If iron is the heaviest metal that is formed in a star, how are heavier metals made?

Answer 1

Iron is not the "heaviest" metal formed in stars.
All "heavy" elements in existence were formed within stars from the fusion of Hydrogen.

Iron just happens to be the element at which the surplus of energy runs out when it is fused.

A star uses the energy released during nuclear fusion to help hold itself up against the crushing effects of gravity. When fusing Hydrogen in Helium, there is plenty of extra energy available to do this. When the star has to start fusing heavier elements into still heavier elements there is less and less surplus energy. When the start gets to fusing Iron, there is no more surplus and the star will start to fall in on itself. As the star contracts, the higher internal pressures and temperatures allow for the formation of the heavy elements (with higher atomic number than Iron) were have around today. Although this process only lasts for a very brief time, the star will form elements heavier than Iron.

Answer 2

It is not the heaviest element formed. In a star, all kinds of fusion reactions take place, but at different rates. It just so happens that the other, heavier elements are not created in amounts significant enough to measure.

Most of the heavy elements, however, were formed from supernovae explosions. What happens is when the star is ready to explode, the core shrinks. The outer layers then start to collapse into the core. The collapse then triggers the explosion, which is so powerful that it fuses the nuclei into other, heavier elements of random proportions.

Answer 3

Iron is the heaviest metal that can be formed exothermically by nuclear reactions.

Heavier metals require energy to be input from some other source, such as the gravitational collapse of the star's core. When enough extra energy is available, endothermic nuclear reactions can take place to produce the elements heavier than iron.

Answer 4

If the star is very massive, the iron core implodes, then "bounces" back and explodes. If the star is really, really large when that happens, you get a supernova. A supernova releases so much energy that it outshines 200 billion suns. It is that immense energy that fuses heavy elements, such as gold and platinum. Our sun was born from the remnants of a supernova. That's why we can find such things as gold here on earth.

Answer 5

It is not the heaviest metal formed in a star!

Answer 6

iron is the most massive element made in stars. the elements more massive are made in supernovae. the formation of elements heavier than iron requires the energy supplied by the huge amount of neutrinos prdoced by a supernova.

read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova#Supernovae_as_a_source_of_heavy_elements

Answer 7

It's radioactive elements in red or blue giant stars that become lead and gold when the radioactivity burns out.