Big Bang

Nucleosynthesis
What is Big Bang
Nucleosynthesis?
 The Origin of the Light
Elements
The emergence of the universe
brought about the formation of
elements and consequently of
matter
 The Origin of the Light
Elements
Aside from predicting the presence
of radiation, it is also believed that
the high temperature of the universe
was an ideal condition for nuclear
reactions to have occurred during
the first few minutes of the big
bang.
 The Origin of the Light
Elements
These reactions began with the
fusion of protons and neutrons,
forming nuclei in a process
called nucleosynthesis.
 The Origin of the Light
Elements
Primordial or big bang
nucleosynthesis produced the
“light elements” shortly after
the big bang.
Which elements emerged
from primordial
nucleosynthesis?
 Formation of Light Elements:
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
Elements are believed to have
existed billions of years ago when the
so-called Big Bang took place.
According to the Big Bang theory,
the entire universe was at one time
confined to a dense, hot and super
massive ball.
 Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

Then after its formation it began

to expand and cool; then about 20
billion years ago, a cataclysmic
explosion occurred, hurling
massive materials in all directions,
thereby creating the universe.
 Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

All the elements in the universe- natural

or synthetic- form through
nucleosynthesis.
Nucleosynthesis is the formation of
elements by combining the simple nuclei
or atomic particles by nuclear reaction
with the help of extremely hot
temperature and pressure.
 The First three minutes of the Big Bang

About 100 seconds after the big

bang started, nuclear reactions
began to form elements through the
collision of protons and neutrons.
What are the elements formed during the first
three minutes of the Big Bang?
 Formation of Light Elements

During the first three minutes, the

universe was hot enough for nuclear
reaction to continue and form the third
isotope of hydrogen which also give rise
to formation of the light elements,
namely: HYDROGEN, HELIUM and
trace amounts of LITHIUM
 Formation of Hydrogen

In the first reaction, tritium was

formed from the reaction of deuterium
which also came from the first ion
(hydrogen) together with one neutron.
 Formation of Unstable Helium

As the reaction proceeded,

deuterium reacted with a
proton to form the unstable
helium, which is the second
element.
 Formation of Stable Helium

Because elements should

attain stability, the third
reaction took place: tritium
reacted with proton to produce
the stable isotope of helium
 Formation of Stable Helium

The fourth reaction involved

also the formation of stable
helium isotope through the
reaction of the unstable helium
with one neutron.
 Formation of Lithium

The last nuclear reaction for

the Big Bang took place when
stable helium reacted with
tritium to form lithium, the
third element with atomic
number 3 and mass of 7 amu.
Formation of Beryllium
 The First three minutes of the Big Bang

After the first three minutes the

universe rapidly expanded because
of the extreme temperature but also
cooled off so quickly that the
nuclear reaction shut down, leaving
the universe not much time to make
any more elements.
 Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

• Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

• takes place when the
universe is a few minutes
old
• makes H, He, He, Li, Be
 What happened during
nucleosynthesis?
Nucleosynthesis is the process that
creates new atomic nuclei from pre-
existing nucleons, primarily protons
and neutrons. The first nuclei were
formed about three minutes after
the Big Bang, through the process
called Big Bang nucleosynthesis
What happened during
nucleosynthesis?
 How were elements created in
the Big Bang?
According to the Big Bang theory, the
temperatures in the early universe
were so high that fusion reactions
could take place. This resulted in the
formation of light elements:
hydrogen, helium (two isotopes),and
trace amounts of lithium
What are the light elements?
 What are the light elements?

Light Elements. It is an observed fact

that most of the matter in the universe
are the three lightest elements:
hydrogen, helium, and lithium. These
elements were present during the initial
formation of the universe, with the
heavier elements being later formed in
massive stars.