Element Formation Essay

By Anne McIlvaine

Have you ever wondered where the elements in our world came from? Well, by the core

of the sun, explosions of stars and the reformation of our solar system, our elements make up

everything in the world around us.

The core of the sun is a great example for how elements are made. Inside the core, mass

is squeezing hydrogen gas from all sides. The hydrogen gets squeezed so tightly that it makes a

proton-proton chain reaction which creates a deuteron. It causes 4 hydrogen nuclei to combine to

get 1 helium atom. Hydrogen fusing into helium happens by the process of nuclear fusion.

Because of this nuclear fusion, the sun produces heat and light energy as well as making atoms.

Stars like the sun can make many elements, but heavier elements are made by different

processes.

Near the end of a star's lifetime, a supernova or explosion of the star occurs. These

explosions also create the heavier elements on the periodic table. When a star has run out of fuel

in its core, gravity will force it to compress and become even hotter. The helium gas and its great

heat then forces the star to expand into a red giant, and then into a white dwarf. White dwarfs are

so dense that they contain billions and billions of tons of matter! Supernovas release a lot of

energy and neutrons into a surrounding cloud, which can allow heavier elements to be made.

These neutrons get expelled into space during the explosion, and can fuse together to make the

heavier elements of our world. These elements will soon reform to make our earth and our solar

system.

After the star became a white dwarf, all of it’s released neutrons and energy were sitting

in the milky way. The cloud of neutrons was loaded with nuclear fusion happening because of
it’s still high temperatures from the supernova. The sun then formed and took most of the matter

with it, but the leftover neutrons clumped together and began to orbit earth. They were called

protoplanets in their early stages. Over time, accreation occurred and the protoplanets gathered

more neutrons, getting bigger. Our earth protoplanet was very hot at the time, and it essentially

started melting. The energy and nuclear fusion left the heavier elements in the core, and the

lighter elements in the mantle and crust. Some of the elements in the form of gases created the

earth's atmosphere by evaporating. The hot temperatures in stars were responsible for the

elements on our planet and in this world. Elements got to earth in these ways and can still be

found today.

All the elements on the periodic table came to be on in our world in these ways. First, the

core of the sun contains nuclear fusion to create elements. Next, supernovas release neutrons and

energy which creates heavier elements. Lastly, the planets formed by the elements sitting in the

cloud that melted together protoplanets to form our earth. According to science, stars make up

everything in our universe, including you and me.