What Would Stars Be Like If Hydrogen Had The Smallest Mass Per Nuclear Particle?

Star systems are a beautiful reminder of our universe’s vastness. They come in many different sizes, types, and configurations.

Most stars are composed of hydrogen atoms, which is the simplest atom. Atoms are made up of a nucleus containing protons and neutrons, and electrons that orbit around the nucleus.

Hydrogen is the lightest element, meaning one hydrogen atom weighs less than any other element. This makes it difficult to separate hydrogen atoms into nuclear particles with different masses. How can we see stars that are made of heavier elements if this is the case?

By imagining how stars would look if all nuclear particles within them had the same mass as a single hydrogen nuclear particle, you can see what these other elements look like.

The mass of other elements

As mentioned before, the most common element in the universe is hydrogen. However, it is not the most mass-dense element; that title goes to helium.

Because helium has two nuclear particles per atom instead of one like hydrogen, it has higher mass per particle. Because of this, if we replaced all the hydrogen in stars with helium, the stars would weigh more and therefore be more dense.

This fact is important when considering what would happen if we changed the mass of a nuclear particle in hydrogen. If we made it smaller, then the whole chemical composition of stars would change. There would be less hydrogen and other elements would not exist.

The beauty of astronomy is that it explores these questions that have no definite answers. We can only theorize and test those theories through research and investigation.

What would stars be like?

If hydrogen had the smallest mass per nuclear particle, stars would be very different than they are now. Since hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, it is likely that some form of stars exist where hydrogen is the dominant element.

Since the maximum stability point of hydrogen is one proton and one electron, any more or less would cause the star to collapse or explode. This makes it difficult to create a gas giant like Jupiter, because how can you add more material when there is only one particle holding it together?

Because of this, planets similar to Earth may not exist. If there were any other elements added to the star, then it would not be a “hydrogen” star, but instead another element. Different elements have different levels of stability due to their nuclear particles, which affects what type of star you have.

Stars that are not hydrogen may look similar to our sun, but have different properties like temperature and brightness.

What would stars be like?

If the mass of hydrogen were the smallest mass per nuclear particle, then all stars would be like our sun. The sun is one hundred million times larger in diameter than the hydrogen atom, so our sun is made up of one hundred million times more material than hydrogen.

Since the size of a star is determined by how much material it is made of, a star that was as small in diameter as a hydrogen atom would be one hundred million times smaller in diameter than the sun. This makes sense, since there is one hundred million times fewer molecules of matter in the star.

A star that was the same size as our sun but composed entirely of hydrogen would have very similar characteristics to our own: stability, lifespan, etc. The only difference would be that it would be less dense- which would affect its stability and lifespan.

Smaller mass means hotter burning

If the mass of a particle in a nucleus were reduced, the atom would be less stable and the nuclear reactions would be faster.

If the mass of a hydrogen nucleus were one proton instead of 1,836 times heavier, then it would be the heaviest hydrogen particle that could exist. In this case, all hydrogen in the universe would instantly turn into helium.

All stars would have different temperatures, and some may not even exist because of this change. For example, our sun is not sufficiently massive to compress nuclear fusion into heavier particles such as carbon or oxygen.

Stars that are smaller than our sun would be hotter because there would be less material being pushed out by nuclear reactions. Less material means less cooling through nuclear reactions and radiation. More hot stars equals more blue-colored stars.

Hydrogen more tightly binds with other hydrogen atoms

If the most common form of hydrogen in the universe had a slightly smaller atomic mass per nuclear particle, then our sun and other stars would look very different.

According to Phys.org, researchers from Durham University in the United Kingdom have modeled what our sun would look like if only deuterium — an isotope of hydrogen whose nuclear particle has twice the mass of the common form — existed inside it.

The researchers did this by simulating a billion years’ worth of stellar evolution using a high-performance computer. They discovered that such a star would have a temperature about 8 times higher than our sun does today.

This is because deuterium absorbs more energy before it breaks down into helium, causing the star to burn brighter and hotter. The study was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Helium is formed more quickly

If hydrogen had the smallest mass per nuclear particle, then all stars would be based on helium. This is because when hydrogen is the only element being fused, then only helium will be produced.

We know this because of something called the Chandrasekhar limit. This is a limit to the mass of a white dwarf star, which is what our sun will become in around seven billion years.

White dwarfs are incredibly dense objects, about 1.5 times the mass of our sun compressed into a sphere approximately the size of Earth. Because of this incredible density, anything less than 1.5 solar masses would not cause further compression and ignition into a new stage – in this case, a red giant or any other stage.

Because our sun will turn into a white dwarf in several billion years, we know that it cannot contain more than 1.5 solar masses of material or it will not meet the requirements to ignite into another stage.

Less stable elements are formed

If the mass of a hydrogen particle was smaller, then the universe would be a very different place. Not only would stars not burn, they would not even exist!

If the mass of a hydrogen atom’s nucleus was smaller, then it would no longer be stable. Atoms with larger nuclei are less stable, so they would be more likely to spontaneously split into smaller atoms.

This is because atoms with larger nuclei have more energy inside of them. This energy makes it more likely that the atom will undergo a change in its structure, like a chemical reaction.

When this happens, the atom loses some of its content. For example, if an atom with a large nucleus splits into two atoms with smaller nuclei, then there is less mass in that atom.

Smaller atoms like carbon would not exist because it takes more than one step to get to it from simpler elements like hydrogen.

Oxygen is a very unstable element

If oxygen was the most stable element, then all stars would be made of oxygen. This is because all other elements can be created from oxygen, as well as from hydrogen.

Since the most stable element in the universe is lithium, then stars would be made of lithium if hydrogen had the smallest mass per nuclear particle. Again, all other elements could be created from lithium, so this would not change much about the star.

Since beryllium is the next most stable element, then stars would be made of beryllium if hydrogen had the next smallest mass per nuclear particle. Again, all other elements could be created from beryllium, so this would not change much about the star.

And since fluorine is the next most unstable element, then stars would be made of fluorine if hydrogen had the next smallest mass per nuclear particle. All other elements could be created from fluorine, which might change some things about the star.