Star Death and the Creation of Elements - Wonders of the Universe: Stardust, preview - BBC Two

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Professor Brian Cox explains how the ingredients of life are created in the heart of a dying star.
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[@SummerBreeze106]

I just love that little fact that a star died so we could live. As Sagan said, that we are all star dust. Each time I think of that it humbles me, grounds me, brings me back to what really matters in this life.

[@MrShnazer]

A star doesn't die it's a lump of rock. Fools

[@acs197]

MrShnazer Actually super-heated gas.

[@SummerBreeze106]

MrShnazer There's clearly a lump of rock between your ears, Mr Shnazer.

[@tijoloo89]

I feel the same, we're all in one great circle of life.

[@MrShnazer]

a life of emptiness.

[@crunk1]

I like to imagine Brian Cox isolatedly roams around deserts and derelict Brazilian prisons, offering impromptu astrophysics lessons and analogies.

[@entpvlog]

hahaha funniest thing I heard all day. he's so genuinely nerdy compared to most other narrators.

[@eliaswilliamsson8553]

So if you wanna learn astrophysics, but already have horrifyingly large student loans, just roam around deserts and brazilian prisons until you find him

[@suzaku152]

i love how he puts the symbols of elements in a prison to teach us a lesson

[@RhodianColossus]

Never has any Physicist looked more badass than Cox walking away from an explosion.

[@kimswhims8435]

....pretty sure that the physicists involved in the creation of the Atomic bomb would say "Hold my Beer".....

[@samjordan9439]

He should've been wearing shades.

[@arpitkulshreshtha3513]

They were lying face down...not walking away..​@@kimswhims8435

[@Tripoli-ys6lh]

Those physicists were no where near the explosions they knew all about the dangers of what they were building unlike the soldiers who were near the bomb site.

[@pierreproudhon9008]

I saw this when I was barely 10, to the childhood me it was absolutely marvelous. It is a privilege to happen upon this source of inspiration.

[@thomascrook5612]

Cool guys don't look at explosions, they just turn an walk away.....

[@strangervoid7769]

and they waddle away

[@justicegusting2476]

To be fair, that was an implosion.

[@tre6316]

Personally would not have been able to do that scene lol

[@Jovancee1]

We live in a time of Professor Brian Cox . We can witness his knowledge and his understanding for science beyond any other scientist existed on Earth. Brian Cox gives me inspiration to study and research further science and get deeper into it. Thank you Professor for all your knowledge that you have shared with us.

[@myriaddsystems]

That IS something, which means I can't criticise him too much

[@user-dh4bz7fk9z]

Profesor Brian Cox is the coolest guy on earth. I have nothing against Neil DeGrasse Tyson, but I would have loved to see Brian Cox in the remake of Cosmos instead; he explains things a lot closer to Carl Sagan.

[@ismaeldeleija8165]

yea this guy is closer to Carl Sagan than Neil, with a lot of respect

[@AshwinRamaswamy]

Britain vs America. With respect of course

[@21centdregs]

it's 2023, now do you have anything against neil degrasse tyson? cuz the dude is off the rails completely

[@kkevin369]

I have seen this about 20 times never gets boring

[@sagarg1645]

In short, smaller stars give out elements like C and O when they collapse under force their own gravity while bigger stars collapse at different phases and give out several heavy elements.

[@alexandersaksvoll5373]

Imagine going to university lectures as a young student, listening to this genius human being explain and teach. I would have loved to study astronomy its so fascinating I cant take it!

[@lenahefer]

What a show in this video! Thanks professor!!

[@PoesiaCosmica]

This series is amazing!

[@andrewmarte5444]

Brian your such a great explainer, thanks man

[@Uberslime]

I love some Cox in the evening :P

[@rishan__ahmed]

You wanna rephrase that sentence chief?

[@shantibaku7394]

love this. Brian Cox is so lush :p We are born in the heart of a dying star.

[@jagdeepkaul1261]

Just like The Vindicators 3 episode in Rick and Morty, "You wish this was about sex! We loved eachother! We had a CHILD together! I conceived a child with a Million Ants and it died inside me because it was half a million ants and HALF COLLAPSING STAR!!!"

[@jessicalv6442]

I love Brian Cox 😭His documentary is always intriguing

[@BharathKumar-xq6xh]

very clear and informative...

[@DilanPerera1]

We are all made of stars. We are all stars!!!

[@AswinBalu]

5:52 Nailed it! Brian Cox should replace Daniel Craig in the next "Bond" film.

[@potatobob5781]

am i tripping shit or were these guys born one day apart

[@rajeevhasija]

@@potatobob5781 You are absolutely right :-)

[@JordanPAT]

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!

[@danthemanzizle]

I read recently that in some the most advanced simulations of star death many of the simulated stars don't explode at all they simply collapse into their own stellar black hole thereby rendering the resulting black hole totally dark and alone. The very second I learned that this might be the case with many stars the whole idea about the universe being heavier that it looks like came into a new light, perhaps we are surrounded by invisible dead stars and not exotic dark matter. herpa derp?

[@Ethan-fp8xg]

2020 gang where we at?

[@Cyraingar]

5:55 like a boss.

[@scyllaandcharybdis]

Brian Cox brings new meaning to the expression, "Reach for the Stars" People say ‘Reach for the Stars’ But You know what the funny thing is? WE are actually made from the Stars!

[@doritaism]

I watch this to go to sleep Brian has such a hypnotizing voice ^_^

[@samueljacob7564]

Lol in 2021 i comment

[@scottysurfs]

Amazing documentary if you have the chance to watch the entire thing.

[@cold3973]

If any of you guys are looking for the music at the start. Its called 'Mini solar system by Sheridan tongue, Wonders of the universe. Hope it made your day!

[@NapahShadah]

Brilliant.💖

[@dragonassasinking]

that demolition was a badass conclusion

[@ankurm4100]

5:55 the nerd version of any Strong guy movie.. Cox in his elements!

[@Vana1970]

OMG I know I listen to this on my Iphone. I can't watch him if I am tired only because he relaxes me and I fall asleep :(

[@GregJay]

theres something soothing about this guy, even as he speaks of the end of all things lol

[@speednaps]

@chessonmyshirt He was using the spray paint to mark each layer of the building to represent each layer of a stars core. He started with the outermost layer which was made up of Hydrogen and kept going through each shell (each floor of the building towards the bottom) in order until he reached the inner most layer (the bottom floor) where iron is made. After that all that was left was for the star (prison building) to implode.

[@fart99farts]

Good point. Agreed.

[@BrayanDiazssJD]

Good video!

[@psychedelicfungi]

5:55 reminded me of the "Cool guys don't looks at explosions" video.

[@JapanJohnny2012]

The building represented the star, and he was using the spray paint to write the elements created during the star's collapse and final implosion (represented by the bang at 5:49). So he was spraying because it didn't matter that he was defacing a condemed buiding that was about to be demolished. He could have pissed up the walls, for all it mattered, but writing stuff like Fe is hard, cos when you finish F you have to stop and then start again, with a curlicar e, and might piss on your shoes :)

[@gdfggggg]

Really interesting

[@davedonaldson9186]

That place reminds me of my old secondary school....

[@sarthakvaze9185]

5:55 prof. Brian cox acts like a movie star!!

[@darrenschannels]

UK gets Brian Cox while we get stuck with Neil Degrass Tyson as our science communicator. I hope you UK folks appreciate what you’ve got there!

[@chessonmyshirt]

Great video, what was the deal with the spray paint though?

[@ilovefacebookandebay]

I love you Brian.Can`t wait to see your cameo on Doctor Who.!!

[@Jovancee1]

Probably, the most unique and understandable scientist in the Universe.

[@myriaddsystems]

Now we actually know who is the real Banksy!

[@tscally102]

The music at the start is Mini Solar System by Sheridan Tongue

[@smexijebus]

:D You, sir, have earned my respect with those three words. If only more people, myself included, could learn to use them.

[@kingdom777866]

The stare may have already gone into supernova, but the light hasn’t reached us yet.. 👀

[@lwnamr]

:-o...how can this guy have 45 years...has he found the blessing of immortality?

[@Sardiniansoul324]

Geniality has an hero now

[@mayanksrivastava9313]

Plz upload the other part where he talks about elements higher than iron

[@theformidablerabbit]

Anyone know what the song at the beginning is? It's so epic!

[@AudioGraphics]

@HealthyCabbie It isn't speculation, the basic principle is being used right now to create fusion power, creating conditions so hot and pressurized that it fuses hydrogen atoms together.

[@tscally102]

What is the music at the start?

[@pure8119]

I love you brother 🤗👏

[@Burntoastman31]

Yes, yes he was

[@marymcsoley4071]

I d like to know who plays the guitar on this episode at the beginning??

[@lord123j]

Epic

[@GustavoMaciel]

wuunderful

[@Blainelyne]

Expensive!

[@twstf8905]

Cool video lol 💥

[@TemperatureIndicator]

In this episode of Wonders of the Universe, Stardust, he plays part of a song on a piano in this wooden cabin. Does anyone know what he was playing? I have been searching the internet for ages and I haven't found an answer. Someone please help!

[@darrelstickler]

Didn’t see that coming

[@ellab1564]

what is the song that is being played in the beginning? I've heard it before, but can't remember what it is called Thanks

[@1000teresa4ever]

I'd like to know too. I don't think it was anything by D:Ream.

[@jacklachlangill8935]

Mini Solar System by Sheridan Tongue

[@ProsandCons26]

Anyone know what the music is on this video at the start?

[@Thomas-hx3pr]

Here's something I want you all to ponder and think heavily about. If a black hole is a point of super dense matter so concentrated light can't escape it is definitely more powerful and denser than a super nova. If a super nova can produce elements up to uranium what are black holes making right now? As black holes just absorb mass what happens to the atoms, do they keep combining making elements we cannot imagine? Do they create elements with properties we haven't seen or thought of? We cannot know now though.

[@onlypeaceindeath]

I'm not an expert on the subject, but as i understand it, all mass that's entering a black hole is annihilated into energy and then ejected as Hawking-radiation. But as i said, i don't claim to be an expert, so i'm probably wrong. Plus there is the fact that we don't really know much about them.

[@KjellArneRekaa]

+cre8or38 ... but even more(?) impressing: A star heavier than our sun but not as heavy as those generating a black hole - is those generating a single nuclear core of only neutrons, based on most of the mass from the dead star - a neutron star! It will we a rear type of a element consisting of trillions, trillions and trillions of neutrons packed together so dense, that a handful of that "matter" will be heavier than all of the mount Everest. Had you ever set your foot on that star, your body would instantly turned into something less than a virus. So actually - stay well away from those on your future trip through our milky way. And by the way: Betelgeuse - the upper left star in Orion, may have exploded into a supernova by now! We can´t really say for sure before in year 2446 - when the light leaving Betelgeuse now will reach us with it´s distance of 430 light years from here.

[@lordihlendam3619]

Well, it depends a lot on the black hole. Most black holes are 'Rotating', or to be specific are described by something called the Kerr Metric. There are two ways in which you can look at your question. If we pointed a telescope at a black hole - or to be exact, at some sort of light source falling toward the black hole - we'd never see it actually pass the event horizon (because time goes slower as you get closer, eventually stopping at the horizon). Now, if you were sitting on the object (or are looking at the object's 'proper time'), its a totally different story. For rotating black holes, when you work out Einstein's Field Equations, what you find is that if you throw an object into the black hole prograde (i.e along the spin of the black hole), and another object retrograde (in the opposite direction of the spin), then the two objects meet up at the so called 'inner horizon' of the black hole. In fact, with even more math, you can show that by throwing the retrograde object a certain time after the prograde object, the collision will have more energy. Essentially, you can create collisions of as high an energy as you would like inside the black hole. What are the implications of this? Well, the professor who taught me General Relativity has a hypothesis that it could create a tiny stretch of 'vacuum energy' that - again with more math - can be shown to cause a mass-expansion event (aka a mini big bang). I won't go further into this here - to keep this post at a somewhat reasonable length -, but if you're interested, I could certainly try telling you more. - A graduate student in theoretical physics

[@tonywang8412]

i can imagine... there's adamantium and vibranium and carbonadium in there

[@topbluffa1]

@dreadscythe92 the one thing i dont get is how does science explain somthing coming from nothing in the first place when nothing had higher entropy. i believe in the big bounce theory but he seems to be saying that it all just happens once. i saw another scientist saying it can change again if something outside of the thing with really high entropy interfears with it like a person can make a low entropy sand castle out of a high entropy pile of sand thus braking the rule.

[@kemp10]

5:55 "Cool guys dont look at explosions"

[@wizfox123]

I was asked a question the other day that i cannot answer. If the big bang was a star exploding, How big was that star? Has anyone ever worked it out?

[@mineofilms]

@mmmmmwwwwwjjjjj - nicely put...

[@cammus]

Where is this place? I think it is Brazil, I saw some portuguese words at 3:51 at the abandoned ruins

[@ShadowFalcon]

Bleak?!? Personally I feel lucky as I don't know what. I beat the odds. I made it into life. I now have the immense privilege of being the custodian of these atoms and not only that but I can observe and investigate the surrounding universe, and it leaves me awestruck. I'd say that is a grand way to look at the universe, not bleak.

[@scifi75]

@HealthyCabbie Professor Cox is a particle physicist, a Royal Society University Research Fellow and professor at the University of Manchester. There is no way he is going to risk his standing and his livelihood in the scientific community based simply on "guess work".

[@salzysisters5799]

So then how do the elements survive the implosion? How do they survive those temperatures at all?

[@Reborncanine]

Brian should’ve been planting high explosives as he descended lol

[@GregJay]

@mmmmmwwwwwjjjjj dude, that is brilliant! and couldnt be more correct

[@ipatel8ify]

That’s my star

[@MrGrrr21]

What's the song at the start called??

[@jessicalv6442]

OMGGG I can't believe I was made of dying star

[@LiveForPanda]

If the heaviest elements (what are they I don't know) were created at the last stage of dying stars, doesn't that mean the heavier the element is the more rarely it can be found? If humans can replicate the process of fusion, can we create gold out of some cheaper elements? Also, in this documentary, Brian Cox said there is only 92 elements in the universe, then how come there is 118 elements on the periodic table? If all elements are just the dust of dying stars, then how come we can create new elements in laboratories? Can someone PLEASE help me with these questions? Thank you.

[@mikeymoo1992]

There are only 92 naturally occuring elements. The others you mention are synthetically produced. Fusion is in the sun is the fusion of Hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms. So we'd only really produce helium (and some tritium) in a fusion reactor. The other heavier elements are produced in the run up to a supernova when the star collapses in on itself. Those are conditions we will never replicate.

[@LiveForPanda]

mikeymoo1992 Yes, and that's why I am confused. What do you mean by "synthetically produced"? Are they like alloy or something that is created by combining different natural elements? Are they marked differently on the periodic table? What is the heaviest elements (the last ones being created during the collapse of supernova) Is there some commonly used synthetic elements? These facts really amaze me, but I'm like an idiot when it comes to physics.

[@mikeymoo1992]

synthetically produced elements are made by firing smaller and lighter elements together in an atom smashing device like a syncrotron. Only a few atoms of such 'synthetic elements' can be produced at any one time (not enough to make any tangible material) and they break down almost instantaneously. These elements only exist for a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a second as they so unstable. The heaviest element produced in a supernova is Uranium (No. 92) Technetium is technically synthetic as there are no stable isotopes on earth but can be a product of nuclear fission. It gets used as a tracer for certain medical applications.

[@LiveForPanda]

mikeymoo1992 Thank you for helping me, thank you very much :)

[@mikeymoo1992]

My pleasure, hope you understand it now!

[@irishchick41]

vast... vast.... vast..... vast (its ok though brian, even though you repeat it lots you still sound so beautiful

[@Fluminox-]

Song name?

[@Kokobeware-vg1lb]

I just witnessed vandelism

[@OllieFarnden]

Was expecting 'Dead Star'

[@some_one_2_3]

I've wanted to know for some time, how long a star takes to collapse in on itself. Thanks!

[@garryhowgate1233]

A few million years if it's big enough

[@tscally102]

what is the music?

[@ImHereForPearlJamVid]

3:47 WHO, ME?!?!? UUUUH, 'BOUT FORTY!!

[@MarkB-vp9ki]

Our city also has a bunch of rogue physicists running around painting graffiti everywhere, chemical symbols, equations ect. The whole city has went to hell.

[@whatshisname3304]

100,000,000 degree s amazing

[@oilusboyne]

I watch these beautiful videos, i go to work (not my current choice of work but its a stepping stone - im a 25 year old with a degree) and i find it more and more hard to view myself and other people as human rather than pointless miniscule bacterial amoeba. Anyone else?? should i seek help? Or just take up astrophysics?

[@whatabouttheearth]

We are genus Homo, that means Humans. Taxonomically we Homo sapiens are: ...alot of stuff starting with Eukaryota (beings with Eukaryotic cells decended from Eukaryotic cells) Eukaryota Unikonta Opisthokonta Holozoa Filozoa Apoikozoa KINGDOM: Anamalia aka METAZOA (animals) Subkingdom: Eumetazoa (true animals) Clade: Parahoxozoa Clade: Bilateria (bilaterally symmetrical animals) Clade: Nephrozoa Superphylum: Deuterostomia (the anus forms first, the mouth second) Phylum: Chordata Clade: Olfactores (olfactory system) Subphylum: VERTEBRATA (the development of backbone) Infraphylum: Gnathostomata (everything with jaws) Clade: Teleostomi Clade" Euteleostomi Superclass: Osteichthyes (bony fish) Clade: Sarcopterygii (lobed fin "fish", this is an important clade) Clade: Rhipidistia (fish with lungs essentially) Clade: Tetrapodamorpha Clade: Eotetropodaformes Clade: Elpistostegalia Clade: Stegocephalia Superclass: Tetrapoda (4 limbs) Clade: Reptiliomorpha Clade: Amniota (amniotic eggs) Clade: Synapsida Clade: Mammaliaformes Class: Mammalia (mammals, we have mammary glands) Subclass: Theria Clade: Eutheria Infraclass: Placentalia (placental mammals) Magnorder: Boreoeutheria Superorder: Euarchontagliers Grandorder: Euarchonta Mirorder: Primatamorpha Order: Pan-primates, Order: Primata (primates) Suborder: Haplorhini (dry nose primates) Ifraorder: Semiiformes (all monkeys and apes) Parvorder: Catarrhini (old world monkeys) Superfamily: Hominoidea (old world tailless simians) Family: Hominidae (great apes) Subfamily: Homininae (African Apes) Tribe: Hominini (Chimps, Bonobos and Humans) Genus: Homo (all humans) Species: sapien Than from all shared Homo sapien haplogroups to more specific haplogroups to your more specific haplotypes, to your specific genetic code. We ARE apes right now I forgot Craniata (the origin and classification of craniums, the skull 💀)

[@denuncimesmo2568]

I thought the elements like gold were also created at the time of the explosions .... you know if this does not happen or is it supposed to happen too ???

[@BigAL0074]

The real heavy elements are made by the final collapse, he says that after the cut off.

[@crazycricket15]

@mmmmmwwwwwjjjjj Keyboard Solo!! Brian Cox!!...

[@the420aditya]

Great video.but why fusion process stops at iron why not to next element in periodic table? Can anyone answer me?

[@mr.landman6781]

Iron is the last and heaviest element that a massive star can hold in its core before it collapses and dies.

[@the420aditya]

@@mr.landman6781 yes but why not heavier element ?

[@jamesu8033]

@@the420aditya putting it really simply fusion to produce elements heavier than iron requires more energy and higher pressures than are ever possible in the core of a star during its main lifetime. It’s only during an even more extreme event when the conditions are created for heavier elements to be formed. This is a supernova. That’s why the most common elements in the universe are the lightest; hydrogen, helium, lithium etc and the rarest are the heaviest elements, gold for example.

[@BloodyandEnchained]

he looks like steven tyler

[@Nero-ox5tw]

So we were all once in the heart of a star???? At least what we are composed of.

[@popasheko1648]

Can you put translate please?

[@Fluminox-]

We watched this in physics class

[@tomthumb5445]

If every bit of matter in the universe cam together it would become a black hole. THAT is what exploded. That was the beginning.

[@quintuscrinis8032]

You can't leave it there. What happens next? After the explosion, how does the Carbon and Oxygen and all the other elements get out to make it to Earth to become us? How do they avoid joining the black-hole?