The quest for the origin of the elements.

@article{Fowler1984TheQF,
  title={The quest for the origin of the elements.},
  author={William A. Fowler},
  journal={Science},
  year={1984},
  volume={226 4677},
  pages={
          922-35
        }
}
  • W. Fowler
  • Published 1 March 1984
  • Physics
  • Science
All life on Earth depends on the energy in sunlight, which comes initially from the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium deep in the solar interior. But the sun did not produce the chemical elements which are found in the earth and in our bodies. The first two elements and their stable isotopes, hydrogen and helium, emerged from the first few minutes of the early high-temperature, high-density stage of the expanding Universe, the so-called big bang. 
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315 Citations

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  • Physics
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TLDR
It is my privilege to begin the consideration of the history of the universe during this first scientific session of the Academy Centennial with a discussion of the origin of the elements, the modern expression of one of the most ancient problems in science.
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Hanford Engineering and Development Laboratory internal report HEDI,TME-7680 (1976, unpublished)
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