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ImaLooser
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I thought all heavy elements came from supernovae, but a recent article by John Baez corrected my ignorance. There is a nice photo too at http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/diary/index.html#now
twofish-quant said:Yup, and you can tell where the element came from by the isotope signal.
s (slow)-process elements come from red giants
r (rapid)-process elements come from supernova (probably)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-process
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-process
And then there are the rare P and rP processes
One reason that much of the heavy elements *don't* come from supernova is that much of the supernova stays with the star. Most of the iron that gets formed by supernova ends up falling back into the neutron star (and we can tell that because supernova produced iron has a special composition that is rich in some iron-isotopes that are relatively rare on earth).
RobinSky said:Is there any numbers of how much % of the mass of a star that is iron atoms? I mean for such stars that actually to manage to reach to fuse everything needed to make up iron.
By now I got a bit skeptic on my own knowledge. Do all stars who die from supernova fuse iron? Also did any star who reached fusion of any atom less massive than iron survived (I know they they die anyway) the supernova event?
Best Regards
Robin Andersson
RobinSky said:Is there any numbers of how much % of the mass of a star that is iron atoms? I mean for such stars that actually to manage to reach to fuse everything needed to make up iron.
Do all stars who die from supernova fuse iron?
Also did any star who reached fusion of any atom less massive than iron survived (I know they they die anyway) the supernova event?
twofish-quant said:Not sure what you are asking here.
RobinSky said:Sorry. Let's say we have this star of 4 solar masses, he(the star)is in his last dying year. What I know, not all massive stars, are massive enough to reach the temperatures to fuse atoms to create Iron. So before iron got created in the star, there was probably another heavy element. So, is it possible for stars (except white dwarfs and binaries) to go boom without any iron in its presence?
Heavy elements from red giants are elements that are produced during the later stages of a red giant star's life cycle. These elements are created through nuclear fusion reactions within the star's core and are released into the surrounding space when the star eventually dies and explodes as a supernova.
The process of creating heavy elements in red giants is through nuclear fusion reactions that occur within the star's core. As the star's core runs out of hydrogen, it begins fusing helium atoms together to form carbon, oxygen, and other heavier elements. This process continues until the core runs out of fuel and the star dies.
Heavy elements from red giants are important because they are essential building blocks for the universe. These elements make up the planets, stars, and galaxies that we see today. Without them, life as we know it would not exist.
We study heavy elements from red giants through various methods, including spectroscopy and astronomical observations. Scientists also use computer simulations to model the processes that occur within red giants and predict the elements that are formed.
Heavy elements from red giants have a significant impact on our understanding of the universe. They provide insights into the evolution of stars and the processes that occur within them. They also help us understand the origins of elements and the formation of galaxies, giving us a better understanding of the universe's overall structure and history.