Lesson 2:
The Formation of Heavier
Elements in the Universe
What is the universe
made of ?
What about the
galaxies, the stars, the
earth, and your body?
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
• It is the creation of new
atomic NUCLEI, the
centers of atoms that
are made up of
protons and neutrons.
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
Big Bang Stellar Supernova
Nucleosynthesis Nucleosynthesis Nucleosynthesis
BIG BANG
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS:
Light Elements
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
Big bang
Nucleosynthesis
What happened 14 billion years ago?
• The BIG BANG THEORY is the leading
explanation for how the universe began.
• the universe as we know it started with an
infinitely hot and dense single point
that inflated and stretched over the
next 13.7 billion years to the still-
expanding cosmos that we know today.
• Three seconds after that Positively
event, when the universe was
billions of degrees in + charge
particle
temperature, PROTONS, and
NEUTRONS were produced in Neutral
exact numbers as the charge
universe continue to expand particle
rapidly.
• At this point, the first atomic nuclei
were formed and only lighter
elements such as HYDROGEN and
HELIUM were formed and a
negligible amount of LITHIUM and
BERYLLIUM.
2 Proton
2 Neutron
2 Proton
1 Neutron
1 Proton
1 Neutron
1 Proton
ISOTOPES
Isotopes are members of a family of an element that all have the
same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.
• By the time the universe was three minutes old,
the temperature went down. It was too cold for a
nuclear reaction to take place, so the process
stopped, and the abundance of the elements was
fixed at ratios of 75% hydrogen and 25% helium.
• Scientists believe that
this percentage has
remained the same since
then and this should
explain the current ratio
of hydrogen to helium,
3:1.
• This is also one of the
evidences of the Big
Bang where basically all
hydrogen and helium
originated.
STELAR
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS:
Heavy
Elements
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
Stellar
Nucleosynthesis
What could have caused other elements
to pop up?
• After the big bang,
most of the elements
in the universe were
produced by the
stars in the nuclear
fusion reaction at
its core.
• The earth and all other heavenly bodies are believed to
be remnants of the stars. In our case, we are considered
part of the debris of a big star in its active existence,
but not of our sun.
• The nuclear fusion reaction inside the star is the
process by which nuclear reactions between light
elements form heavy elements (up to iron).
• This is the so-called STELLAR NUCLEOSYNTHESIS,
believed to be the origin and the production of heavy
elements.
• When most of the
hydrogen is used
up in the core, the
helium begins
fusing into
carbon (C) at its
core.
• That is when the star is
dying, it is compressed
due to gravity which
generates heat and
results in the
expansion `of the star.
The star swells to
become a “red giant”
and the smaller
elements fuse to form
larger and larger
elements.
• Red giants are hot enough to turn the helium at their core
into heavy elements like carbon. The star now begins to
manufacture carbon atoms by fusing three helium
atoms.
• Stars of about the sun’s mass stop with this
helium-burning stage and collapse into white
dwarfs about the size of the earth, expelling their
outer layers in the process.
How is the mass of stars correlates to the
formation of heavy elements?
• More massive stars begin a further series of
nuclear burning or reaction stages. The elements
formed in these stages range from oxygen
through to iron.
* HELIUM is the main fuel that supply the
needed energy for the nuclear reaction to
take place deep down in the core up until
the dying period of stars.
• The high mass stars
can make all elements
up to iron in their
cores.
• Iron is the heaviest
element they can make
and is the end of the
line for fusion. The
fusion of iron does not
create energy, and
without energy supply,
the star will soon die.
• However, super massive stars continue to
expand in preparation for more heavier but
rare elements to be born.
SUPERNOVA
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS:
Heavier
Elements
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
Supernova
Nucleosynthesis
*Man-made
elements
What happens when star has
consumed all its fuel and
explode?
• More massive stars become super red giant and when
their core runs out of fusion fuel, the core collapses and
resists gravity, then the star is doomed.
• As gravity squashes the core, the star expands until it
explodes and releases a tremendous amount of energy.
• This explosion is called a supernova.
Supernova frequently releases enough energy
and estimated to be more than 100 million
degrees Celsius that they shine brighter than
an entire galaxy.
How is the temperature and number of neutrons
correlate to the formation of heavier elements?
• These are the two conditions for heavier elements to be
formed. Otherwise, there will be a big gap of elements in
the periodic table.
• When the supernova explosion happens, dying star
undergoes a rapid capture of massive number of
neutrons under extreme temperature. This rapid
neutron capture converts elements into heavy
isotopes and decays into heavy elements.
Some Elements formed before the Supernova
*some naturally occurring radioactive elements
Why are elements formed after the supernova,
uncommon or rare just like gold?
• There was a very limited time left for the
supergiant star to form these elements before it
explodes.
• So, elements formed not from the nuclear
fusion at the core of a star are scarce. And
because they are not abundant, they are
apparently expensive just like gold.
• Hence, in the supernova explosion, all these
elements are expelled out into space, and
new stars are born out of this matter. After
a supernova, forcing the protons and
electrons to combine to produce a neutron
star. When the mass is greater, the core
contracts and becomes a black hole.
