No problem, always happy to provide some clarification.

In summary, the conversation discusses the possibility of elements from a supernova being recycled into another star or planet. It is mentioned that there have been observations of interstellar medium clouds containing heavy elements that are not star-forming regions, making it unlikely for all the material to end up in a star or planet. The conversation also touches on the idea of star formation being limited by the expansion of the universe and the possibility of preventing gas from forming stars if dispersed over large enough scales. Overall, the question remains open and the conversation ends with the realization that it leads to "crack pot stuff."
  • #1
wolram
Gold Member
Dearly Missed
4,446
558
Is there any cosmological observation that would suggest that once a star
goes nova that its elements will not be recycled into another star, planet
what ever ?
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
  • #2
sorry didnt see the missing f from ur name thought it sed wolfram.
 
  • #3
alias25 said:
heyy r u the guy that made the wolfram website? with physics and astronomy and chem and biology stuff? scienceworld.wolfram.com? i like that website but its a bit too much like a dictionary, u should include more pictures and maybe examples.

Sorry you have the wrong person, i wish i had a tenth of his brains.
 
  • #4
wolram said:
Is there any cosmological observation that would suggest that once a star
goes nova that its elements will not be recycled into another star, planet
what ever ?
I presume that you mean supernova. If so, then yes, there have been observations of huge ISM clouds containing "heavy" elements but which are not star forming regions. Some of these are galactic but many are intergalactic. That doesn't mean that some of the material can't or won't end up in an object like a star or planet, etc., but with the expulsion rate and direction of this matter it is highly unlikely that all of it could ever end up re-condensing into stellar or planetary material.
 
  • #5
Labguy said:
I presume that you mean supernova. If so, then yes, there have been observations of huge ISM clouds containing "heavy" elements but which are not star forming regions. Some of these are galactic but many are intergalactic. That doesn't mean that some of the material can't or won't end up in an object like a star or planet, etc., but with the expulsion rate and direction of this matter it is highly unlikely that all of it could ever end up re-condensing into stellar or planetary material.

I will not question your knowledge, but were is, "out of bounds", for star
formation? and why ?
 
  • #6
wolram said:
I will not question your knowledge, but were is, "out of bounds", for star
formation? and why ?
I suppose that could be just about anywhere that the ISM is too tenuous and / or has too much dispersing velocity for gravitational attraction to be strong enough to cause any collapse toward the formation(s) of protostar or protoplanetary condensations. Also, such a protostar collapse could be of such a small amount of matter that nothing is formed other than an concentration of ISM material of higher density, but still quite tenuous.
 
  • #7
wolram said:
I will not question your knowledge, but were is, "out of bounds", for star
formation? and why ?

If it remained bound to the galaxy, then given enough time, I would expect the vast majority of gas to end up in either stars, black holes, or some other compact object. It's certainly true that a hot gas will not be able to immediately collapse to form stars, but gas cools and the galaxy is not a closed system, so it would not remain hot forever.

However, note that I specified that the gas remain bound. Energy input from supernovae can sometimes provide enough of a "kick" to allow the gas to escape the galaxy and, perhaps, the local group or cluster. It then becomes dispersed in the surrounding medium. Now one might suspect that the same arguments apply there as to inside the galaxy; that is, the gas will eventually cool and collapse. However, there is another factor to consider -- the expansion of the universe. In a traditional cold dark matter universe (minus dark energy), structure formation continues as long as the expansion does and everything will eventually become incorporated into a gravitationally bound entity. However, a universe with, say, a cosmological constant, will cease forming structures on some specific physical scale. If the "dark energy" in our universe really is a cosmological constant, then this scale will be about that of galaxy clusters (~100 Mpc).

What does this mean? Well, basically, if you can succeed in dispersing the gas over scales greater than that which can gravitationally collapse, presumably you can prevent that gas from ever forming stars. We certainly do observe gas dispersed over those scales, but we are still unsure about how much of it is primordial and how much was ejected from galaxies.
 
  • #8
Thanks, Lab guy, Space Tiger, your answers are informative, but if i may, i will
say the question is still open.
 
  • #9
wolram said:
Thanks, Lab guy, Space Tiger, your answers are informative, but if i may, i will
say the question is still open.

This question:

"Is there any cosmological observation that would suggest that once a star
goes nova that its elements will not be recycled into another star, planet
what ever ?"

is not 100% clear to me. If you're asking whether some supernova ejecta gets recycled in later generations of stars, then the answer is a definite yes. If the question is whether or not all such debris will eventually be in stars, planets, or whatever, then it depends on what you're including in the "whatever".
 
  • #10
SpaceTiger said:
This question:

"Is there any cosmological observation that would suggest that once a star
goes nova that its elements will not be recycled into another star, planet
what ever ?"

is not 100% clear to me. If you're asking whether some supernova ejecta gets recycled in later generations of stars, then the answer is a definite yes. If the question is whether or not all such debris will eventually be in stars, planets, or whatever, then it depends on what you're including in the "whatever".

Sorry Space Tiger, my question leads to crack pot stuff, i have just realized,
Thanks.
 

1. What is super nova recycling elements?

Super nova recycling elements refer to the process in which elements are created and distributed throughout the universe by the explosion of a super nova.

2. How are elements recycled in a super nova?

During a super nova explosion, intense heat and pressure cause atoms to fuse together, creating new elements. These newly formed elements are then distributed throughout the universe by the explosion.

3. Which elements are commonly recycled in a super nova?

Elements such as hydrogen, helium, carbon, oxygen, iron, and other heavy elements are commonly recycled in a super nova explosion.

4. How does super nova recycling contribute to the diversity of elements in the universe?

Super nova explosions create and distribute a wide range of elements, contributing to the diversity of elements found in the universe. This process also allows for the formation of complex molecules necessary for life to exist.

5. Can super nova recycling occur multiple times?

Yes, super nova recycling can occur multiple times as the elements created and distributed by one explosion can then be used in the formation of new stars and planets, which may eventually undergo another super nova explosion.

Similar threads

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
21
Views
1K
Replies
4
Views
930
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
5
Views
935
Replies
4
Views
1K
Replies
1
Views
75
  • Special and General Relativity
Replies
30
Views
2K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
5
Views
3K
Back
Top