Astronomy
Cosmic Ray Spallation and the Nucleosynthesis of Light Elements
Quick fact
Almost all of the universe's beryllium and boron, and about half of its lithium, are created when high-energy cosmic rays slam into the nuclei of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms in space, shattering them into lighter fragments—a process called cosmic ray spallation.
Why this is interesting
You've heard that stars forge the elements we see around us, but some of the lightest elements in your smartphone's lithium battery were not born in stars at all. Where do they come from?