Did the Big Bang theory create Hydrogen, Helium, and some Lithium atoms, and then those elements formed stars? Where did the rest of the elements (besides the man made ones) come from? Was it chemical reactions within the stars?

Question

Did the Big Bang theory create Hydrogen, Helium, and some Lithium atoms, and then those elements formed stars? Where did the rest of the elements (besides the man made ones) come from? Was it chemical reactions within the stars?

In: 3

Answer 1

When a star dies, it goes through a runaway reaction where elements fuse rapidly in its core, and eventually the whole thing blows up. When this happens to extra-large stars, we call it a *supernova*, and the forces that are going on are powerful enough to create runaway fusion that creates *much* heavier elements than are typically found in the star.

So everything up to iron is formed through the normal workings of a star, through fusion, but iron is the endpoint of stellar fusion. Everything heavier is only created in the massively powerful conditions of a supernova. And the explosion disperses those elements throughout the universe, where they may eventually form into planets and other bodies.

So yes, in the early days of the universe, only the lighter elements existed, and it wasn’t until the first generations of stars had gone through their lifecycles and gone supernova that heavier elements were created and spread across the universe.

Answer 2

When a star dies, it goes through a runaway reaction where elements fuse rapidly in its core, and eventually the whole thing blows up. When this happens to extra-large stars, we call it a *supernova*, and the forces that are going on are powerful enough to create runaway fusion that creates *much* heavier elements than are typically found in the star.

So everything up to iron is formed through the normal workings of a star, through fusion, but iron is the endpoint of stellar fusion. Everything heavier is only created in the massively powerful conditions of a supernova. And the explosion disperses those elements throughout the universe, where they may eventually form into planets and other bodies.

So yes, in the early days of the universe, only the lighter elements existed, and it wasn’t until the first generations of stars had gone through their lifecycles and gone supernova that heavier elements were created and spread across the universe.