August 7, 2020 7-9PM

Event Type: Lecture and Stargazing
Title: The Explosive Origin of the Elements
Lecturer: Andrew Emerick
Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Institution: Caltech
Abstract:
Nearly every element was made through some type of star. This means everything on Earth, everything you see, almost everything in the Universe -- even you -- has at one point or another been a part of a star. While this paints a beautiful, maybe even harmonious picture of our place in relation to the rest of the Universe, the process of creating the elements in stars is anything but peaceful -- it is everything explosive. You may have heard the saying "we are all star stuff" before, but in this talk I'm going to unpack that saying more. I will explore the explosive origin of the elements, from the carbon and oxygen that are integral to life, to the silicon that makes computers possible, to heavier elements like silver and gold which are made in the collisions of dead stars.