The Self Assembly of the Universe and the Elements of the Periodic Table

The self-assembly of the universe began with the Big Bang, some 13.7 billion years ago. We review the age of the universe, the solar system, and the earth. The Big Bang is understood based on Feynman diagrams, the uncertainty principle, and the properties of the quantum vacuum. Tests of the Big Bang include the expansion and mass of the universe, the cosmic microwave background radiation and its anisotropies, and baryon acoustic oscillations. The standard model of elementary particle physics is introduced in order to find the thermal history of the universe. The stages of nuclear self-assembly are described including Big Bang nucleosynthesis, stellar nucleosynthesis, and explosive nucleosynthesis through supernovae. The data supporting this hierarchy is presented in terms of the abundances of nuclei in the cosmos, the sun, and the Earth and used to understand why the Earth and other planets, such as Mars, consist mainly of iron and nickel.