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Why do only massive stars enrich the universe with heavy elements?
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
It takes lots energy and I guess normal nova does not produce too much. Other sources such as collision don't contribute significantly.
Massive stars (at least 8 times the mass of the Sun) should eventually explode as supernovas. In this process heavy elements are created and scattered through space.
Before they explode they become "supergiant stars". These have cores hot enough to make elements as heavy as iron and nickel.
Even heavier elements are created during the explosion.
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
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How heavy is osmium?
Osmium is one of the heaviest elements known; it is twice as heavy as lead and 22 times as heavy as water
Why are the stars in the globular clusters classified as population ll stars?
The first stars to form after the "Big Bang" were made just of Hydrogen and Helium. They were very large and died young, exploding to leave a little metal (heavier elements) in the universe - these stars are called "Population III" stars.The next stars to form incorporated a little metal from the older stars (but are still very low in heavy elements) and are called "Population II" stars. Stars in globular clusters are this sort of star (globular clusters are old and have not produced new stars for a long time). We can tell this form their metallicity and the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for Globular clusters.Most stars contain a lot of heavy elements (high metallicity) and are quite young (like our Sun). These are called "Population I" stars.
What is the source of all elements in the universe that are more massive than iron?
The primary sources of these elements are fusion reactions in stars (the plural is there because there are hundreds, if not thousands, of different reactions that take place in stars).The reason that iron is significant is that two of its isotopes (56Fe and 58Fe) are the around the most stable nuclei of any element (56Fe is often wrongly attributed to be the most stable nuclide, but that distinction actually goes to 62Ni - 56Fe comes in third after 62Ni and 58Fe).As a result, fusion reactions (nuclear reactions that combine smaller elements to make larger ones) that take place to give progressively heavier elements up to nickel (just beyond iron in the periodic table) will give out energy. To form elements larger than iron, energy has to be put in to the reaction. It is the fusion reactions that give elements up to nickel, which give out the energy from stars.The consequence of this is that any elements heavier than nickel which may be temporarily formed in a star will undergo fission reactions that give smaller elements. Elements heavier than iron are generally formed in supernovae, where a star coming to the end of its life (and therefore containing plenty of heavy elements) produces a massive energy output that fuels the formation of heavy elements and scatters them to interstellar space before significant losses due to fission can take place.
Who created iron?
Anyone but God, my friend. Iron is a naturally occurring element, it is not synthetic (man made). No-one created it, it was just here, brought about by processes not yet discovered or understood by man. actually considering that when the universe was first only made up of only hydrogen and helium iron is created in the universe by something (not someone). Im actually doing a project on this right now so ill get back to you once ive fidgured it out.... okay, so basically all the heavy elements like iron and nickel are created at the centers of suns and are spread out through supernovas. oh actually that might just be a theory so the first guy might have been right.
Is fools gold heavy?
Fools gold (iron pyrite) is relatively heavy, it is about one fourth to one third as heavy as gold and about as heavy as iron.
How would the universe be different if massive starts didnt explode?
We wouldn't have the heavy elements... and as a result, we wouldn't exist.
Where in the universe are heavy elements with masses greater that that of helium being produced today?
In the interior of certain massive stars.
Where in the universe are heavy elements made?
Light elements are made in light weight stars via stellar nucleosynthesis. Elements as heavy as iron form in the cores of massive stars. Anything heavier than iron requires a supernova--the collapse and explosion of a super massive star.
How would the universe be different if massive stars did not explode at the end of their lives?
Well neither, you or I would exist. Without the influx of heavy elements, the Universe would be a very sterile place.
How would the universe be be different if massive stars did not explode at the ends of their lives?
Well neither, you or I would exist. Without the influx of heavy elements, the Universe would be a very sterile place.
Why has only the most massive stars are important contributors in enriching the galaxy with heavy elements?
To "enrich the Universe", the heavy elements would need to get back out of the star - and into outer space, where it can eventually become part of new star systems. This "getting out" happens mainly in supernova explosions - i.e., in the case of very massive stars. Also, stars with very low mass mainly convert hydrogen into helium - they didn't have time yet, given the current age of the Universe, to advance to a later stage, where they convert helium into heavier elements - and the stars with the very lowest masses never will, since they won't get hot enough.
Does nuclear fusion in massive stars create heavy elements?
yes
Are there other elements found in stars than hydrogen and helium?
Yes. All naturally occurring elements in the universe can be found in most stars, though generally only in small concentrations. Massive stars that have depleted the hydrogen in their cores may start producing elements as heavy as iron.
What are mass particles?
Particles that are heavy. Mass is like MASSive (massive) and massive objects could be heavy.
Why is it likely that life did not form during the very early history of the universe?
In the early Universe, there were no heavy elements around - all the matter of the Universe was in the form of hydrogen, helium, and small amounts of lithium; until the first stars formed, created these heavier elements, and put them out into space when they exploded as supernovae.
Did supernovas exist before life on earth?
The first supernova was probably about 450 million years after the big bang, when the first, massive stars (Population III stars) exploded filling the Universe with the first heavy elements. These elements were "absorbed" by population II stars, which again exploded as supernovae. These metal enriched stars populated the Universe with the rest of the known elements. So supernova were around well before life on Earth. In fact without supernovae there would be NO life on Earth.
Where are most heavy elements in the universe made?
All elements were created in the sense that the universe began with The Big Bang. Hydrogen was the first atom to form from the subatomic particles, and the hydrogen coalesced into early stars, which formed the next generation of lighter atoms. All the heavier elements were produced in subsequent generations as new stars formed, lived and died in explosions we now call novas and supernovas.
