THE FORMATION OF ELEMENTS IN THE UNIVERSE
FORMATION OF LIGHT ELEMENTS
Big Bang Basis
The Big Bang: Imagine everything in the universe squish into a tiny, hot, dense point. Then around
13.8 billion years ago, it suddenly expanded, tis is the Big Bang.
Expanding Universe: Since then, the universe has been expanding, like a balloon being blown up.
First Moments After the Big Bang
Hot and Dense: Just after the Big Bang, the universe was incredibly hot and dense.
Cooling Down: As it expanded, it cooled down. Think of it like taking a cake out of the oven - it starts hot
but cools over time.
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
First Few Minutes: In the first few minutes after the Big Bang, the temperature was still millions of
degrees. This was hot enough for nuclear reactions to occur.
Protons and Neutrons: These temperatures allowed protons (positively charged particles) and neutrons
(neutral particles) to form.
Combining: Protons and neutrons began combining to form the nuclei of light elements.
Main Elements Formed
Hydrogen (H): Most protons stayed as hydrogen nuclei.
Helium (He): Some protons and neutrons combined to form helium nuclei.
Tiny Amounts of Lithium (Li) and Beryllium (Be): Very small amounts of lithium and beryllium were also
formed.
Evidence for Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB): This is the afterglow of the Big Bang, like the heat left in the
oven after you turn it off. It gives us clues about the early universe.
Uniformity: The CMB is nearly uniform in all directions, supporting the idea of a hot, dense beginning.
Elemental Abundances: When we look at old stars and galaxies,
we see the amounts of hydrogen, helium, and a bit of lithium match what the Big Bang theory predicts.
Helium: There's a lot more helium in the universe than can be explained by stars alone, supporting its
formation in the Big Bang.
Birth of a Star
Gas Cloud: Stars begin as massive clouds of gas and dust in space.
Gravity: Gravity pulls the gas and dust together, making the cloud collapse and heat up.
Protostar: This forms a "protostar," which is a baby star.
Star Formation
Nuclear Fusion: In the core of the protostar, temperatures and pressures become so high that hydrogen
atoms start to fuse together.
Hydrogen Fusion: Hydrogen atoms (the simplest and lightest element) combine to form helium. This
process releases a lot of energy, which makes the star shine.
Stellar Nucleosynthesis
Helium Fusion: As the star uses up hydrogen, it starts fusing helium into heavier elements like carbon and
oxygen.
Advanced Fusion: In even hotter and denser conditions, these heavier elements can fuse to form even
heavier elements like neon, magnesium, silicon, sulfur, and iron.
Stellar Evolution
Red Giants and Supergiants: When a star like our Sun runs out of
hydrogen, it expands into a red giant. Bigger stars (much bigger than our Sun) become supergiants.
Fusion Layers: Inside these giants, there are layers where different types of fusion occur, creating a
variety of elements.
End of a Star's Life
Supernova (for massive stars): When massive stars exhaust their fuel, they can explode in a supernova.
Explosion: This explosion creates extremely high temperatures and pressures, which allow for the creation
of the heaviest elements, like gold and uranium.
Scatter Elements: The supernova scatters these elements into space, enriching the universe with heavy
elements.
Planetary Nebula (for smaller stars):
• Smaller stars, like our Sun, will shed their outer layers into space, leaving behind a core called a white
dwarf.
• This process also spreads elements created in the star into space.
Rebirth of Elements
New Stars and Planets: The heavy elements ejected by supernovae and planetary nebulas mix with other
gas clouds in space. These enriched clouds can then form new stars and planets.
Cycle Continues: This cycle repeats, leading to the gradual increase in heavy elements in the universe
over billions of years.
Evidences of Stellar Nucleosynthesis
Spectroscopy: By studying the light from stars, astronomers can determine what elements they contain.
Different elements absorb and emit light at specific wavelengths.
Observing Supernovae: We've observed supernovae and the
elements they produce. For example, supernova remnants contain heavy elements that weren't there
before the explosion.
Meteorites and Earth: The elements found in meteorites and on Earth show a variety of elements that
match those formed in stars.
Greek Philosophers
Leucippus and Democritus were the first to develop the concept of the atom. They thought that atoms
came in a variety of sizes and shapes.
Leucippus
concept of the atom is believed to have originated from Leucippus' lost book, "The Greater World
System"
proposed that atoms cannot change nor disintegrate; however, many combinations of atoms can be
formed.
Democritus (460-370 BC)
Matter can be divided into smaller pieces, but there is a point wherein it cannot be further
divided.
Atom is the ultimate particle of matter which cannot be further divided.
Atom comes from the Greek word atomos, which means "indivisible."
Democritus (460-370 BC)
According to Democritus:
Atoms are in constant motion, frequently colliding with each other; hence explains the aroma of
flowers.
Atoms can move because there is an empty space called "void" (Berryman, 2010).
Epicurus of Samos
Epicurus suggested that atoms have weight.
He claimed that atoms can swerve or change directions abruptly.
Contrary to Democritus, he believed that properties related to the senses cannot be explained
simplistically by the atomic composition of matter.
Plato (427-347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322)
Plato and Aristotle did not accept the idea of atoms.
They thought that atoms challenged the gods, because if atoms could explain everything, then
there was no need for the gods.
Earth, Water, Air, and Fire
The ancient Greeks believed that the four basic elements are:
earth, water, air, and fire
Evolution of Atomic Theory
Plum Pudding (JJ THOMSON 1904)
• Thomson discovered the electron in 1897
• Atoms are made from electrons scattered through a sea of positive charge like plums in a pudding
Nuclear (Ernest Rutherford 1911)
• The atom is mostly empty space with a positive middle
• He fired alpha particles at gold foil, some deflected but most passed through
Planetary (Neils Bohr 1913)
• Electrons move around the nucleus in orbits of specific energy and size
• Electrons fit into specific energy levels
Quantum (Erwin Schrodinger 1926)
• There are clouds called orbits where electrons exist
• Electrons do not orbit in a predetermined path around the nucleus
