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carbon cycle
- the cycle by which plants through photosynthesis use atmospheric carbon dioxide to produce carbohydrates, which are in turn metabolized by animals to decomposition products that return carbon dioxide to the atmosphere
- a cyclic series of thermonuclear reactions in the interior of some stars, involving carbon as a catalyst and producing large quantities of energy by the transformation of hydrogen into heliumalso called carbon-nitrogen cycle
See carbon cycle in American Heritage Dictionary 4
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