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The Origin of Helium and the Other Light Elements

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Book cover The Universe

Part of the book series: Astrophysics and Space Science Library ((ASSL,volume 244))

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Abstract

The energy released in the synthesis of cosmic 4He from hydrogen is almost exactly equal to the energy contained in the cosmic microwave background radiation. This result strongly suggests that the 4He was produced by hydrogen burning in stars and not in the early stages of a big bang. In addition, we show that there are good arguments for believing that the other light isotopes, D, 3He, 6Li, 7Li, 9Be, 10B and 11B were also synthesized in processes involving stars. By combining these results with the earlier, much more detailed work of Burbidge et al. and of Cameron, we can finally conclude that all of the chemical elements were synthesized from hydrogen in stars over a time of about 1011yr.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Center for Astrophysics and Science, University of California, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    G. Burbidge

  2. 102 Admiral’s Walk, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 5HF, UK

    F. Hoyle

Authors
  1. G. Burbidge
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  2. F. Hoyle
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophyics, Pune, India

    Naresh Dadhich  & Ajit Kembhavi  & 

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© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Burbidge, G., Hoyle, F. (2000). The Origin of Helium and the Other Light Elements. In: Dadhich, N., Kembhavi, A. (eds) The Universe. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 244. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4050-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4050-8_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5784-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-4050-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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