New Gold-Creating Phenomenon Confirmed in Space Using 2004 Neutron Star Flare Readings (science.org) 14
Slashdot reader sciencehabit shares this excerpt from a new article in Science magazine:
At first, astronomers knew of only one cosmic scenario that fit the bill for the violent formation of "jewelry shop" elements [gold and sliver]: the collision of two ultra-dense stellar corpses called neutron stars.
Now, a second has stepped onto the scene.
As they report this week in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, researchers have discovered signatures of this heavy element formation — called the r-process — in a giant flare first detected from a highly magnetic neutron star in 2004. The flare, which released more energy than our Sun does in a million years as it spewed electrically charged material, has remained shrouded in mystery since its discovery 20 years ago. Researchers quickly traced the outburst to a nearby magnetar, a special breed of neutron star whose magnetic fields are trillions times stronger than Earth's. But ten minutes after the massive flare, a second, fainter signal inexplicably came from the same star.
More r-process sources may still be looming in the dark. The new study accounts for about 10% of the Milky Way's heavy elements, suggesting that astronomers will have to scour the cosmos for even more places where the r-process is hiding. One potential spot is a rare type of supernova that births rapidly rotating neutron stars, says says Anirudh Patel, the new study's lead author and an astronomer at Columbia University. He hopes that with more observations, astronomers will be able to sharpen that picture.... "It's humbling to realize that these were made in such extreme astrophysical environments."
Now, a second has stepped onto the scene.
As they report this week in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, researchers have discovered signatures of this heavy element formation — called the r-process — in a giant flare first detected from a highly magnetic neutron star in 2004. The flare, which released more energy than our Sun does in a million years as it spewed electrically charged material, has remained shrouded in mystery since its discovery 20 years ago. Researchers quickly traced the outburst to a nearby magnetar, a special breed of neutron star whose magnetic fields are trillions times stronger than Earth's. But ten minutes after the massive flare, a second, fainter signal inexplicably came from the same star.
More r-process sources may still be looming in the dark. The new study accounts for about 10% of the Milky Way's heavy elements, suggesting that astronomers will have to scour the cosmos for even more places where the r-process is hiding. One potential spot is a rare type of supernova that births rapidly rotating neutron stars, says says Anirudh Patel, the new study's lead author and an astronomer at Columbia University. He hopes that with more observations, astronomers will be able to sharpen that picture.... "It's humbling to realize that these were made in such extreme astrophysical environments."
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Trumptardians will announce a space force to capture the neutron star, extract the gold and be bigly rich.
Leave it to TDS to highlight the ignorance of assuming politics has fuck-all to do with the timeless phenomenon of warped value with regards to gold.
Imagine the real value of gold per ounce if we humans weren’t so addicted with turning it into money, wearing it as a status symbol, and treating it like The Precious. I’m sure those forced to mine conflict diamonds have an idea of how far removed reality is from retail.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
If a significant political figure holds that warped value so strongly, it is significant.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
If a significant political figure holds that warped value so strongly, it is significant.
History also holds plenty of significant evidence of the Disease of Greed that has plagued the human race for thousands of years.
Rome was pretty hell-bent on warped values too. They fell so damn hard they epitomized failure. I wonder how many other empires have fallen because their gold was plundered? I wonder how many are yet to fall over the same overpriced bullshit dipped in 24k delusion.
Limit gold to an industrial commodity and see where the price falls.
Re: (Score:2)
Gold is an indestructible, relatively easy to work with, shiny metal that people mutually value. Trading mutually valued indestructible objects is the basis of currency. It's a reliable store of that intangible (but real) concept of value. It has served this purpose for millennia.
Diamonds can burn and shatter so they are less useful as a store of value, but still valued as gemstones. And today of course, they can be made in a laboratory.
Well now we can colonize space! (Score:4, Funny)
There's gold in them there stars!
Supernovas (Score:2)
I thought supernovas and hypernovas also created gold as a heavy element? Now it's just neutron stars and supernovae that can create neutron stars as well?
Re: (Score:2)
I'd guess that black holes can also create gold, its just that theres no way for it to come out of there.
Takes almost as much ... (Score:2)