The Origin of the Elements

The development of the modern understanding of the formation of the chemical elements is traced from its first quantitative formulation. In the 1930's, von Weizsacker's (1937) hypothesis of neutron accumulation with intervening beta decays and Bethe's (1939) presentation of the role o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1979-08, Vol.205 (4406), p.549-554
Main Author: Penzias, Arno A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Density
Early universe
Galaxy formation
Helium
Microwaves
Neutrons
Nucleosynthesis
Population I stars
Protons
Stars
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Summary:The development of the modern understanding of the formation of the chemical elements is traced from its first quantitative formulation. In the 1930's, von Weizsacker's (1937) hypothesis of neutron accumulation with intervening beta decays and Bethe's (1939) presentation of the role of hydrogen fusion in the formation of helium were found inconsistent with the then known physics of stellar interiors. Attention then turned to a consideration of element formation before the formation of the stars, in the hot, dense primordial universe; calculations showed, however, that equilibrium processes of element buildup were not possible. In the 1950's, observational evidence of a wider range of stellar conditions removed the need for the prestellar formation of all the elements, except for helium. The detection of the microwave cosmic background radiation in 1965 confirmed the model of an expanding universe with cosmological production of the light elements, as proposed by Gamow (1948).
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.205.4406.549