Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to [email protected]. How do atoms form? – Joshua, age 7, Shoreview, ...

Nuclei with varying numbers of neutrons are called isotopes of an element. So, isotopes of iron include iron-54 with 26 protons and 28 neutrons, iron-56 with 26 protons and 30 neutrons ...

The process of protons converting into neutrons, along with free neutrons escaping into the surrounding cocoon to form heavy elements ... scientists have observed iron and plutonium in deep ...

The cocoon where free neutrons may be available for the r-process is shown ... Astrophysicists believe that elements heavier than iron are created in violent processes such as the explosions of ...

Many heavier-than-iron elements form via the so-called r-process, where r refers to rapid neutron capture. This process occurs when two neutron stars merge, creating an abundance of free neutrons. In ...

or two neutron stars crashing into each other — an atomic nucleus can rapidly assimilate neutrons. Around half of the elements heavier than iron, element 26, spawn from the r-process.

Nuclear fusion can form elements all the way until an atom contains 26 protons and 30 neutrons (aka Iron) until it inevitably collapses. Of course, there’s just one problem. If you’ve happened ...