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Welcome to Cosmos in a Pod's Space and Astronomy series.

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Ever glance at your jewelry and wonder,

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like, where the gold really came from?

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Yeah, it's fascinating, right?

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Totally.

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Or realize that the calcium in your bones,

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it has a pretty wild origin story.

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Absolutely.

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So today we're going deep, deep, deep

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into how the universe creates the elements that, well,

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make up everything.

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You, me, this microphone.

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That's right.

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We're talking about stellar nucleosynthesis.

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Stellar nucleo what now?

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It sounds complex, but it's basically

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how stars act like giant element factories.

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OK, that makes more sense.

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So they're forging the building blocks of, well, matter.

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Yeah.

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From the inside out.

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Exactly.

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So stars, they aren't just those pretty twinkling lights

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up there.

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They're like churning out ingredients for planets,

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for people, even for this microphone.

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Wild.

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Precisely.

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Think of a star as this massive gravity-powered furnace.

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OK, I'm picturing it.

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It all starts with hydrogen, the simplest

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element, super abundant in the universe.

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Hydrogen.

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Deep inside the star's core, the pressure and heat,

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they're so intense.

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I bet.

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Hydrogen atoms are forced to fuse together, forming helium.

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OK, so two hydrogens become one helium.

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Yeah, and this releases a tremendous amount

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of energy in the process.

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So that's the secret behind starlight.

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It's a byproduct of this fusion process.

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Whoa.

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Exactly.

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And that fusion energy, that's what

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drives the whole element creation thing inside stars.

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Wow.

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As a star ages, it's like, imagine a cosmic pressure

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cooker.

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Uh-huh, OK.

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But it's turning up the heat.

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It starts fusing helium into heavier elements.

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So what kinds of heavier elements?

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Like carbon.

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Carbon.

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Now that's where things get relevant to us, right?

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You got it.

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Carbon.

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That's one of the key ingredients for life, right?

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At least life as we know it.

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Absolutely.

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The carbon in your DNA.

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In my DNA.

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Mine too.

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It was once forged in the heart of a star.

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No way.

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And the process keeps going.

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Stars can fuse even heavier elements,

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creating oxygen, neon, magnesium.

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It's like a cosmic assembly line building the periodic table.

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Pretty much.

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So if I'm getting this right, bigger stars,

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they can create heavier elements.

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Exactly.

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Because they have more of that intense fusion power.

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I'm seeing a pattern here.

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You're right on track.

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The more massive a star is, the hotter and denser it's core.

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So it can fuse heavier and heavier elements.

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OK, that makes sense.

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So it's all about size.

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But there's got to be a limit, right?

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Like a cosmic speed bump or something.

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There is.

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And that speed bump is iron.

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Iron.

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Iron is like a wall in the fusion process.

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To create elements heavier than iron, you need to add energy.

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Wait, so you don't get energy out.

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You have to put it in on.

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Exactly.

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So when a star's core starts filling up with iron,

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it's heading towards a pretty dramatic finale.

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OK, I can only imagine.

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I bet this finale involves something spectacular.

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What happens when a star runs out of fuel, hits that iron wall?

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I mean, it can't just fizzle out, right?

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Definitely not.

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What happens is one of the most awe-inspiring events

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in the universe.

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Hit me with it.

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A supernova.

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A supernova.

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I knew it.

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When a massive star reaches this critical point, it collapses.

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Collapses on itself.

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Yeah.

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And this triggers a colossal explosion, an explosion

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that can outshine entire galaxies.

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OK, I knew supernovae were bright.

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But outshining galaxies?

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That's not level.

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It's truly mind-boggling.

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And they're not only visually stunning.

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I can imagine.

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They're also crucial for creating those heavier elements,

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the ones beyond iron on the periodic table.

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So we're talking gold, platinum, uranium, the heavy hitters.

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Exactly.

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These heavyweights are forged in the intense chaos of a supernova.

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So picture this.

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Imagine a cosmic storm of neutrons.

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OK.

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Bombarding atomic nuclei, building them up

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into heavier and heavier elements.

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All in, like a fraction of a second.

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Pretty much.

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This process is called the R process, or rapid neutron capture

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process.

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The R process.

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So the gold in my ring, or in a hypothetical Olympic gold

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metal, that was created during a supernova explosion.

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Ah, it's kind of poetic when you think about it.

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It really is.

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And supernovae don't just create these elements.

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They scatter them across the universe.

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It's like a cosmic seed spreader,

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enriching interstellar space with the building

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blocks for future stars, planets, and even life.

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So it's destruction and creation all wrapped up

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in one incredible package.

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Yeah.

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You could say that.

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Supernovae sound pretty important.

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But I'm guessing they aren't the only way

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the universe gets creative with elements, right?

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What other cosmic element factories are out there?

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You're right.

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Supernovae aren't the only players in this game.

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There are other processes, even involving

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stars that aren't as massive.

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Oh.

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So even smaller stars contribute to the element mix.

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Cool.

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What happens there?

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One example is a white dwarf explosion, also known

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as a type Ia supernova.

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Type Ia.

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OK.

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Remind me, what's a white dwarf again?

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A white dwarf is what's left over when a sun-like star uses

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up all its fuel.

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It's incredibly dense.

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Dense like how?

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Imagine packing the mass of the sun

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into something the size of Earth.

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Whoa.

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Dense is an understatement.

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Yeah, it's pretty wild.

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So how do these white dwarfs get involved in creating elements?

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They don't just sit around being super compact, right?

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Yeah.

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Not always.

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Sometimes a white dwarf has a companion star,

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and it can start pulling material from its neighbor.

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If it pulls in enough material, it can reach a critical mass

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and boom, it explodes in a type Ia supernova.

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So even in their afterlife, these stars

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can still pack a punch.

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What kind of elements do these explosions create?

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They're especially good at creating elements

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like nickel and iron.

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Iron, huh?

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That rings a bell.

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Remember, iron is that wall in the fusion process.

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So these explosions provide a way to get more of it

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out into the universe.

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So we've got massive stars going supernova,

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white dwarfs getting in on the action, anything else.

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It seems like the universe has a lot of ways to create elements.

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Oh, absolutely.

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There's another incredible phenomenon that we've

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been learning a lot more about, neutron star mergers.

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Neutron star mergers.

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I've heard of those.

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They sound intense.

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Imagine two neutron stars, the super dense remnants

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of supernovae spiraling towards each other and colliding.

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It's a mind blowing event.

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OK, two super dense objects smashing together.

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That sounds intense as an understatement,

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but I'm guessing it produces more than just

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like a cosmic light show.

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You bet.

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Neutron star mergers are now thought

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to be one of the main sources of the heaviest elements

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in the universe, especially gold.

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Gold comes from neutron star mergers.

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Seriously.

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These mergers release an immense amount of energy

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and a flood of neutrons, triggering the R

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process on a colossal scale.

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It's like a cosmic gold factory.

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Wow.

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OK, so to sum up, we've got regular stars fusing lighter

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elements, giant stars going supernova,

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white dwarf explosions, Andean neutron star mergers,

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all contributing to this amazing element creating sympathy.

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That's the picture.

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It's this intricate dance of stellar processes

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that has enriched the universe with the elements

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we see today.

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Wow.

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OK.

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And it all ties back to that amazing chart

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we all learned about in school, the periodic table.

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Oh, yeah, the periodic table.

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I remember memorizing all those elements and their symbols.

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But you're saying there's more to it than just

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like a list of ingredients.

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The periodic table is actually a cosmic history book.

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It's not just a random arrangement of elements.

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It tells a story about where each element came from

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and the incredible events that created them.

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Hold on.

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You're saying I can read the history of the universe

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just by looking at the periodic table?

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It's blowing my mind a little.

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It really is.

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Think about it.

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The lattice elements, hydrogen and helium,

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were created way back at the beginning during the Big Bang.

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Oh, right, the Big Bang.

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Then as stars formed and began their fusion processes,

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they created heavier elements like carbon, oxygen,

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and silicon.

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So those elements, the ones that are most common and important

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for us, they're products of stellar fusion.

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I never realized there was such a deep connection.

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It's a fundamental connection.

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And then you have the heavier elements, like iron and nickel,

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formed in the cores of massive stars

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before they go supernova.

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And of course, the heaviest of them all,

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like gold, platinum, and uranium,

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are primarily forged in those powerful supernovae and neutron

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star mergers.

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Wow.

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So the periodic table isn't just a chart.

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It's a timeline showing the progression of element

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creation from the Big Bang to the most extreme events

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the universe has to offer.

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That's a great way to think about it.

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It shows us that the elements that make up our world,

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and even us, have this incredibly long and fascinating

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history, stretching back billions of years.

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And it leads us to a pretty profound realization.

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We are literally made of star stuff.

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OK, that phrase, we are star stuff.

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I've heard it before, but it never really sunk in until now.

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It's mind-blowing to think that the atoms in our bodies

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were once part of these distant stars

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and these incredible cosmic events.

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It really does change your perspective, doesn't it?

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It connects us to the vastness of space and time

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and reminds us that we're part of this grand cosmic story,

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a story that's still unfolding.

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Really?

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With all that we've learned, there's still mysteries out

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there.

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What are scientists still puzzling over?

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It seems like we've uncovered this whole cosmic recipe

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for how elements are made, but what's still missing.

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Like, what are the big questions scientists are still

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grappling with?

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Well, one of the puzzles is figuring out the exact roles

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of different cosmic events.

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We know supernovae and neutron star mergers both

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create heavy elements, but we're still working out

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the precise proportions.

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It's like trying to figure out the exact recipe

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for a complex dish.

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We know the main ingredients, but the exact amounts

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are still kind of mystery.

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So it's like a cosmic cooking show

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where we're still figuring out the measurements.

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What else is on the scientific to-do list

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when it comes to elements?

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Another area of active research is

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understanding rare processes, like the slow neutron

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capture process or S-process.

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S-process.

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OK.

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This happens in certain types of stars,

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and it contributes to the creation

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of some heavy elements, but the details

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are still being worked out.

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It's like finding a hidden ingredient that

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adds a subtle flavor to the cosmic mix.

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Oh, I like that.

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A hidden ingredient.

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And I imagine with new telescopes like the James Webb,

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we're probably going to uncover even more mysteries, maybe

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even processes we haven't even imagined yet.

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Absolutely.

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The universe is full of surprises.

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And as we develop new tools to observe it,

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we're constantly making new discoveries, discoveries

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that challenge our understanding.

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Makes sense.

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It's an exciting time to be studying the cosmos.

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It really is.

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This whole idea that we're made of star stuff,

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that our very existence is tied to these incredible cosmic

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events, it's humbling and inspiring.

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It definitely makes me appreciate the night sky

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in a whole new way.

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I feel the same way.

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It underscores the interconnectedness

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of everything in the universe.

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We're not just observers.

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We're active participants in this grand cosmic story.

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A story that's still unfolding.

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Exactly.

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Well, this has been an incredible journey from stars

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as element factories to supernovae, neutron star

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mergers, and the periodic table as a cosmic history book.

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It's been a mind-expanding deep dive

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into the origins of, well, everything.

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Ha ha.

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It really has.

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It's been a pleasure sharing this journey with you

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and hopefully with our listeners as well.

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And remember, this is just the beginning.

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There's so much more to explore, to discover

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about the fascinating world of astronomy.

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Absolutely.

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So to all our listeners out there,

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if you want to continue this cosmic adventure with us,

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be sure to follow and subscribe to our podcast

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and our YouTube channel.

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We've got plenty more deep dives to come exploring mysteries

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of the universe and beyond.

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Until next time, keep looking up and never stop wondering.