Cosmic Gold: Neutron Star Mergers, Gravitational Waves, and the Origin of the Heavy Elements

Scientists have recently developed a new way to `see' the universe, using the gravitational waves predicted by Einstein nearly a century ago. These waves can teach us about some of the most exotic objects known, including star “corpses” known as black holes and neutron stars.   Remarkably, they have also helped solve a longstanding puzzle about where in the Universe some of the elements we know and love here on Earth are produced, including gold, platinum, uranium, and even Californium!

Speaker: Dr. Eliot Quataert, UC Berkeley