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21 views29 pages

PS-L1

Uploaded by

brixjamesbesa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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THE FORMATION OF THE LIGHT ELEMENTS IN THE BIG BANG THEORY

NUCLEOSYNTHESIS: THE BEGINNING OF ELEMENTS

Objectives:
In this lesson, you should be able to give
evidence for and explain the formation of the
light elements in the big bang theory.

What elements were produced during the big bang expansion?


Big Bang Theory
The big bang theory is a cosmological model
stating that the universe started its expansion
about 13.8 billion years ago. Pieces of evidence
supporting this theory are :

(1) occurrence of redshift,


(2) background radiation, and
(3) abundance of light elements
Redshift
In the 1910s, Vesto Slipher and Carl Wilhelm Wirtz measured the
wavelengths of light from spiral nebulae, which are interstellar clouds of
dust and ionized gases. They discovered that the light from the nebulae
increased in wavelength. They explained their discovery as a Doppler
shift. The Doppler shift or Doppler effect explains that when an object
gets closer to us, its light waves are compressed into shorter
wavelengths (blueshifted, because blue light has the shortest wavelength
in the visible region).

On the other hand, when an object moves away from us, its light waves
are stretched into longer wavelengths (redshifted, because red light has
the longest wavength in the visible region).
Slipher and Wirtz then explained that the
redshift or increase in wavelength was
due to the increase in the distance
between the Earth and the nebulae. They
concluded that the redshift occurred due
to the expansion of space.
In 1929, Edwin Hubble used the
redshift of light from galaxies to
calculate the velocities and distances of
these galaxies from the Earth. He
discovered that they were moving away
from the Earth and from each other. His
calculations supported the theory that
the universe is expanding.
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
In 1965, Robert Wilson and Arno
Penzias discovered a low, steady “hum” from
their Holmdel Horn antenna (an antenna built to
support NASA’s Project Echo). They concluded
that the noise is Cosmic Microwave
Background Radiation (CMBR), the remains of
energy created after the big bang expansion.
Abundance of Light Elements
The observed abundance of light elements
supports the big bang theory. The theory predicts
that the universe is composed of 73%
hydrogen and 25% helium by mass. The
prediction correlated to the measured abundances
of primordial material in unprocessed gas in some
parts of the universe with no stars.
Formation of Light Elements

Big bang nucleosynthesis is the process of producing


the light elements during the big bang expansion. In the
beginning, the universe was very hot that matter was fully
ionized and dissociated. Few seconds after the start of
the big bang, the universe was filled with protons,
neutrons, electrons, neutrinos, and positrons. After the
first three minutes, the universe cooled down to a point
where atomic nuclei can form. Protons and neutrons
combined to form atomic nuclei such as deuterium
protons-
neutrons-
electrons-
neutrinos- Aneutral subatomic particle with a mass close to zero, rarely reacting with normal
matter.
Kinds: (1) electron neutrino, (2) muon neutrino,(3) tau neutrino
Positrons - a sub atomic particle with the same mass as an electron and numerically equal
but positive in charge.
Protons and neutrons combined to form
atomic nuclei such as deuterium Learn about it!
When the temperature cooled down
below 1010 K, deuterium nuclei
combined with other nuclei to form
heavier ones.

Helium-3 was formed from the fusion of


two deuterium nuclei and a release of a
neutron.
However, the temperature of the universe
was still much greater than the binding
energy of deuterium. Binding energy is
the energy required to break down a
nucleus into its components. Therefore,
deuterium easily decayed upon formation.
Tritium or hydrogen-3 was
produced from the fusion of
two deuterium nuclei and a
release of a proton

Helium-4 was also


synthesized from deuterium
and helium-3.
Helium-4 was also Helium-4 was produced
synthesized from from the fusion of
deuterium and helium- deuterium and tritium.
3.
Learn about it!
For the first three minutes, a
substantial amount of neutrons was
converted into helium-4 nuclei, before
their decay. Helium then combined to
other nuclei to form heavier ones such
as lithium-7 and beryllium-7.
Lithium-7 was synthesized from helium-4 and tritium.

Beryllium-7 was produced


from helium-3 and helium-4.
Among the light elements formed, deuterium, helium-3,
helium-4, and lithium-7 were stable. Beryllium-7 was unstable
and decayed spontaneously to lithium-7.
Key Points
 Pieces of evidence that support the big bang theory are redshift,
cosmic microwave background radiation, and abundance of light
elements.
 Big bang nucleosynthesis is the process of light element
formation.
 The light elements that formed after the big bang were helium,
deuterium, and trace amounts of lithium and beryllium.
 Deuterium, helium-3, helium-4, and lithium-7 were stable. On the
other hand, beryllium-7 was unstable and decayed spontaneously
to lithium-7.
QUESTION 1
Which of the following refers to the process
of producing the light elements such as
hydrogen and helium?
A.supernova nucleosynthesis
B.big bang nucleosynthesis
C.cosmic ray spallation
D.rp-process
QUESTION 2
−−−−−−−−−−−−_ are the remains of energy
created
after the Big Bang expansion.

A.gravitational wave
B.blackbody radiation
C.cosmic microwave background radiation
D.magnetic field
QUESTION 3
Who was the scientist who used the redshift of
light from galaxies to calculate their velocities
and distances from the Earth?

A.Robert Wilson
B.Edwin Hubble
C.Arno Penzias
D.Vesto Slipher
QUESTION 4
According to the big bang theory, how much time
was needed to produce the light elements
hydrogen and helium?

A. 3 minutes
B.5 hours
C.7 million years
D.13.8 billion years
QUESTION 5
What happens when something redshifts?

A.Its wavelength increases.


B.Its energy increases.
C.Its frequency increases.
D.Its size increases
QUESTION 6
What does the increase in wavelength of light from a galaxy mean?
A.The galaxy is moving towards the Earth, and the universe is expanding.
B. The galaxy is moving towards the Earth, and the universe is being compressed.
C.The galaxy is moving away from the Earth, and the universe is being compressed.
D.The galaxy is moving away from the Earth, and the universe is expanding.
QUESTION 7
Refer to the figure below

Which of the following is the by-product of the nucleosynthesis of


helium-4 from a deuterium and tritium?
A.Proton B.gamma radiation
C.helium-3 D.neutron
QUESTION 8
Which of the following events during the big bang
expansion led to the nucleosynthesis of helium-3 and
hydrogen?
A.The temperature of the universe cooled down below
1010 K.
B.The temperature of the universe increased above 1010 K.
C.The nucleosynthesis of helium-4 halted.
D.Beryllium-7 spontaneously decayed.
QUESTION 9
Refer to the figure below.

Which of the following is the other starting material


for the nucleosynthesis of beryllium-7 from helium-4?

A.Proton B.gamma radiation


C.helium-3 D.neutron

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