402. Day 2 – Element or Chemical Evolution

Question:

• How did the elements found in the Periodic Table of Elements come into existence?
• Can basic elements get changed into more complex elements, chemicals and mineral?
• How did metals and non-metals come about?

Given:

• The Theory of Evolution
• The Laws of Nature

Day-2 Theory of Evolution Position:  Evolutionist claim that elements and chemicals evolved over billions of years from the birth and death of stars using the big bang matter (hydrogen and helium) to our present day elements identified on the periodic table.

1. First came light elements:

According to Space.com in their article Alternatives to the Big Bang Explained we find this statement, “The lightest elements, hydrogen and helium, were created in the first moments of time.”

According to Berkeley Lab in their article, “Origins of the Elements” we read, “The low-mass elements, hydrogen and helium, were produced in the hot, dense conditions of the birth of the universe itself. ”

According to a Forbes article, Ask Ethan: How Did The Entire Universe Come From Nothing, we read, “In a remarkable scientific leap, 20th century scientists were able to reconstruct the timeline for how our Universe went from a mostly uniform Universe, devoid of complex structure and consisting exclusively of hydrogen and helium, to the structure-rich Universe we observe today.”

2. Then came middle weight elements:

According to Astrobites.org  in their article, “Origin of the Chemical Elements” we read, “In a way, stars can be thought of as giant furnaces that convert lighter elements to heavier elements and in the process release energy that shines to us as radiation.”

ThoughtCo.com has an article entitled “Stellar Nucleosynthesis: How Stars Make All of the Elements”  states: “Fusion inside stars transforms hydrogen into helium, heat, and radiation. Heavier elements are created in different types of stars as they die or explode.”

Science Daily has an article entitled “New insight into atomic nuclei may explain how supernovas formed elements crucial to humankind” that says: “The Big Bang only produced the lightest elements, such as hydrogen and helium. One of the fundamental questions of astrophysics is how all the other elements were formed. In 1957, American researchers concluded that elements were formed through nuclear reactions inside stars.”

3.  Then came the heavy metal elements:

According to the cosmic ray group at NASA (NASA’s Cosmicopia) in their article, “Nucleosynthesis” the elements on our planet form in three different processes, “Our Sun is  currently burning, or fusing, hydrogen to helium. This is the process that occurs during most of a star’s lifetime. After the hydrogen in the star’s core is exhausted, the star can burn helium to form progressively heavier elements, carbon and oxygen and so on, until iron and nickel are formed. Up to this point the process releases energy. The formation of elements heavier than iron and nickel requires the input of energy. Supernova explosions result when the cores of massive stars have exhausted their fuel supplies and burned everything into iron and nickel. The nuclei with mass heavier than nickel are thought to be formed during these explosions.”

4.  Here is how the Earth received the heavy metals:

Here is what the NASA’s Cosmicopia says about how the heavy metals get to Earth on their main webpage, “Around the clock, the sky is raining silver and gold – not to mention copper, zinc, hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and other elements. These atomic particles travel near the speed of light toward Earth, steadily drenching the planet with a teeming downpour. If it weren’t for the protective umbrellas of our atmosphere and magnetosphere, we’d be soaked.”

The article, “Atomic Nuclei Explain How Supernovae Formed Heavier Elements” from Annes Astronomy News, states,  “Today astrophysicists are struggling to perform computer simulations of a supernova (a massive star explosion). New knowledge about atomic nuclei from the University of Oslo may make such simulations easier.  Ground-breaking research in nuclear physics at the University of Oslo may help astrophysicists understand how the heavier elements in our universe were made.”

The following is quoted from the above referenced Science Daily article, “A supernova is extremely complicated. Astrophysicists have not yet managed to make realistic computer simulations of supernova explosions,” says nuclear physicist Ann-Cecilie Larsenhile.”

6. Energy

The answer to the StarChild Question of the Month for May 2003 goes into how much energy it takes to create heavier elements.  “Nucleosynthesis requires a high-speed collision, which can only be achieved with very high temperature. The minimum temperature required for the fusion of hydrogen is 5 million degrees. Elements with more protons in their nuclei require still higher temperatures. For instance, fusing carbon requires a temperature of about one billion degrees!” How did and where does all of this energy get concentrated?

7. Summary

I did pull all of the above from different quotes.  If you want to read the entire story, “Ask an Astronomer” sums it up in his/her article “How are light and heavy elements formed? (Advanced)“.

Law of Science Position:  Consider the following Laws of Nature and my summary of their application:

• The Law of Cause and Effect –  For every effect there must be an antecedent cause.
• The Law of Conservation of Mass  – Mass cannot be created or destroyed but may be rearranged.
• The Law of Identity  – If something is “A” then it has all of the properties of “A”.
• The Law of Sufficient Reason – Everything must have a reason, cause or ground that is proportional to its consequent.

Discussion:

The elements found in the periodic table are the building blocks for our universe and everything you and I experience.  From water, plants, animals and minerals to products, technologies, medicine, and energy like solar panels; it is all about the elements in the periodic table and the chemistry.

So, let me help you to get this straight.  There were 3 processes to form the elements:

• Light elements (namely hydrogen, helium, deuterium, lithium) were produced in the first few minutes of the Big Bang, (The Theoretical Astrophysics Center at Berkeley),
• Elements heavier than the light elements, but lighter than iron and nickel, are thought to have their origins in the interiors of stars which formed much later in the history of the Universe and
• Elements heavier than Nickel (Ni), atomic number 28 and Iron (Fe) , atomic number 26, formed in the explosion of a supernova. (NASA’s Cosmicopia)

The following laws reveal the challenges to Element Evolution.  An enormous amount of hydrogen and helium atoms had to be created in the Big Bang to be used in forming all of the elements found on planets and stars.  For example, it takes 26 protons of hydrogen (H-1) to form one atom of iron (Fe-26) not to mention the irons isotopes (Fe-54, Fe-56, Fe-57, and Fe-58) because matter cannot be created or destroyed but may be rearranged.

Think about the magnitude.   According to Space.com  David Kornreich used a very rough estimate of 10 trillion galaxies in the universe. Multiplying that by the Milky Way’s estimated 100 billion stars results in a large number;  “1” with 24 zeros after it.  Kornreich stressed that this number is likely a gross underestimation.  We know that the James Webb telescope is finding more stars as it searches deeper into the universe.

Did I say think about the magnitude?  If 1 x 10 with 24 zeros is not enough, think about the hydrogen and helium needed to create heavier elements making up planets, asteroids and comic dust.  I wonder if astronomers really think about this.  For example, a Space article say, “After its “birth” in the Big Bang, the universe consisted mainly of hydrogen and a few helium atoms.”  A few?  Do the math.

• The Law of Cause and Effect –  What caused the unimaginable amount of hydrogen and helium to be created so that it could form into our universe?
• The Law of Conservation of Energy – Where did the heat come from to begin element formation?
• The Law of Conservation of Matter  – Where did the light elements come from to create all of the visible matter in the universe?
• The Law of Identity  – How can hydrogen and helium get produced from a stable nothingness?  Can an uncontrolled nuclear reactor, a star, create an array of all of the elements we find on earth?
• The Law of Sufficient Reason – What event provided sufficient reason, cause, or ground that is proportional in energy and mass to create all of the 118 basic elements?

Conflict:

Evolution contradicts many Laws of Nature and creates the mystery of the baryon asymmetry aka Baryon Number problem.

Conclusion:

So, Is Evolution a Theory?  It cannot be a valid theory because it is incompatible with many Laws of Nature.   The Day-2 Theory of Evolution must be discarded.