I get they need more energy than a “regular” star can provide, up to iron. That two stars colliding can provide the energy. And more neutrons in the nucleus offset the protons repelling each other.
No s-capture or whatever language please, I’m looking for small words & drawings w/ crayons.
How do heavy elements form beyond iron, why is it so hard to make the packing of protons/neutrons so hard? What role do electrons play, aside from the negative charge for protons (if any)?
In: 7
So elements other than hydrogen are generally created by smashing lighter elements together, known as nuclear fusion. Smashing hydrogen into hydrogen creates helium, for instance. This smashing is done by putting them under a lot of pressure and heat.
When this happens with lighter elements, those lighter than iron, smashing them together this way creates energy. As the combining elements get heavier, this becomes harder and harder and generates less energy.
When you reach iron, the situation reverses. The energy needed to crush elements together to make new elements heavier than iron takes more energy than you get out of it. The pressure and heat required exceeds that in the core of a star under normal circumstances.
So in order to create this incredible heat and pressure, you need something really really violent, something that makes the normal inside of a star seem cool and comfy by comparison.
Until recently, we thought that the only way this happened was during a supernova. Now we have realized that colliding white dwarfs and neutron stars are probably necessary for the very heaviest elements due to the enormous pressures and temperatures required.
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