An artist's view of the "big bang" theory of the origin of the Universe.
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy of LAPP, Particle Physics Laboratory at Annecy-le-Vieux, France
The Big Bang
All of the matter and energy in the Universe was initially found in a
very small space. An explosion happened which caused the Universe to begin expanding.
You might also be interested in:
The neutrino is an extremely light particle. (You definitely couldn't weigh one on your bathroom scale!) It also has no electric charge. Fusion reactions in the Sun produce neutrinos. By detecting these
...more
All of the matter and energy in the Universe was initially found in a very small space. An explosion happened which caused the Universe to begin expanding.
...more
By knowing about fusion inside the Sun, scientists can predict the number of neutrinos that should reach Earth. Experiments on Earth have been set up to detect neutrinos in order to test these predictions.
...more
When the temperature in the core of a star is really hot (100 million degrees Kelvin!) fusion of Helium into Carbon happens. Oxygen is also formed when the temperature is this high. When it gets even hotter
...more
A plot of the binding energy per nucleon vs. atomic mass shows a peak atomic number 56 (Iron). Elements with atomic mass less then 56 release energy if formed as a result of a fusion reaction. Above this
...more
Nuclear fusion has been achieved in a controlled manner (that means no bombs are involved!!). Right now, these fusion experiments take in more energy than they produce. So they can't be used right now
...more
In the Hydrogen bomb, an explosion takes place so that the temperature and density is right for fusion to occur. This fusion results in a sudden release of energy that produces an even bigger explosion.
...more
