Let’s start at the beginning. When the Universe was formed, maybe some 13.8 billion years ago (probably longer), the smallest atoms came first, namely bits like hydrogen and some helium. The theory goes that these atoms coalesced and formed stars, which got dense enough to kick off nuclear reactions (namely fusion) which begat heavier atoms. The theory gets a little muddled at this point, but suffice it to say some stars got unstable and blew up (super novae) while some others continued to make even heavier elements which were tossed off by solar wind. A combination of these processes led to the formation of our solar system and of Earth, and of course, us.
We like to say the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, but the reality is that the atoms of the planet are essentially as old as the Universe. So, we are made of those same atoms. When we arrived, that is to say, when we were born, we took in nutrients and grew, and if lucky enough, became adults. Like everything around us, we are made of star stuff.
4.5 Billion years is a long time. In that time, our atoms have been many places. The bits that make you up have at one time or another been part of rocks, the soil, the ocean and the atmosphere, and other organisms (plants and animals, and people). We are made up of used materials and this process continues. Earth still receives atoms from space (meteorites and dust), so you might even contain bits of alien atoms that arrived from other planets or galaxies.
Our atoms have been in bacteria, dinosaurs, trees, fish, trilobites and potatoes, just to name a few organisms. And when we die, we will return our “borrowed” atoms to this nearly never ending cycle. We are essentially renting the material which makes us up until the time comes to pay the landlord. Who knows where your atoms will go next? It’s quite an awesome perspective actually—to know that everything that is you will survive forever, beyond the lifespan of our sun and perhaps even beyond that of the Universe.
We like to say the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, but the reality is that the atoms of the planet are essentially as old as the Universe. So, we are made of those same atoms. When we arrived, that is to say, when we were born, we took in nutrients and grew, and if lucky enough, became adults. Like everything around us, we are made of star stuff.
4.5 Billion years is a long time. In that time, our atoms have been many places. The bits that make you up have at one time or another been part of rocks, the soil, the ocean and the atmosphere, and other organisms (plants and animals, and people). We are made up of used materials and this process continues. Earth still receives atoms from space (meteorites and dust), so you might even contain bits of alien atoms that arrived from other planets or galaxies.
Our atoms have been in bacteria, dinosaurs, trees, fish, trilobites and potatoes, just to name a few organisms. And when we die, we will return our “borrowed” atoms to this nearly never ending cycle. We are essentially renting the material which makes us up until the time comes to pay the landlord. Who knows where your atoms will go next? It’s quite an awesome perspective actually—to know that everything that is you will survive forever, beyond the lifespan of our sun and perhaps even beyond that of the Universe.
