Origin of Most Elements
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 9:10 pm
Astrophysicists have measured the amount of loose iron atoms in the Perseus Cluster, a galaxy cluster not far from our own, and have found a lot. This confirms the current model's prediction.
Most of this iron was fused into being within the first couple billion years of the universe's existence, as massive, hot, unstable stars formed, and then exploded into supernovae within a few million or a few tens of millions of years.
Iron is particularly significant because it is at the bottom of the Aston packing fraction curve; that means it cannot be either fused or fissioned and yield positive energy; there will always be an energy input demanded, and the environment (inside a star's core) will cool rather than heating.
Some cosmologists and astrophysicists have believed that Population II stars, the descendents of these first stars, made much of the heavier elements; but now that is denied, and now astrophysicists can be sure that much of the heavy matter was made in the first, Population III stars.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 152916.htm
Most of this iron was fused into being within the first couple billion years of the universe's existence, as massive, hot, unstable stars formed, and then exploded into supernovae within a few million or a few tens of millions of years.
Iron is particularly significant because it is at the bottom of the Aston packing fraction curve; that means it cannot be either fused or fissioned and yield positive energy; there will always be an energy input demanded, and the environment (inside a star's core) will cool rather than heating.
Some cosmologists and astrophysicists have believed that Population II stars, the descendents of these first stars, made much of the heavier elements; but now that is denied, and now astrophysicists can be sure that much of the heavy matter was made in the first, Population III stars.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 152916.htm