Page 29 - The Miracle in the Atom
P. 29

The Formation Adventure Of The Atom

             Bang. The enormous equilibrium and order in these particles are worthy of
             note. The universe owes its present state to this equilibrium that will be
             described in more detail in the pages ahead. It is again this equilibrium that
             allows us to live a peaceful life. In short, perfect order and un-changing laws,
             "the laws of physics", have formed following an explosion that would nor-
             mally be expected to create great turmoil and disorder. This proves that each
             moment following the creation of the universe, including the Big Bang, has
             been designed perfectly.
                 Now, let us continue looking at the developments from where we left
             off.
                                                                 -1
                 ◆  The next step is the moment at which a time of 10 seconds has elap-
             sed. At this moment, the temperature is 30 billion degrees. Not even one se-
             cond has elapsed from t = 0 moment to this stage. By now, neutrons and pro-
             tons, the other particles of the atom, have started to appear. The neutrons
             and protons, the perfect structures of which we will analyse in the following
             sections, were created out of nothing within a time period even shorter than
             a second.
                 ◆  Let us come to the first second after the explosion. The massive den-
             sity at this time again gives a colossal figure. According to calculations, the
             density value of the mass present at that stage is 3.8 billion kilograms per lit-
             re. It may be easy to express this figure, termed as billions of kilograms,
             arithmetically, and to show it on paper. Yet, it is impossible to conceive of
             this figure exactly. To give a very simple example to express the magnitude
             of this figure, we can say "if Mount Everest in the Himalayas had this den-
             sity, it could swallow our world in a moment with the force of gravitation it
             would possess." 7
                 ◆  The most distinctive characteristic of the subsequent moments is that
             by then, the temperature has reached a considerably lower level. At that sta-
             ge, the universe is approximately 14 seconds old, has a temperature of 3 bil-
             lion degrees and continues to expand at a dramatic speed.
                 This is the stage where the steady atomic nuclei, like hydrogen and he-
             lium nuclei, have started to form. One proton and one neutron have for the
             first time found conditions conducive to their co-existing. These two partic-
             les, which have a mass straddling the line between existence and non-exis-
             tence, have, because of the force of gravitation, started resisting the tremen-


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