Archive → January, 2010
Made of Stardust
Stars are born when clouds of gas and dust combine. As these clouds become dense and heat up due to heavy gravity, their centers can became hotas 10 million degrees celsius. Because of this hydrogen and lighter elements like helium within the star fuse in a reaction called nucleosynthesis to became hevier elements like oxygen and iron. When the star finally dies it explodes in a supernova that sends this heavy element caross the universe . this later becomes a material in the creation of planets including our own planet earth, these elements that once came from stars iron, oxygen, and carbon now comprise the ingredients that combine to create life in our world.
In fact the iron in our blood and calcim in our bones come from heavy elements that originated from the stars. Researchers at the holifield radioactive ion beam facility have set out to prove this.