We perceive our bodies as structures made of bones, flesh, blood, muscles, organs, skin etc. We are absolutely right. A mixture of molecules and atoms form our bodies. But how were they made?
Now let us remember the famous song “We are stardust” by Joni Mitchell. She said it right, we are actually Stellar Beings!! We ARE Stardust!! The unquestionable truth is all the fundamental substance in this universe and on this Earth started off at the core of a star. Scientists assert that the anatomy of the human body is 97% stardust, linking us to the universe. It regenerates our bodies throughout our lifetimes. Each and everything about this world has been loaned from a distant past inside of stars. From the earliest stars, the atoms and molecules found their way to us.
And here comes the doubt. In the spectrum of stars, we mostly observe hydrogen and less than 1% of oxygen whereas our body consists of 65% oxygen. How does this theory connect to the fact?
Well, the story began this way.
We have all heard that it is the Big Bang that set the universe in motion. And that it ended in a flash. After which, the universe expanded for about three seconds and then stayed cool. Specks of dust amassed into atoms. First, the simplest atoms, Hydrogen, and Helium were formed.
After a few million years, under the pull of gravity, the hydrogen atoms were drawn into clusters. As these clusters grew bigger, the pressure at the center increased causing the hydrogen atoms to fuse their nuclei This is Nuclear Fusion. Under the amplified pressure and temperature (10 million degrees C) the nuclei stirred to fuse. Hydrogen produced helium. And some of the hydrogen mass converted into light energy, which we call a star. Let us recollect Einstein's famous equation: E=mc2 here.
Like a nuclear reactor, the star as it got hotter it built heavier elements. This reaction continued to create larger and larger nuclei. Eventually, all the heavier elements like nitrogen, oxygen, iron, sulfur and phosphorus etc were formed.
There is no helium in our bodies. We find loads of carbon in people and other living things. And there is an abundance of oxygen in teh life on Earth. The bones and teeth are built with calcium. Iron deepens our red blood. Most of the hydrogen in our body floats in the form of water. The human body is about 60% water. So we can conclude that 93% of the mass in our body is stardust.
After a few million years, under the pull of gravity, the hydrogen atoms were drawn into clusters. As these clusters grew bigger, the pressure at the center increased causing the hydrogen atoms to fuse their nuclei This is Nuclear Fusion. Under the amplified pressure and temperature (10 million degrees C) the nuclei stirred to fuse. Hydrogen produced helium. And some of the hydrogen mass converted into light energy, which we call a star. Let us recollect Einstein's famous equation: E=mc2 here.
Like a nuclear reactor, the star as it got hotter it built heavier elements. This reaction continued to create larger and larger nuclei. Eventually, all the heavier elements like nitrogen, oxygen, iron, sulfur and phosphorus etc were formed.
There is no helium in our bodies. We find loads of carbon in people and other living things. And there is an abundance of oxygen in teh life on Earth. The bones and teeth are built with calcium. Iron deepens our red blood. Most of the hydrogen in our body floats in the form of water. The human body is about 60% water. So we can conclude that 93% of the mass in our body is stardust.
No star is undying. A star explodes when it reaches its saturated heaviness i.e., a supernova. When a massive star explodes, heaviest elements like iron, nickel, krypton, uranium, gold etc were formed. Therefore a star has to die to build To build metals like platinum and gold. A lot of outer space violence occurs when a star crashes! The burst out remnants travels all through the universe. They bunch with other stardust in time and create new stars and planets. This is the life of our universe. This is just a hazy idea. If we go deeper into it, it looks like a ‘convoluted gargantuan geometrical ambiguity’!! Yes, that much complexity!
No one is exactly sure about the beginning of life on Earth. But one thing is clear: Everything is from the outer space. Every atom in our body was shaped in the center of a star.
And those stellar explosions go on. We are as old as the universe. Some might have grounded just few hundred years ago or some a million years ago. But it all intermingled in our existence.
“I was never born. And will never die. I am from the ancient Universe”
So tonight look up at the sky and sing “Twinkle Twinkle little star..How I wonder what you are!!” keeping in mind that you were a twinkled star once!!
And those stellar explosions go on. We are as old as the universe. Some might have grounded just few hundred years ago or some a million years ago. But it all intermingled in our existence.
“I was never born. And will never die. I am from the ancient Universe”
So tonight look up at the sky and sing “Twinkle Twinkle little star..How I wonder what you are!!” keeping in mind that you were a twinkled star once!!
Thank You. Love!!
Shaila
Shaila
