Natural Elements in the Universe?

--------- #1297 - Elements in the Universe?

- There are 92 natural elements. These are those elements listed in the Periodic Table for Chemistry. We know the heavier elements above hydrogen ( 1 proton) and helium ( 2 protons) are produced in the explosions of stars, called supernovae. Hydrogen and helium were produced in the Big Bang. The heaviest natural element is Uranium with (92 protons). 92 protons is about the most the Strong Nuclear Force can hold in the nucleus of an atom. More protons in the nucleus and the element tends to decay through radioactivity to a lighter element.

- Our human body is made up of a few dozen or so elements the top 5 of which are:

--------------------- Oxygen --------------- 61%
--------------------- Carbon --------------- 22% -------------- 83%
--------------------- Hydrogen ----------- 10% ---------------93%
--------------------- Nitrogen -------------- 2.5% --------------96%
--------------------- Calcium -------------- 1.4% -------------- 97%

- We have an unusual concentration of heavier elements thanks to the Sun’s gravity and the Angular Momentum of the orbiting accretion disk that formed our rocky planet. When we look at the Universe at large hydrogen ( 1 proton) makes up 75% of all the elements out there. ( That we know about, we will discuss Dark Matter later ). Most of the interstellar medium contains the element hydrogen. In the excited state, with its single electron in a higher energy shell, it emit’s a red glow of electromagnetic energy. This is how we identify the elements in astronomy. Each element has unique energy states for its electron structure. As electrons move between energy states they must add or subtract the exact amount of energy in electromagnetic radiation absorption or emission. When we test the Moon for hydrogen it has only a trace of this element.

The natural element abuncance in the Universe are:

----------------------- Hydrogen ( 1 proton) ---------------- 75%
----------------------- Helium ( 2 protons)------------------- 23%
----------------------- Oxygen (8 protons) ---------------------0.26%
---------------------- Carbon (6 protons) --------------------- 0.10%
---------------------- Nitrogen (7 protons) ------------------- 0.02%

- The second most abundant element is helium ( 2 protons) Helium is inert and hardly reacts with any other element. Of course, it is essential because it results from the nuclear fusion in stars. It is the next step in producing all the heavier elements.

- The third most abundant element in the Universe is oxygen ( 8 protons). This element in contrast reacts with almost all the other elements. Example: iron rust is oxidation. Carbon rust is carbon dioxide. The Moon is 50% oxygen by weight. Our bodies are over 60% oxygen by weight.

- When oxygen and hydrogen get together the two most common reacting elements in the Universe we get water, H2O. It is the water ice that makes up the rings around the planet, Saturn. Some moons and all comets are almost entirely made of water ice. Water is its densest at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. So, water is less dense when it approaches 32 degrees F. And, water expands when it freezes into ice crystals. That is why water ice floats. Life on Earth would not have made it if ice did not float.

- The 4^th most abundant element in the Universe is carbon ( 6 protons). It has the highest melting point of all the elements. It reacts with oxygen and hydrogen to create the organic molecules that life is made of. We are carbon based life.

- The 5^th most abundant element is nitrogen (7 protons). 78% of the air we breath is nitrogen gas. Oxygen is the other 21%. That is 99%. What is the remaining 1%? Few would guess. It is argon (18 protons). Carbon dioxide that we are more familiar with is only 1/20^th of 1% of the atmosphere we breath.

- We have been talking about the 92 natural elements in the Universe. But, as amazing at it may seem, these elements make up less than 4% of the Universe. The rest of what is out there is “ Dark”. Dark Matter makes up 23% of the Universe and Dark Energy makes up 73% of the Universe in mass/energy. Remember mass and energy are the same thing it just takes 9*10^16, or 90,000,000,000,000,000 times more energy to make matter ( in units of joules and kilograms, the 9*10^16 is the speed of light squared.)

- The most dangerous elements in the world come in the form of dihydrogen oxide. It has no taste. It has no smell. It is transparent. It is incompressible under tremendous pressure. It is extremely lethal. Responsible for most all the nature caused deaths in the world. Depending on its state it can freeze you to death or scald you to death. It is heavy enough to knock over tall buildings. It combines with carbon to form carbonic acid that strips the leaves off of trees and takes the face off of statues. With the tremendous power of gravity it kills many people every year. With the tremendous power of wind and flooding it causes more deaths and economic destruction than any of the other elements. Dihydrogen oxide, is H2O, water. Despite all its destruction we owe these elements our very survival.

- We humans are 65% water. We are more liquid than solid. A tomato is 95% water. If you dehydrate a tomato there is almost nothing left. We are fortunate that our orbit around the Sun does not dehydrate us. We are just at the right distance to remain liquid. If we were just 1% farther or 5% closer to the Sun we probably could not exist. The elements are something to ponder.

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