An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The formation of → chemical elements in the → early Universe, between about 0.01 seconds and 3 minutes after the → Big Bang, when the nuclei of primordial matter collided and fused with one another. Most of the → helium in the → Universe was created by this process. Same as → Big Bang nucleosynthesis

See also: → primordial; → nucleosynthesis.