Science--Physics--Astronomy--Star Dynamics--NOT HOMEWORK.?

[GreyDog]

I was wondering...why is that Gold, Silver and Copper (our "coinage metals") all in (11 1B) of the periodic table are NOT made inside stars? How are they formed? Thank you smart people everywhere.
Thank you Bekki, you were very prompt. I would call your answer "The standard HS teacher's answer")...there is NOTHING WRONG with it and I appreciate getting ANY answer...but...What I am looking for is a much more indepth discription of the mechanics of the fussion. Why is the relationship of mass number versus binding energy decreasing after iron? Please feel free to speculate, but please don't give me links to "little school boy" or WIKI web sites. This one is for "professional" physicists. Perhaps I should not have posed it here, but I'm really hoping to find something inspired. Thank you all!!

--A Retired Greyhound
sorry--I guess my addition looks "snotty". I am sorry. There were NO Wiki web site listings when I typed my addition. Both answers are fine as far as they go.

[Remo ? Aviron]

A normal star can only make elements up to Iron. After that, fusion doesn't work. It costs the star energy rather than providing energy that the star needs to keep from collapsing (simple explanation).

But if a big star collapses when it runs out of fuel. The collapse causes additional fusion which creates all of the elements heavier than Iron, including Gold, Silver Cooper and Uranium. The collapse also causes a rebound explosion which tosses a lot of these newly formed elements out into space. This collapse/explosion is called a super nova.

This stardust from supernova spreads out through the local area and causes nearby gas clouds to form new star systems. It is this stardust ejected by the supernova that forms most of the earth and you and me (excluding all the hydrogen in the water molecules in your body) along with all the gold, silver and copper.