Lesson 1.
The Big Bang Theory and the
Formation of Light Elements
Objective give evidence for and
explain the formation of
At the end 1 the light elements in the
of the big bang theory.
lesson, you
should be
able to:
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Cosmology
Cosmology is the body of science that studies the origin,
evolution and eventual fate of the universe
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Cosmology
Religious Cosmology
• Religious or mythological cosmology explains the
origin of universe and life based on religious beliefs of a
specific tradition
• The concept of creatio ex nihilo
• God creating the universe as written in the book of
Genesis
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Cosmology
Physical Cosmology
Physical cosmology explains the origin of universe based on
scientific insights, studies and experiments
• Nicolaus Copernicus and the heliocentric nature of the
universe
• The expanding universe through Albert Einstein’s theory
of relativity
• The big bang theory
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Big Bang Theory
The big bang theory, a cosmological model that describes
how the universe started its expansion about 13.8 billion years
ago, states that the universe continues to move and expand
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Big Bang Theory
1. The universe began as a singularity or a point containing
all space, time, matter and energy
2. It expanded rapidly in nothingness through a rapid yet
peaceful process called inflation
3. The universe cooled down as it expanded
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Big Bang Theory
4. A soup of matter in the form of subatomic particles was
formed and nuclei of light atoms were created via
nucleosynthesis or nuclear fusion between protons
and neutrons
5. Electrons interacted with these nuclei to form actual,
primordial atoms via the process of recombination
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Big Bang Theory
Evidences
1. Vesto Slipher and Carl Wilhelm Wirtz (1910)
• Measurement of redshift
• Observed that most spiral galaxies were moving away
from the earth
2. Georges Lemaître (1927)
• Proposed alternative idea that the universe is
expanding
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Big Bang Theory
Evidences
3. Edwin Hubble (1929)
• Calculated distances between the earth and several
galaxies using redshift of light
• Observed distant galaxies were moving away from the
Earth and one another
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Big Bang Theory
Evidences
4. Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias (1965)
• Discovered cosmic microwave background
radiation (CMBR)—a low, steady humming noise
believed to be energy remains
5. Modern astronomy (2014)
• Universe is estimated to be 13.8 billion years old with
5% of its composition existing as ordinary matter
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Big Bang Theory
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
• Big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), also known as
primordial nucleosynthesis, is the process of producing
light elements during the big bang expansion
• It yields two stable isotopes of hydrogen, two isotopes of
helium, some lithium atoms and beryllium isotopes
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Big Bang Theory
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
1. A proton (p) and a neutron (n) may fuse together to
yield a high-energy photon (γ) and an isotope of
hydrogen (H) called deuterium (D or 2H, with one p and
one n)
• The deuterium bottleneck can be traced to its low binding energy
and eventual destruction by photons at very high temperatures
• A decrease in temperature enabled deuterium to stabilize and
eventually initiate the BBN cascade
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Big Bang Theory
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
2. Two D nuclei may fuse together to form either of the
following:
a. The radioactive H isotope tritium (T or 3H, with one p and two n) and
one p; or
b. The isotope helium-3 (He-3 or 3He, with two p and one n) along with
one n
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Big Bang Theory
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
3. Helium-4 (He-4 or 4He, with two p and two n) may be
formed from three fusion reactions
a. The fusion of one p and a T atom
b. The fusion of D with T
c. The fusion of D with He-3
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Big Bang Theory
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
• He-4 has a binding energy of 28 MeV, and further fusion
products were a rarity since these resulting atoms had
binding energies lower than this aforementioned amount
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Big Bang Theory
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
4. He-4 may still undergo further fusion in the presence of a
T atom, yielding the lithium-7 atom (Li-7 or 7Li, with three
p and four n) and a γ
• Li-7 may react with one p to produce two stable He-4 nuclei
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Big Bang Theory
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
5. He-4 may also fuse with He-3 to yield the unstable isotope
beryllium-7 (Be-7 or 7Be, with four p and three n) along
with one γ
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The nuclear reactions as predicted by the big bang nucleosynthesis.
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Big Bang Theory
• The correlation between predicted and observed cosmic
abundances of H and He was the major proof of the big
bang theory
• Almost all available neutrons have combined with protons, forming
24% He-4 by mass
• About 74% H by mass remained uncombined
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Big Bang Theory
• To verify these observations, scientists measured
abundances of primordial material in unprocessed gas in
some parts of the universe with no stars as well as in
parts of meteorites known as chondrites that commonly
fall to Earth
Key Points
The big bang theory is a cosmological model that
1 describes how the universe started its expansion
about 13.8 billion years ago.
Big bang nucleosynthesis is the process of producing
2 light elements during the big bang expansion.
The correlation between the predicted and observed
3 cosmic abundances of hydrogen and helium was the
major proof of the big bang theory.
Check Your Understanding
Complete the following nucleosynthesis
diagram:
Challenge Yourself
Why is a neutron released during the fusion of two
deuterium atoms?
Bibliography
Clayton, D.D. 1968. Principles of Stellar Evolution and Nucleosynthesis. Chicago, USA: University of
Chicago Press.
Constan, Z. “Learn Nuclear Science with Marbles.” National Science Foundation 2017. Accessed July 13,
2018. [Link]
%20Student%[Link]
Langer, N. “Nucleosynthesis.” Bonn University SS 2012. Accessed December 8, 2016. https:// [Link]-
[Link]/~nlanger/siu_web/nucscript/[Link]
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. “The Big Bang.” Accessed December 8, 2016.
[Link]
National Geographic. “Origins of the Universe—An Expanding World.” Accessed December 8, 2016.
[Link]
Bibliography
Overton, Tina, et al. 2010. Shriver and Atkins’ Inorganic Chemistry. 5th ed. London: Oxford University
Press.
