Cosmologic philosophy: fine tuning, of carbon (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, January 23, 2021, 19:32 (1400 days ago) @ David Turell

Fred Hoyle's theory is refined:

https://phys.org/news/2020-12-supernova-elemental-mystery.html

Comment: Obviously we are still learning how God did it

"Supernovas supply the elements needed for life in their explosions:

https://www.quantamagazine.org/supercomputer-simulations-reveal-the-power-inside-a-supe...

"For much of a star’s life, the inward pull of gravity is delicately balanced by the outward push of radiation from nuclear reactions inside the star’s core. As the star runs out of fuel, gravity takes hold. The core collapses in on itself — plummeting at 150,000 kilometers per hour — causing temperatures to surge to 100 billion degrees Celsius and fusing the core into a solid ball of neutrons.

"The outer layers of the star continue to fall inward, but as they hit this incompressible neutron core, they bounce off it, creating a shock wave. In order for the shock wave to become an explosion, it must be driven outward with enough energy to escape the pull of the star’s gravity. The shock wave must also fight against the inward spiral of the star’s outermost layers, which are still falling onto the core.

***

"Although the simulation only mapped out 160 seconds of the star’s life, it illuminated the role of an underappreciated player that helps stalled shock waves turn into fully fledged explosions.

"Hidden inside the belly of the beast, particles twist and turn chaotically. “It’s like boiling water on your stove. There are massive overturns of fluid inside the star, going at thousands of kilometers per second,” said Couch.

"This turbulence creates extra pressure behind the shock wave, pushing it further from the star’s center. Away from the center, the inward pull of gravity is weaker, and there’s less inward-falling matter to temper the shock wave. The turbulent matter bouncing around behind the shock wave also has more time to absorb neutrinos. Energy from the neutrinos then heats the matter and drives the shock wave into an explosion.

***

"Other questions include the role of intense magnetic fields in a rotating star’s core. “It’s very possible that you can have a hybrid mechanism of magnetic fields and neutrinos,” said Burrows. The way neutrinos change from one type — or “flavor” — into another and how this affects the explosion is also unclear.

“'There are a lot of ingredients that still need to be added to our simulations,” said Tamborra. “If a supernova were to explode tomorrow and it matches our theoretical predictions, then it means that all the ingredients that we are currently missing can safely be neglected. But if this is not the case, then we need to understand why.'”

Comment: It's scientific fun to know how they blow, when we already know the purpose about why they blow to provide the elements of life.