What is a supernova?

(2) On May 27, 2011 at 9:15 pm Dfoofnik [2548] said:

The S-process does create vast quantities of elements heavier than iron, in a process that does not require the pressure and heat of the alpha process. It is the extreme production of iron (and nickel) that occurs in the core that triggers a sudden and catastrophic collapse. This collapse also produces a combined neutron/neutrino flux that creates a large number of heavy atoms through neutron-to-proton changes. Studies have shown that a vast amount of heavier-than-iron elements are produced by the S-process. However, there is no consensus on the relative proportion each produces.

(1) On May 27, 2011 at 8:06 pm Chibiabos Wolf [16] said:

Erroneous reversion: The reversion of my amendment to the answer incorrectly restored an innaccurate remark: Stars do fuse elements heavier than iron. If stars did not fuse past iron, there would be no elements heavier than iron because all elements heavier than hydrogen are produced by nuclear fusion within stars. It is more accurate to say that nuclear fusion cannot sustainably fuse elements heavier than iron because fusing iron-or-heavier atoms requires more energy than it produces, and when a star reaches a point that a certain proportion of its atoms have been fused to iron-or-heavier atoms, nuclear fusion breaks down.

I wish the reversion moderator would take a moment to do research before undoing edits that correct incorrect information present in the answer.

Sign in to add your own comment. (This only takes a few seconds.)