Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site mit-eddie.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!mit-eddie!rh From: rh@mit-eddie.UUCP (Randy Haskins) Newsgroups: net.astro.expert Subject: Re: Forming The Elements Message-ID: <4579@mit-eddie.UUCP> Date: Sat, 29-Jun-85 15:21:58 EDT Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.4579 Posted: Sat Jun 29 15:21:58 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 30-Jun-85 02:31:52 EDT References: <243@ihnet.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: MIT, Cambridge, MA Lines: 19 About forming the elements heavier than Fe: It turns out that in its dying days (years, whatever), a star will actually form the heavier elements by fusion. The problem is, this is an endothermic sort of thing; it requires more energy than it produces. As time goes on, the situation in the star is going to head for its lowest energy state. A supernova, on the other hand, is a situation where a large amount of energy is liberated in a short time, and the heavier elements will be formed more than they would be inside the star. Also, when the supernova does its thing, it blows a lot of the material (including the heavier elements it has formed) out into space, so they won't be around it the star any more to be decayed by fission. A real astronomer could probably explain this better than I did, but this is the gist of the situation as I understand it. Hope it helps. -- Randwulf (Randy Haskins); Path= genrad!mit-eddie!rh