Was the Big Bang
Actually an
Explosion?
• The “big bang” wasn’t a “bang” at all,
at least not in the common definition.
It didn’t explode in a scene of shrapnel
and fire, and there was definitely no
mushroom cloud.
https://www.britannica.com/story/was-the-big-bang-actually-an-explosion
• The big-bang theory of the universe is
derived from Albert Einstein’s general
theory of relativity and the idea that the
universe expanded from a miniscule dense
collection of energy called a singularity.
• There was no bang, just a vast expansion
of extremely condensed material.
https://www.britannica.com/story/was-the-big-bang-actually-an-explosion
The Big Bang and
the Elements
Elements and the ‘Big Bang’ theory
• During the formation of the universe some 14
billion years ago in the so-called ‘Big Bang’, only
the lightest elements were formed – hydrogen
and helium along with trace amounts of lithium
and beryllium.
• As the cloud of cosmic dust and gases from the
Big Bang cooled, stars formed, and these then
grouped together to form galaxies.
Elements and the ‘Big Bang’ theory
• The other 86 elements found in nature
were created in nuclear reactions in these
stars and in huge stellar explosions known
as “Supernova”.
Elements and the ‘Big Bang’ theory
Elements and the ‘Big Bang’ theory
Elements and our Sun
• For most of their lives, stars fuse
elemental hydrogen into helium in
their cores.
• Two atoms of hydrogen are combined
in a series of steps to create helium-4.
• These reactions account for 85% of
the Sun’s energy. The remaining 15%
comes from reactions that produce
the elements beryllium and lithium.
The Sun
At this stage of our Sun’s life cycle, hydrogen atoms are fused to form helium atoms.
This nuclear reaction produces very large amounts of energy.
FORMATION OF THE
ELEMENTS DURING THE
BIG BANG AND DURING
STELLAR EVOLUTION
ELEMENTS WERE FORMED
DURING THE BIG BANG
• In the beginning, or at least following the
Big Bang more than 14 billion years ago,
there was hydrogen, some helium and a
little bit of lithium
FORMATION OF THE ELEMENTS
DURING STELLAR EVOLUTION
• Incredibly massive stars continue fusion
from helium until they create iron (Fe) in
their core.
• In this fusion process, these massive stars
create neon (Ne), magnesium (Mg),
oxygen (O), sulfur (S), silicon (Si) and
finally iron (Fe).
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
• Light elements (namely deuterium, helium,
and lithium) were produced in the first few
minutes of the Big Bang,
• Heavier elements than helium are thought to
have their origins in the interiors of stars
which formed much later in the history of the
Universe.
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
• Nucleosynthesis
•
occurs when Proton & Neutron combine
Stellar Formation And Evolution
• Stellar evolution is the process by which a
star changes over the course of time.
• Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime
can range from a few million years for the
most massive to trillions of years for the least
massive, which is considerably longer than
the age of the universe.
DYING STAR
• When a star’s core runs out of hydrogen, the star begins to die
out.
DYING STAR
• The dying star expands into a red giant, and this
now begins to manufacture carbon atoms by
fusing helium atoms.
DYING STAR
• More massive stars begin a further series of
nuclear burning or reaction stages. The
elements formed in these stages range from
oxygen through to iron.
DYING STAR
• During a supernova, the star releases very large amounts of
energy as well as neutrons, which allows elements heavier than
iron, such as uranium and gold, to be produced.
• In the supernova explosion, all of these elements are expelled
out into space.
Atomic Number
Symbol
Element Name
Mass
Number
Proton = Atomic Number
Electron =Proton
Neutron = mass # - proton
SYMBOL
C
____
He
____
____
ATOMIC PROTONS NEUTRONS ELECTRONS
NUMBER
6
8
____
10
____
____
____
____
____
5
____
8
2
10
6
____
8
2
10
____
ATOMIC
MASS
12
____
4
____
____
Nucleosynthesis
occurs when Proton & Neutron combine
1
1
H
1
2
H
1
3
H
•FORMATION OF LIGHT ELEMENTS
•FORMATION OF HEAVIER ELEMENTS
End
End
End
SYMBOL
ATOMIC PROTONS NEUTRONS ELECTRONS
NUMBER
C
6
1.___
4.___
8
5.___
He 7.___ 8.___
9.___ 10
11.__
B
13.__
5
2.___
8
2
10
6
3.___
8
2
10
14.__
ATOMIC
MASS
12
6.__
4
12.__
15.__
SYMBOL
C
O
He
Ne
B
ATOMIC PROTONS NEUTRONS ELECTRONS
NUMBER
6
8
2
10
5
6
8
2
10
5
6
8
2
10
6
6
8
2
10
5
ATOMIC
MASS
12
16
4
20
11