Questions tagged [hydrogen]
Questions about the simplest and most abundant element in the Universe.
11
questions
14
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Is there enough hydrogen left after a star dies so another star will have enough to light up?
A star consumes quite a lot of hydrogen in its life, and is pretty much "vacuuming" everything in its vicinity. After it dies (eventually by supernova which will spread all its composition over light ...
- 159
26
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Why are there no green stars?
There are red stars, and orange stars, and yellow stars, and blue stars, and they are all understandable save the fact that there is a 'gap': There are no green stars.
Is this because of hydrogen's ...
- 425
36
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Where did the Sun get hydrogen to work with if it is in the 3rd generation of stars?
As I see here, the Sun belongs to the Population I group of stars, which is the 3rd generation of the stars in our universe. 1st generation stars are Population III, 2nd generation are Population II, ...
- 605
2
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What is the minimum size of a ball of gas to become a star?
I know there are two criteria to meet in order for nuclear fusion to occurs.
High temperature (many times temperature at Sun's core)
High pressure (protons are very close to each other)
[Goal]
...
- 2,483
14
votes
1
answer
929
views
What fraction of a star's hydrogen store will be fused over its lifespan?
A main sequence star will fuse some of its hydrogen, but not all. In massive stars ($>1.5M_\odot$) the core is convective but the rest of the atmosphere radiative and hence does not mix much: as it ...
- 14.4k
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why does lithium fuse at lower temperatures than hydrogen?
This is a basic question, but it's been bugging me. In the Wikipedia article for lithium burning, it states that:
Stars, which by definition must achieve the high temperature (2.5 × 10^6 K) ...
- 8,119
8
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What percentage of the hydrogen today has never been in a star
It stands to reason that some of the hydrogen and helium that formed directly as a product of the big bang might never have fallen into a star to re-ejected when that star explodes. My question is, ...
- 183
7
votes
2
answers
895
views
Why is molecular hydrogen (H2) so difficult for astronomers to detect?
I am reading a great deal about the various forms of hydrogen throughout the universe, and I keep reading that 'molecular hydrogen is notoriously difficult to detect', and other sentiments along those ...
- 4,891
3
votes
2
answers
289
views
Could dark matter particles be unstable?
Is it possible that dark matter particles are unstable and the existing dark matter will decay in the long run and turn into hydrogen, for example? What would be possible mechanisms for such a decay?
...
- 1,197
3
votes
1
answer
254
views
Helium rain inside metallic hydrogen within Jupiter, conditions and experiments?
In response to today being pi day (also see http://www.piday.org/), NASA has published it's fifth annual pi in the sky day 5 activity set (see also NASA goes the distance and Celebrate Pi Day with ...
- 31.3k
2
votes
2
answers
390
views
Can a high enough density ignite a gas giant into a brown dwarf?
I wonder whether the nuclear fusion of brown dwarfs and more massive stars really depends on their mass only or if it could also start nuclear fusion if it is dense enough but not as massive as brown ...
- 1,080