Are Our Atoms Stardust or Nuclear Waste?

[Holocene]

Every atom in our body, was once contained with an ancient, dying star.

No?

 

[waht]

Yes.

 

[Holocene]

Yes.

Thanks. I had thought so, as I remember reading about neucleosynthesis.

Just checking, as I'm making a short video.

 

[waht]

Our atoms began as hydrogen atoms until they were fused together to form an entire periodic table of elements in a supernova explosion billions of years ago. Cool heh.

 

[mgb_phys]

Hydrogen was created in the early universe along with helium (although almost all helium on Earth is the result of alpha particles from radiaoctivity)

Everything lighter than about potassium was created in the early generation of stars, anything heavier was created by a supernova.
Although only iron and heavier NEEDS a supernova to be produced most early stars were pretty metal poor and so a lot of lighter metals actually originated in SN.

 

[DaveC426913]

Every atom in our body, was once contained with an ancient, dying star.

No?

In principle, no. In practice, probably yes.

It is not guaranteed that the Hydrogen and Helium in your body was part of a star; it could have been formed directly from the aftermath of the BB.

 

[Holocene]

Our atoms began as hydrogen atoms until they were fused together to form an entire periodic table of elements in a supernova explosion billions of years ago. Cool heh.

There is also the less romantic view that we are compiled from nuclear waste; mere byproducts of stellar fusion...