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The ring on your finger, made of platinum or gold, contains the secrets at the heart of the mysteries of the universe.
Scientists have combed galaxies to figure out where these so-called “heavy elements” come from.
The lighter elements—everything from helium, which has two protons per atom, to iron, which has 26 protons in each nucleus—are better understood.
Most of these form inside stars. But our knowledge blurs after iron.
Gold, which has 79 protons per atom, cannot be made that way. The same is true for platinum, xenon, radon, and many rare earth elements.
For decades, scientists have theorized where these “heavy metals” came from and how they arrived on Earth. The main idea was a very violent cosmic event, the collision of two neutron stars.
Until recently, this was just a theory, but that changed a few years ago when scientists detected gravitational waves from such collisions and saw light at the same time.
This light retained the chemical signature of these heavy elements and provided the first evidence to support the theory of where they came from. It also helped scientists fill out details about how this process works.
Neutron stars are the densest objects in the universe, aside from black holes. They are born when heavy stars die and their cores collapse. Incredible gravitational pressure crushes atoms, crushing protons and electrons into a star made entirely of neutrons.
In the rare case of two neutron stars colliding, the explosion creates tremendous temperatures and pressures.
It also emits many free neutrons. A maximum of 1 gram of neutrons spills into 1 cubic centimeter of space.
These rare conditions ignite what is known as the rapid neutron capture process, or “R-process” for short.
Everything starts with a seed nucleus such as iron. The iron nucleus starts with 26 protons and about 30 neutrons.
But the R process quickly captures more neutrons in milliseconds. The new nucleus is highly unstable due to the uneven amount of neutrons, and some of the neutrons decay into protons.
The result of this extremely fast and complex process is a new form of matter.
Think about it, the piece of gold on your finger originated with one of the most violent and powerful forces in the universe, the Cosmic Cataclysm.
All the mysteries of the universe that are being solved and the fragments of the universe in the palm of your hand.
