Author Question: Why weren't many elements heavier than helium produced during the nucleosynthesis era? What will ... (Read 45 times)

bucstennis@aim.com · **on:** Jul 27, 2018

Why weren't many elements heavier than helium produced during the nucleosynthesis era?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

On a scale in which the distance from Earth to the Sun is about 15 meters, the distance from Earth to the Moon is ________.

A) about 30 meters B) small enough to fit within your hand
C) about 1 meter D) about 5 meters

abctaiwan · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 27, 2018

Answer to Question 1

By the time helium nuclei could exist in large numbers without being destroyed by the intense radiation field, the universe was about a minute old and the temperature and density were rapidly decreasing. Nuclear fusion reactions to produce heavier elements were possible, but the combination of two helium nuclei or a hydrogen nucleus and helium nucleus produces unstable nuclei. The combination of three helium nuclei can produce carbon, but by this time the density of the universe was too low for many such collisions to occur. Thus the production of heavier elements had to wait until stellar nucleosynthesis.

Answer to Question 2

B