The Enigmatic Origins of Our Existence: A Cosmic Tale
Written on
Chapter 1: The Cosmic Building Blocks
When we observe the world around us, it becomes evident that our planet is a vibrant tapestry of shapes, colors, and forms. It consists of inanimate elements such as rocks, soil, water, and gases that make up the atmosphere. Moreover, a diverse array of life, from single-celled organisms to complex plants and large animals, thrives on its surface. Additionally, humanity has created a wide range of technologies and inventions. But where do the essential components that constitute all of this originate?
These fundamental components are the ancient atoms. They do not form when an object is created—whether it's a recently emerged insect or a rock that has existed for billions of years. Instead, they were generated in the distant past, long before the current era. Once formed, atoms are merely transferred among molecules, matter, and living entities as they come into and out of existence. While there are fewer than one hundred naturally occurring types of atoms, their various combinations and configurations give rise to the incredible diversity of the universe.
Although the Big Bang produced 98% of the matter present in the universe today, the primordial elements are mainly the simplest atoms: hydrogen, helium, small amounts of lithium, and traces of beryllium. The majority of the other atomic types have been synthesized in vast cosmic factories, forged under conditions of extreme heat and pressure through remarkable natural processes. This ongoing creation occurs in numerous locations throughout the cosmos, including the distant stars, with one particularly vital star located merely 150 million kilometers away—our Sun.
The identity of an atom (or element) is defined by the number of protons in its nucleus. Altering this proton count transforms the atom into a different substance entirely. For instance, by adding one proton to a sulfur atom—a pale yellow solid in its elemental state—you create an isotope of chlorine, a green, toxic gas. A further addition results in argon, a colorless, inert gas that constitutes about 1% of the air we breathe. Conversely, removing three protons from lead yields an isotope of gold.
Processes such as combustion, chemical reactions, decay, and decomposition cannot change or destroy atoms; they merely disrupt the bonds between them. In fact, balancing chemical equations requires that the number of each atom type remains consistent on both sides. Nonetheless, some atoms can transform into different elements through radioactive decay or when high-energy cosmic rays collide with matter. In the 20th century, humans learned to alter certain atoms through nuclear fusion and fission in particle accelerators, nuclear weapons, and power plants.
The quest to transmute lead into gold was a significant ambition for medieval and Renaissance alchemists. While their practices laid the groundwork for modern chemistry, they were often steeped in mystical beliefs. Notable figures like Isaac Newton were serious researchers among these practitioners.
Modern technology has enabled us to achieve this alchemical dream—albeit in minuscule quantities within particle accelerators, where atoms are accelerated to nearly the speed of light before colliding with one another. Sadly, the value of any gold produced is vastly outweighed by the costs involved in its creation!
For now, to synthesize atoms on a larger scale, one must rely on a star.
The creation of heavier elements occurs within the cores of stars, where thermonuclear reactors harness immense pressures and temperatures. Here, nuclear fusion takes place, giving birth to new cosmic substances. Once these elements cool, each nucleus captures a cloud of electrons equal to its proton count, which defines their properties.
This intriguing periodic table illustrates where different atomic types were formed, revealing the origins of the atoms that constitute our bodies, predating the formation of our Sun and solar system. Examine the chaotic processes at the top of the table—so foreign to our terrestrial experiences. The deeper you delve into these cataclysmic events, the more extraordinary they appear. Ultimately, this is our ancestry.
In recent years, scientists have synthesized further unstable elements, reaching up to oganesson with 118 protons.
Chapter 1.1: The Elements of Our Being
Humans primarily consist of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, calcium, and phosphorus—represented by the symbols H, C, N, O, Ca, and P. We also contain potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium, denoted as K, S, Na, Cl, and Mg, along with trace amounts of other elements.
Most of the atoms in our bodies are ancient, with tales spanning billions of years. Over countless millennia, they have cycled through the Earth's crust, mantle, waters, atmosphere, and countless living beings. Before our planet's formation, these atoms drifted as part of the interstellar gas and dust scattered between stars, having been recycled through numerous stellar generations.
Stars and their planetary systems emerge when gas clouds in the interstellar medium collapse under gravitational forces. When the core of a star—at this point, a fourth state of matter, plasma—reaches about 10 million degrees Celsius, nuclear fusion ignites, and the star "turns on." Throughout a series of reactions, four hydrogen nuclei (each a single proton) merge into one helium nucleus, which contains two protons and two neutrons, releasing a tremendous amount of energy.
For fusion to occur, the nuclei must move rapidly and possess considerable energy to overcome the electromagnetic repulsion between positively charged protons. However, if they can approach closely enough, the strong force—a fundamental force of nature—takes over, binding the new atom's nucleus together. This force, aptly named, has a strength 10^43 times greater than gravity, despite acting over an incredibly minuscule distance.
The life cycle and eventual demise of a star are intrinsically linked to its initial mass. Low-mass stars typically never reach the temperatures needed to fuse helium into heavier elements, while those up to twice the mass of our Sun will eventually fuse three helium nuclei into one carbon nucleus. These stars expel their bloated outer layers into space at the end of their life cycles, leaving behind a dense remnant known as a white dwarf—an exposed, still-warm stellar core that emits powerful ultraviolet radiation. The ejected gas shells ionize and form a planetary nebula, which, despite being unrelated to planets, produces some of the night sky's most stunning visuals.
Eventually, the white dwarf's heat will diminish, transforming it into a black dwarf.
Massive stars will continue to forge oxygen, neon, magnesium, and several other elements. However, once they reach the iron production phase, the core quickly becomes overloaded with iron, which cannot generate energy through nuclear fusion. Consequently, the gravitational force overcomes the outward energy flow, leading to a core collapse.
This collapse occurs instantaneously and violently, resulting in an explosion that ejects the star's outer layers into space while creating even more atomic elements. The energy released in a supernova explosion is staggering, briefly shining as brightly as an entire galaxy containing 10 billion stars.
At the center of the supernova explosion, a tiny, incredibly dense ball of neutrons is formed. This neutron star acts as a colossal atomic nucleus, with subatomic particles packed tightly together. Its gravitational force is so immense that if it were to approach Earth, it would flatten our planet into a thin layer across its surface.
Beyond the protective confines of our atmosphere lies a universe filled with bizarre and violent phenomena, including even more extraordinary objects. A neutron star exceeding three solar masses will collapse into an entity with such intense gravity that not even light can escape, vanishing from our observable universe to become a black hole.
Gold, a coveted chemical element, has significant value for humans. We utilize it as currency, in our most treasured possessions, and within essential technologies. The ring I wear, passed down from my husband's grandmother, has its origins likely linked to the cataclysmic collision of two neutron stars. Their orbital dance culminated in a massive explosion known as a kilonova.
Surprisingly, some trace elements vital to our biological processes, like iodine, were also formed during neutron star mergers.
The skeleton that supports our delicate bodies depends on calcium for its strength, with half of these atoms originating from white dwarf explosions. Such supernovae often occur because many stars are part of double or multiple star systems. A white dwarf can detonate completely if it accumulates enough matter from a companion star, exceeding 1.4 times the mass of the Sun.
Carl Sagan famously articulated this connection in the 1980s:
"The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff."
Chapter 1.2: The Rarity of Elements
But why do some atoms have familiar names while others remain obscure? While we easily recognize nitrogen, we may need to research tantalum. The abundance of an element in the universe reflects its creation process. For example, boron is significantly rarer than carbon, despite being only one proton different. This rarity arises because boron is not produced through stellar nuclear fusion but instead forms from cosmic rays. Interestingly, these "rays" are actually subatomic particles hurtling through space at nearly the speed of light, capable of smashing atoms apart. The origins of the most potent cosmic rays from distant galaxies remain one of astronomy's great enigmas.
Atoms created during the life and death of stars are eventually recycled back into interstellar space, mingling with swirling clouds of gas and dust. Some of these clouds will eventually collapse to form new stars and planetary systems. Over time, the universe gradually synthesizes heavier elements, enriching galaxies with them. Larger atoms produced by earlier generations of stars eventually become the rocks and metals that compose planets like Earth.
When our lives conclude on this planet, the atoms that constitute us will not disappear; they will be recycled into Earth's materials. In about five billion years, the Sun's outer layers will expand to nearly reach Earth's orbit, causing our oceans to boil away into space. The far-future Earth will become desolate, devoid of vibrant life. Should Earth be engulfed by the Sun's expansion, our atoms—born from the cosmos's extreme and bizarre events—will return to the vastness of space.
Chapter 2: The Dance of Cosmic Forces
The first video titled "We Finally Discovered the Native Americans' TRUE History! | Traced: Episode 17" explores the historical narratives surrounding Native Americans, uncovering truths about their origins and culture.
The second video "The True Origins Of Life In The Americas | The Americas Before Columbus" delves into the complexities of life in the Americas prior to European contact, revealing the rich tapestry of cultures and environments that existed.