How was the Universe like before it started making atoms?
Everything we see with our eyes, from our Solar System to our favorite minuscule things, they all have one main ingredient: atoms. Atoms form everything we see with our eyes. Atomic nuclei and electron interact and link up to create not only individual atoms but also complex and simple molecules. Some of these molecules developed into macroscopic structures and even life. One impressive fact about the Universe we are living in is that it exists in a certain way that it admits the complicated structures we adore today.
At the beginning of the Universe, it could not even form one atom until the instant ht Big Bang happened hundreds of thousands of years ago. In order to create them, a significant amount of cosmic evolution and numerous other steps took place.
Storytime
When the Universe was four minutes old, it achieved the maximum of atomic nuclei it could fuse in this dense, hot and early state. No more free neutrons are floating around as they were all incorporated into more massive nuclei.
These include substances such as Deuterium (one proton and neutron), Helium-4 (two protons and two neutrons), Tritium (one proton and two neutrons), Helium-3 (two protons and one neutron), Lithium-7 (three protons and four neutrons) and Beryllium-7 (four protons and three neutrons).
This is all we have about the “How the Universe was made?” story. If we dive deeper into detail, it is such a gigantic number of free electrons in the world that it keeps the Universe balancing out the name of protons precisely and also electrically neutral. Neutrons are the particles that are the light’s quanta, and they scatter off of both the atomic nuclei and electrons continuously. At that time it was way too energetic and too hot for anything to form and stay alive.
As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.
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