Why is lithium so little in the universe?
In response to this question, it is necessary to answer it in two aspects.
Lithium is one of the first elements to appear after the universe is large, and its abundance in the universe should be relatively large (abundance refers to the proportion of a chemical element in the universe). According to estimates, lithium in the universe should weigh as much as about 1,000 solar masses, but the actual observations are much less. Some scientists believe that the model may be overestimating the abundance of lithium; Some scientists believe that there may be some unknown process inside the star that destroys lithium; There are also some scientists who believe that there may be a completely new physics in the universe that we don't yet know; Wait a minute. Based on a new study, it is believed that classic novas** are also capable of producing large amounts of lithium. This idea may help scientists find the "missing" lithium in the universe.
Secondly, lithium is rare in the universe compared to other elements. Among the top 32 chemical elements in the periodic table, lithium ranks 26th in the solar system for its commonness. This is mainly due to the low nuclear binding energy of each nucleon of the two stable lithium isotopes that occur naturally, making the nucleus unstable. In the universe, the star-like temperatures required to destroy lithium are relatively low, and the process of producing lithium is lacking, so lithium in the universe is less common than most other elements.