The kernel does stuff like
- process and CPU task management
- hardware abstraction
- memory management (at the process level),
- file system managment
- and resource isolation (such as randomized memory addresses (ASLR))
The rest of the OS provides the actual software that users interact with, like
- file managers
- desktop rendering and window management
- settings menus
- sound mixing between applications
- graphics rendering
I really hope i live to see Betelgeuse explode