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How does gold, or any element really, form chunks?
On the surface, it doesn't seem complicated, but how do elements from a supernovae form into chunks bigger than atoms so we can scoop them off the Bering Sea floor on a TV show? If you think about it, when the elements are formed in a supernovae explosion, it happens in an instant, and it would seem that they would not be nice and orderly in how they are created. Intuition says that the elements are formed at random even on the molecular level, and in the next instant, they are blown into a vapor spreading out at near light speed. So how do the elements coagulate into chunks???
Great answer Cosmo. That's it, the "Molten Earth Refinery" would allow disparate atoms to find themselves. It is probably owned by Exxon Mobil, not sure how to feel about that.....ha.
5 réponses
- ?Lv 7il y a 9 ansRéponse favorite
Basically, chemistry. Atoms that stick to atoms of the same element fairly well will tend to form ingots. Other atoms don't stick to themselves very well but form stable minerals with other elements (think silicon and oxygen).
Don't forget that the Earth was totally molten at one point, and atoms of the same density and chemistry will tend to naturally "refine" to the same place.
Many asteroids went through a molten phase at some point in their history.
It's thought that iron may form liquid iron "raindrops" inside some stars as a result of condensation in the plasma. These would then fall within the star and accumulate in regions of high metal abundance.
- ?Lv 6il y a 9 ans
Part of the explanation is melting point. Earth was once very hot, but then gradually cooled. As it cooled, Earth went through temperatures at which different elements and compounds solidified. In effect, the pooling of gold into veins came about by a natural form of thermal distillation.
Another reason is that gold is a noble element and does not easily combine with other elements to form compounds. So it stayed chemically separate and only needed to be thermally distilled in order to become physically separate, also.
Finally, gold is dense, so that it will tend to pool at the bottom of other molten materials while it is liquid.
- il y a 9 ans
The 'chunks' of gold do not form as a direct result of the supernova. Instead, all the various atoms eventually coalesce into dust, which eventually forms into larger pieces due to gravitational forces. Eventually, those larger pieces form into planets. Because of the gravity, the core of a planet heats up, and that heat melts all the material. Various forces and convection heating tend to separate and combine materials, and THAT is where the 'chunks' of gold come from.
- Anonymeil y a 9 ans
"Intuition says that the elements are formed at random even on the molecular level"
Intuition can never br trusted.
- ?Lv 4il y a 9 ans
in a supernova only molecules get blown out probably, and the chunks are probably formed in some medium which allows bonds to form or something
