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Abundance of elements in the universe?

Oxygen is the third most abundant element in the universe. If elements formed by fusion starting with Hydrogen then why aren't Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, and Nitrogen more abundant than Oxygen.

7 Answers

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  • Mike A
    Lv 7
    2 years ago
    Favorite Answer
  • Athena
    Lv 7
    2 years ago

    It does not go in numerical order.

  • ?
    Lv 7
    2 years ago

    The Universe began with loose particles

    When they Started to Clump Atoms were formed

    The Simplest and the First Element was Hydrogen

    It had Mass, hence, Gravity

    Fusion began when the Mass reached its Critical Point

    Those two words are not used enough these days

    The First Stars were Megamassive, lived fast and went out with a bang

    Spreading the rest of the Elements throughout the Universe

    Not all elements have a long life

    Lithium is only present at the birth of Stars, before Hydrogen fuses into Helium

    Dilithium Chrystals themselves would be extremely hard to Find, never mind using them for fuel

    Some have only been found in the Laboratory

    Nitrogen takes up the biggest presence in our Atmosphere and we are practically Carbon

    Berylium and Boron have gone out to lunch

    Attachment image
  • Nyx
    Lv 7
    2 years ago

    Here's how the elements came into being.

    https://www.startrek.com/sites/default/files/style...

  • 2 years ago

    Hydrogen doesn't form by fusion. The universe started off (at "Big Bang"+ 20 minutes) as a mix of hydrogen and helium, with a trace of lithium. There was some beryllim-7, but it all decayed within a year or two into lithium-7. After that we have to wait for stars to form and the first supernova.

    In some stars, the hydrogen and helium are fused into carbon, neon, oxygen, silicon, and iron. Eventually, the density and temperatures reach a point where the star goes supernova, blasting those elements and others into space.

    The process doesn't proceed mostly by going up the element list one at a time. For example, we don't get much lithium or beryllium from fusion; instead three helium nuclei fuse into carbon. Later, the carbon fuses to form neon, and later still the neon "burns" (fission) to form oxygen.

    Very large stars in the early universe could go unstable and explode during this last step, before the oxygen fuses into silicon and iron.

  • 2 years ago

    Maybe because they got used up forming oxygen.

  • Anonymous
    2 years ago

    Perhaps I can answer that. But I won't

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