I'm too dumb to be an atheist

[Alex K]

Two links on the from hydrogen till now part:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallicity Don't be scared by the math it is all basic simple observed percentages dressed up to look impressive and overly complicated (dam scientists just love to LOOK super smart more than anything don't they?), just ignore the parts you don't get.

If the elements themselves are too confusing, start here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_element

Then move on to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geochronology and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiometric_dating.

Actually pretty simple, but very interesting stuff largely overlooked by many pop shows who tend to focus on bleeding edge science.

Speaking of hydrogen, I wonder if you had a very large volume of pure hydrogen and subjected it to fantastic pressures if it would go nuclear?

I think so, although I am not 100% sure whether pressure is enough or if one needs high temperatures. Nuclear fusion happens whenever the protons which constitute the hydrogen nuclei are forced to come together so closely that their electric repulsion is overcome by the stronger and attractive, but short-ranged "strong force". I don't know what pressure would be needed at room temperature to enforce this proximity. If you don't want to rely on pressure, you need to get the protons up to high speeds corresponding to temperatures of more than 100 million kelvins. This is done in conventional fusion designs like tokamaks and stellarators. In stars where there is also high pressure and density, half of that suffices.

Concerning the "going nuclear", you have to keep in mind that fusion does not have a true chain reaction like in fission, so a few nuclei fusing wouldn't suddenly start an H bomb. That's why you need a fission A bomb to start an H bomb: it provides the temperature and pressure to fuse many nuclei at once. There is only chain reaction in the sense of a positive feedback where the heat from the fusion reaction can enable further fusion reactions.