Linked Questions

0 votes
0 answers
108 views

Why can gold only form in outer space? [duplicate]

I was reading an article by two Harvard Astrophysicists, which mentioned the following: "We value gold for many reasons: its beauty, its usefulness as jewelry, and its rarity. Gold is rare on Earth ...
Raghib's user avatar
  • 527
-1 votes
1 answer
62 views

Heavy elements creation [duplicate]

Would elements heavier than iron not be extremely rare if only created by supernovae? I believe all elements above hydrogen are created in the star's corona. Hydrogen fusion is not possible in star's ...
Paul Biggs's user avatar
16 votes
6 answers
4k views

Why are stars made from hydrogen and helium and not other elements?

My understanding is that the stars are primarily made up of hydrogen and helium. Why do those elements end up in stars and other heavier elements make up the planets?
Padraig's user avatar
  • 161
17 votes
4 answers
26k views

Why can't Iron fusion occur in stars?

It is said that iron fusion is endothermic and star can't sustain this kind of fusion (not until it goes supernova). However star is constantly releasing energy from fusion of elements like Hydrogen ...
java_doctor_101's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
12k views

What is the reason stars do not produce elements heavier than iron

In his book "Origins", Neil deGrasse Tyson says that "if you seek to split iron nuclei apart, you must them with additional energy. On the other hand, if you combine iron atoms they ...
TomCho's user avatar
  • 190
18 votes
1 answer
3k views

Why is the Sun made of light elements only?

Since the entire solar system inherits its heavy elements from supernovae unrelated to our star, I fail to understand why, while capturing most of said system's matter, the sun only contain light ...
Winston's user avatar
  • 3,236
20 votes
3 answers
2k views

How does uranium from supernovae explosions end up in mineral veins in a planet?

The reply to a question about nucleosynthesis, that heavier than iron elements are produced in supernovae explosions, raised for me the following question which I could not answer by googling. ...
anna v's user avatar
  • 234k
6 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why does a star beyond a certain mass limit (Chandrasekhar limit) only become a black hole?

Why does a star beyond a certain mass limit (Chandrasekhar limit) only become a black hole? A star is first made of hydrogen, it undergoes nuclear fussion reaction combining hydrogen into helium and ...
user40647's user avatar
  • 125
5 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why is hydrogen or helium used in nuclear fusion?

I am not a Physics student. Just out of own interest, I'm studying about fission and fusion reactions. Where I found in fusion, the scientist are using either hydrogen isotope or helium-3 as fuel (...
meAbab's user avatar
  • 53
2 votes
4 answers
768 views

How are we stardust?

I am a layperson and certainly not a physics student, though I'm sure that is palpably obvious. I have a strong appreciation for people like Carl Sagan, Lawrence Krauss, and Sean Carrol. I'm often ...
MTragedy13's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
3k views

Can we generate infinite energy by successive fission and fusion reactions?

Fission divides one Helium atom into two Hydrogen (Deuterium) atoms. And fusion, once again, puts together those two Hydrogen atoms into one Helium atom. In both reactions, overall output energy is ...
hkBattousai's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

How were the heavy elements from iron to uranium made? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Age of the Earth and the star that preceded the Sun How were the heavy elements from iron to uranium made? References: http://www.phy.anl.gov/accelerator_rd/index.html ...
Argus's user avatar
  • 1,241
1 vote
1 answer
951 views

Heavy Element Production from Supernova

When considering super massive stars going supernova, what are the heaviest elements that are predicted to be able to be created? So if the star VY Canis Majoris (1200 suns) were to go supernova, what ...
Gil Figaro's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
395 views

Nucleosynthesis: other than big bang and supernova

According to many texts, hydrogen, helium and traces of lithium-7 were created in a brief period after the big bang; helium is created through fusion (pp, CNO) in main sequence stars; elements like ...
gamma1954's user avatar
  • 1,169
6 votes
3 answers
311 views

Are we the dust from more than one dying star?

Lawrence M. Krauss states "Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And, the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand." For Earthlings, is this ...
Paul Jackson's user avatar

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