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/sci/ - Science & Math

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1430640 No.1430640 [Reply] [Original]

Sorry for the potentially stupid question as I have no idea how dumb what I'm about to say may sound.

Stars fuse hydrogen atoms together to make helium and release energy. In the process they also create of all the heavier elements in existence. When a star doesn't have enough energy to sustain itself it dies out, super novas, and reforms to repeat the whole process. After an unimaginable amount of time, eventually all the stars will have converted all the hydrogen in the entire universe into either helium or elements heavier than that. What happens then? What happens when the entire universe runs out of gas? Will the same process repeat itself by fusing heavier elements together? What happens then those are all fused together? Could then use even heavier elements for fusion and continue doing this until the entire known universe was one unimaginably large atom?

>> No.1430649

If I recall correctly, this process can continue until everything is fused into iron. Fusing stuff beyond that requires energy rather than releasing it (which is why still heavier elements like uranium can be split for energy, like they do in nuclear power plants).

>> No.1430654

Stars will only fuse elements up to iron, because it has the most binding energy per nucleon in the fusion chain.

>> No.1430655

The reaction proceeds when energy out > energy in.
The heaviest element that can be created by fusion in stars is Iron.
After Iron the energy required to build an atom by fusion is larger than the energy gained so the process stops. elements heavier than Iron are created in SN.

>> No.1430656

>>1430640
The universe will die bro. Srsly.

>> No.1430678

>>1430656

Glorious heat death. At least we won't be around.

>> No.1430686
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1430686

>>1430649
>>1430654
>>1430655

So eventually the entire universe will be fused into iron atoms? And by eventually I mean after an unimaginable amount of time. What would happen then?

in b4 magnets

>> No.1430696

>>1430686
I think magnets is actually a conceivable possibility.

>> No.1430709

>>1430686

Heat death of the universe would probably happen before that.

>> No.1430719

Energy for a living thing could still be obtained by dropping the iron into a black hole.

>> No.1430735

>>1430686

once last stars burn out most of the mass in the universe will eventually find its way into black holes. the black holes will then slowly evaporate by hawking radiation until they all disappear and then there will be no protons or conventional matter left in the universe, just electrons and low energy photons.

luckily this is like 10^100 years from now.

>> No.1430742

>>1430735
Not neccessarily. Another theory is that atoms themselves will be pulled apart by dark energy eventually, leading to no particles etc etc.

>> No.1430784

Shit, and then what happens? With no sentient life around to observe the universe, it's this physical thing floating around in reality, in ALL realities. There's nothing left, NOTHING. FUCK.

>> No.1430791

>>1430784

Well the Quantum theoretical fags all say that that might be only what happens in this particular universe. In others the laws of Physics might be that such that other things happen!

Basically though the thinking at the moment is that in around 10^100 years (I think its that, cant remember), there will be no particles left as the expansion due to dark energy will of ripped everything apart. Basically all thats left will be heat energy.

After that, then nothing. It will be the end of the universe, unless some crazy shit happens.

>> No.1430851

Then whoever's playing just hits the reset button in the universe's most complicated adaption of Conway's Game of Life and tries a different starting configuration in order to beat the hi score.

>> No.1430885

>>1430735
>>1430735
>>1430735
>>1430735

This is correct, as far as I know.