpt
Two atoms of hydrogen are combined to create helium-4 and energy in several steps:

1.    Two protons combine to form a deuterium atom (hydrogen atom with one neutron and one proton), a positron (similar to electron, but with a positive charge) and a neutrino.
2.    A proton and a deuterium atom combine to form a helium-3 atom (two protons with one neutron) and a gamma ray.
3.    Two helium-3 atoms combine to form a helium-4 atom (two protons and two neutrons) and two protons.

These reactions account for 85 percent of the sun's energy. The remaining 15 percent comes from the following reactions:

1.    A helium-3 atom and a helium-4 atom combine to form a beryllium-7 (four protons and three neutrons) and a gamma ray.
2.    A beryllium-7 atom captures an electron to become lithium-7 atom (three protons and four neutrons) and a neutrino.
3.    The lithium-7 combines with a proton to form two helium-4 atoms.