Page 42 - A Chain of Miracles

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A A Chain of Miracles

Were electromagnetic force just a little weaker or stronger, atoms
could not combine or stay together. As a result, molecules essen-
tial to life could never form.

This opposing electrical charge creates an attraction be-
tween protons and electrons, keeping the electrons in their orbit
around the nucleus The force that binds the protons and elec-
trons of opposing electrical charge is called the electromagnetic
force.
The nature of electrons’ orbit around the nucleus deter-
mines the type of bonds that can exist between individual atoms
and what type of molecules they can form.

Had the value of the electromagnetic force been a fraction
smaller, fewer electrons could have been retained in orbit
around atomic nuclei. Had it been slightly greater, no atom
could bond with any other. Either way, the molecules necessary
for life could never have been assembled.

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