EPISODE · Feb 15, 2019 · 39 MIN
30: Stardust, or Cosmic Poo?
from syzygy · host Chris Stewart
Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypodSyzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypodThings we talk about in this episode:International Year of the Periodic Table: https://www.iypt2019.orgDmitri Mendeleev: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_MendeleevFarewell, Opportunity. You’ve done so very well! https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7334Astronomer’s Periodic Table by Periodic Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6akrRznGgDcStellar nucleosynthesis: https://www.thoughtco.com/stellar-nucleosynthesis-2699311Big Bang nucleosynthesis: http://www.einstein-online.info/spotlights/BBN.htmlSupernova nucleosynthesis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova_nucleosynthesisNeutron star mergers: https://physics.aps.org/articles/v10/114The elements song, by Tom Lehrer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcS3NOQnsQMAn updated version, by Helen Arney: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzvjB5hC2qc
What this episode covers
Happy International Year of the Periodic Table, everyone! We’re celebrating 150 years since Mendeleev brought some order to the unruly mess of the elements of matter, organising all of the types of atoms into a system sorted by physics and chemistry: rows of increasing number of protons in the nucleus; columns of similar chemical properties due to the orbiting electrons. This week, Emily takes us through the Astronomer’s version of the table, which really only has three bits to it: Hydrogen, which is almost everything; Helium, which is almost everything else; and the rest, which is just called “metals”.
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30: Stardust, or Cosmic Poo?
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