Refueling the Magic Furnace: Kilonova 2017 Rewrites the Story of Element Origins
For more than half a century, we have understood element creation in the stars—described in Marcus Chown’s colorful image as “the magic furnace.” From 1958 until 2017, supernova explosions were thought to be the primary site of element creation above Iron, No. 26 on the Periodic Table. This assumpti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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International Big History Association
2018-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Big History |
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| Online Access: | https://jbh.journals.villanova.edu/index.php/JBH/article/view/2327/2234 |
| _version_ | 1797777531006353408 |
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| author | Barry Woods |
| author_facet | Barry Woods |
| author_sort | Barry Woods |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For more than half a century, we have understood element creation in the stars—described in Marcus Chown’s colorful image as “the magic furnace.” From 1958 until 2017, supernova explosions were thought to be the primary site of element creation above Iron, No. 26 on the Periodic Table. This assumption was radically overturned with the August 17, 2017, arrival of signals from a catastrophic collision of neutron stars. This paper traces the history of element-creation science leading to the striking discoveries attending “Kilonova 2017” that now call for a rewriting of the nucleosynthesis chapter of Big History. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T23:06:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f992d43a4ed04160803399740dccddee |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2475-3610 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T23:06:13Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | International Big History Association |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Big History |
| spelling | doaj.art-f992d43a4ed04160803399740dccddee2023-07-19T00:25:06ZengInternational Big History AssociationJournal of Big History2475-36102018-09-0123115https://doi.org/10.22339/jbh.v2i3.2327Refueling the Magic Furnace: Kilonova 2017 Rewrites the Story of Element OriginsBarry Woods0University of HoustonFor more than half a century, we have understood element creation in the stars—described in Marcus Chown’s colorful image as “the magic furnace.” From 1958 until 2017, supernova explosions were thought to be the primary site of element creation above Iron, No. 26 on the Periodic Table. This assumption was radically overturned with the August 17, 2017, arrival of signals from a catastrophic collision of neutron stars. This paper traces the history of element-creation science leading to the striking discoveries attending “Kilonova 2017” that now call for a rewriting of the nucleosynthesis chapter of Big History.https://jbh.journals.villanova.edu/index.php/JBH/article/view/2327/2234supernovanucleosynthesiscosmic evolutionchemical evolution |
| spellingShingle | Barry Woods Refueling the Magic Furnace: Kilonova 2017 Rewrites the Story of Element Origins Journal of Big History supernova nucleosynthesis cosmic evolution chemical evolution |
| title | Refueling the Magic Furnace: Kilonova 2017 Rewrites the Story of Element Origins |
| title_full | Refueling the Magic Furnace: Kilonova 2017 Rewrites the Story of Element Origins |
| title_fullStr | Refueling the Magic Furnace: Kilonova 2017 Rewrites the Story of Element Origins |
| title_full_unstemmed | Refueling the Magic Furnace: Kilonova 2017 Rewrites the Story of Element Origins |
| title_short | Refueling the Magic Furnace: Kilonova 2017 Rewrites the Story of Element Origins |
| title_sort | refueling the magic furnace kilonova 2017 rewrites the story of element origins |
| topic | supernova nucleosynthesis cosmic evolution chemical evolution |
| url | https://jbh.journals.villanova.edu/index.php/JBH/article/view/2327/2234 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT barrywoods refuelingthemagicfurnacekilonova2017rewritesthestoryofelementorigins |