Study finds evidence the fluorine in the toothpaste we use to keep our chompers clean originates from red giant stars

Dec 23, 2014 08:10 GMT  ·  By

Here is a piece of news that is bound to forever change the way you look at the toothpaste you (hopefully) use to clean your chompers bright and early in the morning and before you go to sleep at night.

In a nutshell, a recent paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters argues that a key ingredient in toothpaste was forged by dying stars eons ago and was then set loose in space.

In time, it came to be part and parcel of our good old planet, and for decades now, we humans have been using it to keep our teeth fresh and healthy. Pretty cool, right?

The cosmic origins of the toothpaste we use

In their paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, scientist Nils Ryde with Sweden's Lund University and fellow researchers detail that the chemical compound in question goes by the name of fluorine.

It is the 13th most common element on our planet and is added not just to toothpaste, but also to pharmaceuticals and refrigerants. Simply put, it's fairly popular in this day and age.

The astronomers say that, as part of their investigation into where fluorine comes from, they examined the light emitted by a total of seven nearby red giants and thus determined the chemical makeup of these celestial bodies.

This was possible because distinct chemical elements respond differently to distinct light wavelengths. Hence, using high-tech equipment to look at the light emitted by the red giants, the scientists were able to detect the presence of fluorine.

In light of their findings, astronomer Nils Ryde and colleagues argue that it is possible that much of the fluorine found on our planet was forged inside stars eons ago and then released into space. In time, it helped create our planet.

“The fluorine in our toothpaste originates from the sun's dead ancestors,” Lund University specialist Nils Ryde explained in a statement, as cited by Space.

How red giant stars gave us toothpaste

Red giants are regular stars that are nearing the end of their life. More precisely, they are stars that have exhausted their core hydrogen supply but that are still fusing this element into helium in a shell surrounding their center.

It is believed that the fluorine on Earth came into being following reactions that occurred in highly pressurized and insanely hot environments birthed by red giants. After leaving its nursery, it became part of clouds of dust and gas that eventually formed planets.

Interestingly enough, some point the finger at supermassive stellar explosions and stellar winds as the source of the fluorine present on Earth. Still, Nils Ryde and colleagues argue that, as shown by their study, long-gone red giants were the main suppliers.

The fluoride in toothpaste comes from stars, scientists say (5 Images)

Scientists say the fluoride in toothpaste comes from stars
More precisely, they say it was forged by red giants eons agoAfter being released into space, it became part of planetary nebulas
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