Jun 5, 2024 02:50 PM
(This post was last modified: Jun 5, 2024 03:03 PM by C C.)
https://theconversation.com/the-universe...ere-229928
EXCERPTS: After its “birth” in the Big Bang, the universe consisted mainly of hydrogen and a few helium atoms. These are the lightest elements in the periodic table. More-or-less all elements heavier than helium were produced in the 13.8 billion years between the Big Bang and the present day.
Stars have produced many of these heavier elements through the process of nuclear fusion. However, this only makes elements as heavy as iron. The creation of any heavier elements would consume energy instead of releasing it.
In order to explain the presence of these heavier elements today, it’s necessary to find phenomena that can produce them. One type of event that fits the bill is a gamma-ray burst (GRB) – the most powerful class of explosion in the universe. These can erupt with a quintillion (10 followed by 18 zeros) times the luminosity of our Sun, and are thought to be caused by several types of event.
[...] A recent study investigated one long gamma ray burst in particular, GRB 221009. This has been dubbed the BOAT – the brightest of all time. ... These findings suggest that gamma ray bursts may not be the hoped-for crucial source of the universe’s heavy elements. Instead, there must be a source or sources still out there... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: After its “birth” in the Big Bang, the universe consisted mainly of hydrogen and a few helium atoms. These are the lightest elements in the periodic table. More-or-less all elements heavier than helium were produced in the 13.8 billion years between the Big Bang and the present day.
Stars have produced many of these heavier elements through the process of nuclear fusion. However, this only makes elements as heavy as iron. The creation of any heavier elements would consume energy instead of releasing it.
In order to explain the presence of these heavier elements today, it’s necessary to find phenomena that can produce them. One type of event that fits the bill is a gamma-ray burst (GRB) – the most powerful class of explosion in the universe. These can erupt with a quintillion (10 followed by 18 zeros) times the luminosity of our Sun, and are thought to be caused by several types of event.
[...] A recent study investigated one long gamma ray burst in particular, GRB 221009. This has been dubbed the BOAT – the brightest of all time. ... These findings suggest that gamma ray bursts may not be the hoped-for crucial source of the universe’s heavy elements. Instead, there must be a source or sources still out there... (MORE - missing details)