Where does the helium in the universe come from?
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Where does the helium in the universe come from?
Helium is the second-most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen, and accounts for about 25 percent of the atoms in the universe. Most of the helium in the universe was created in the Big Bang, but it also is the product of hydrogen fusion in stars.
Where is hydrogen produced in the universe?
Hydrogen is found almost everywhere in the universe. It occurs between and within stars, and in the enormous gas and dust clouds that exist throughout interstellar space. Scientists have known since the 1970s that bonds between hydrogen atoms form on the very cold surface of interstellar dust grains.
When did hydrogen and helium form in the universe?
The early universe (left) was too hot for electrons to remain bound to atoms. The first elements — hydrogen and helium — couldn’t form until the universe had cooled enough to allow their nuclei to capture electrons (right), about 380,000 years after the Big Bang.
Where does liquid hydrogen come from?
Hydrogen can be produced from diverse, domestic resources, including fossil fuels, biomass, and water electrolysis with electricity. The environmental impact and energy efficiency of hydrogen depends on how it is produced.
What formed the universe?
Our universe began with an explosion of space itself – the Big Bang. Starting from extremely high density and temperature, space expanded, the universe cooled, and the simplest elements formed. Gravity gradually drew matter together to form the first stars and the first galaxies.
Which comes first hydrogen or helium?
Scientists have inferred that helium hydride was this first, primordial molecule. Once cooling began, hydrogen atoms could interact with helium hydride, leading to the creation of molecular hydrogen — the molecule primarily responsible for the formation of the first stars.