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from the we-are-stardust,-we-are-golden-♫♪♩♬ dept.
Scientists are using computer models to answer what many believe is one of science's most puzzling questions: How did heavy metals like gold get to Earth?
There are two candidates, neither of which are located on Earth—a supernova, a massive star that, in its old age, collapsed and then catastrophically exploded under its own weight—or a neutron-star merger, in which two of these small yet incredibly massive stars come together and spew out huge amounts of stellar debris.
In a recently published paper in the journal Physical Review Letters , researchers detail how they are getting close to an answer.
"At this time, no one knows the answer," says Witold Nazarewicz, professor of physics at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University. "But this work will help guide future experiments and theoretical developments."
From the paper, "Impact of Nuclear Mass Uncertainties on the r Process."
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Friday April 01 2016, @05:28AM
Aliens are very rarely sated, but if you feed them enough humans . . . Do you know that there are dead brown dwarf stars that are composed entirely of crystalized carbon, but we earthlings might call, diamond? Just think if we could get close enough to a supernova to collect the astrophysical quantities of gold pouring out of it at super mega kelvins! Too hot to touch! To hot to look at! Too hot to, . . . where did all the humans go? Stardust to stardust, ashes to ashes. Could I interest you in a piece of selling Faceboot to a Billion Indians? Numbers almost as good, logistics slightly more probable.
(Score: 2) by rts008 on Friday April 01 2016, @03:12PM
Too much! Can't take much more!
*non-existing bad Scottish accent* I'm breaking up, Captain... :-)
OMG Alien Ponies!!!! front page...check
too much coffee...check
previously, TFA: "Study Says People Who Continuelly Point Out Typos Are Jerks"...check
hilarious typo's in Parent comment headline...check
your reply...che > system overload!!!