{"id":127341,"date":"2024-11-18T17:57:45","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T10:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=127341"},"modified":"2024-11-18T17:57:45","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T10:57:45","slug":"5-coincidences-that-make-our-existence-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=127341","title":{"rendered":"5 coincidences that make our existence possible"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div x-data=\"prose\" wp_automatic_readability=\"63.625237642586\">\n<div class=\"bt-block bt-block--margin-exclude bt-inp mb-8\">\n<div class=\"bg-gray-100 dark:bg-gray-800 text-black dark:text-white p-5 lg:p-6 xl:p-7 2xl:p-8\" wp_automatic_readability=\"32\">\n<div class=\"mb-3.5\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9\">\n<p>\n                    Sign up for the Starts With a Bang newsletter                <\/p>\n<p>\n                    Travel the universe with Dr. Ethan Siegel as he answers the biggest questions of all                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n                    <noscript class=\"ninja-forms-noscript-message\"><br \/>\n\tNotice: JavaScript is required for this content.<\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>        <!-- That data is being printed as a workaround to page builders reordering the order of the scripts loaded--><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<p>Our Universe has grown up impressively since the Big Bang.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4000\" height=\"2250\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?w=4000\" alt=\"Visualization of the timeline of the universe, from the beginning big bang to the present.\" class=\"wp-image-493581\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg 4000w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=2048,1152 2048w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=20,12 20w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=40,23 40w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=80,45 80w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=160,90 160w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=256,144 256w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=832,468 832w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=1200,675 1200w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=1440,810 1440w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=1824,1026 1824w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=420,236 420w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=495,278 495w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=680,382 680w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=854,480 854w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=375,211 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Universe-Tentpole-What-was-it-like-at-the-beginning-of-the-Big-Bang.jpg?resize=1280,720 1280w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"12.5\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"20\">\n<p>At the start of the hot Big Bang, the Universe was rapidly expanding and filled with high-energy, very densely packed, ultra-relativistic quanta. An early stage of radiation domination gave way to several later stages where radiation was sub-dominant, but never went away completely, while matter then clumped into gas clouds, stars, star clusters, galaxies, and even richer structures over time, all while the Universe continues expanding.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption>Credit: Big Think \/ Ben Gibson \/ NASA \/ Pablo Carlos Budassi<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>From a hot, dense, near-uniform initial state, stars, galaxies, and living planets emerged.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5400\" height=\"2800\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chemical_composition_universe.jpg?w=5400\" alt=\"evolution universe cosmic history big bang\" class=\"wp-image-411893\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chemical_composition_universe.jpg 5400w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chemical_composition_universe.jpg?resize=1536,796 1536w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chemical_composition_universe.jpg?resize=2048,1062 2048w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chemical_composition_universe.jpg?resize=375,194 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chemical_composition_universe.jpg?resize=640,332 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chemical_composition_universe.jpg?resize=768,398 768w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chemical_composition_universe.jpg?resize=1024,531 1024w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chemical_composition_universe.jpg?resize=1280,664 1280w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.879341864717\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"17\">\n<p>Our Universe, from the hot Big Bang until the present day, underwent a huge amount of growth and evolution, and continues to do so. Our entire observable Universe was approximately the size of a modest boulder some 13.8 billion years ago, but has expanded to be ~46 billion light-years in radius today. The complex structure that has arisen must have grown from seed imperfections of at least ~0.003% of the average density early on, and has gone through phases where atomic nuclei, neutral atoms, and stars first formed.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/chandra.harvard.edu\/xray_astro\/dark_matter\/index5.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: NASA\/CXC\/M. Weiss<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Without these five coincidences, our Universe would have inevitably been lifeless.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"459\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/7-3-QGP.jpg?w=960\" alt=\"quark gluon plasma primordial soup\" class=\"wp-image-170166\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/7-3-QGP.jpg 960w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/7-3-QGP.jpg?resize=375,179 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/7-3-QGP.jpg?resize=640,306 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/7-3-QGP.jpg?resize=768,367 768w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.366995073892\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"22\">\n<p>At the high temperatures achieved in the very young Universe, not only can particles and photons be spontaneously created, given enough energy, but also antiparticles and unstable particles as well, resulting in a primordial particle-and-antiparticle soup. Yet even with these conditions, only a few specific states, or particles, can emerge, and by the time a few seconds have passed, the Universe is much larger than it was in the earliest stages. As the Universe begins expanding, the density, temperature, and expansion rate of the Universe all rapidly drop as well.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bnl.gov\/npp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: Brookhaven National Laboratory<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>1.) A photon-rich early Universe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1044\" height=\"307\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/destroy-d.jpg?w=1044\" alt=\"A diagram illustrating the deuterium bottleneck in the early universe\" class=\"wp-image-480006\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/destroy-d.jpg 1044w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/destroy-d.jpg?resize=375,110 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/destroy-d.jpg?resize=640,188 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/destroy-d.jpg?resize=768,226 768w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/destroy-d.jpg?resize=1024,301 1024w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.3515625\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"14\">\n<p>In the early Universe, it\u2019s very easy for a free proton and a free neutron to form deuterium. But while energies are high enough, photons will come along and blast these deuterons apart, dissociating them back into individual protons and neutrons. This prevents heavier elements from forming at early times, dependent on a large photon abundance.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/33K76Dg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: E. Siegel\/Beyond the Galaxy<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Large photon abundances make forming stable atomic nuclei difficult early on.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"850\" height=\"614\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/bbn-std.jpg?w=850\" alt=\"production light elements BBN\" class=\"wp-image-418424\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/bbn-std.jpg 850w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/bbn-std.jpg?resize=375,271 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/bbn-std.jpg?resize=640,462 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/bbn-std.jpg?resize=768,555 768w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.3313609467456\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"14\">\n<p>This plot shows the abundance of the light elements over time, as the Universe expands and cools during the various phases of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. The ratios of hydrogen, deuterium, helium-3, helium-4, and lithium-7 all arise from these processes.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.annualreviews.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1146\/annurev.nucl.012809.104521\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: M. Pospelov &amp; J. Pradler, Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science, 2010<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>With too few photons, all hydrogen would fuse into helium and beyond.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1309\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/matter-density-species.jpg?w=960\" alt=\"The density of ordinary matter in the universe is intricately connected to the formation of the first elements.\" class=\"wp-image-480009\" style=\"width:840px\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/matter-density-species.jpg 960w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/matter-density-species.jpg?resize=375,511 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/matter-density-species.jpg?resize=640,873 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/matter-density-species.jpg?resize=768,1047 768w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.316326530612\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"16\">\n<p>The predicted abundances of helium-4, deuterium, helium-3, and lithium-7 as predicted by Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, with observations shown in the red circles. If there were many fewer photons per baryon (far to the right), everything would have become helium-or-heavier early on, with no free hydrogen remaining.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/map.gsfc.nasa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: NASA\/WMAP Science Team<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>No Sun-like stars would ever be possible.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?w=960\" alt=\"anitmatter annihilation\" class=\"wp-image-170169\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg 960w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=20,12 20w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=40,23 40w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=80,45 80w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=160,90 160w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=256,144 256w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=832,468 832w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=420,236 420w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=495,278 495w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=680,382 680w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=854,480 854w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/antimatter.jpg?resize=375,211 375w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.859574468085\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"17\">\n<p>In the very early Universe, there were tremendous numbers of quarks, leptons, antiquarks, and antileptons of all species. After only a tiny fraction-of-a-second has elapsed since the hot Big Bang, most of these matter-antimatter pairs annihilate away, leaving a very tiny excess of matter over antimatter. How that excess came about is a puzzle known as baryogenesis, and it is one of the greatest unsolved problems in modern physics.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/33K76Dg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: E. Siegel\/Beyond the Galaxy<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>2.) A big enough matter-antimatter asymmetry<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"284\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/29b2f30c03a1e659e39e2493cd5af02e.jpg?w=1200\" alt=\"Universe without matter antimatter asymmetry\" class=\"wp-image-411889\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/29b2f30c03a1e659e39e2493cd5af02e.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/29b2f30c03a1e659e39e2493cd5af02e.jpg?resize=375,89 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/29b2f30c03a1e659e39e2493cd5af02e.jpg?resize=640,151 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/29b2f30c03a1e659e39e2493cd5af02e.jpg?resize=768,182 768w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/29b2f30c03a1e659e39e2493cd5af02e.jpg?resize=1024,242 1024w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.365957446809\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"16\">\n<p>As the Universe expands and cools, unstable particles and antiparticles decay, while matter-antimatter pairs annihilate and photons can no longer collide at high enough energies to create new particles. Antiprotons will collide with an equivalent number of protons, annihilating them away, as will antineutrons with neutrons. After all the carnage, somehow, more matter than antimatter remains: evidence for a large initial asymmetry.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/33K76Dg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: E. Siegel\/Beyond the Galaxy<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>We have about 1 proton (and no antiprotons) for every 1.6 billion photons.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"657\" height=\"652\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1-D8rGOgY8SAvamyRohTdWGw-1.jpg?w=657\" alt=\"dwarf galaxy segue 1 3\" class=\"wp-image-168094\" style=\"width:840px\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1-D8rGOgY8SAvamyRohTdWGw-1.jpg 657w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1-D8rGOgY8SAvamyRohTdWGw-1.jpg?resize=20,20 20w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1-D8rGOgY8SAvamyRohTdWGw-1.jpg?resize=40,40 40w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1-D8rGOgY8SAvamyRohTdWGw-1.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1-D8rGOgY8SAvamyRohTdWGw-1.jpg?resize=160,160 160w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1-D8rGOgY8SAvamyRohTdWGw-1.jpg?resize=375,372 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1-D8rGOgY8SAvamyRohTdWGw-1.jpg?resize=640,635 640w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.9056603773585\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"15\">\n<p>Only approximately 1000 stars are present in the entirety of dwarf galaxies Segue 1 and Segue 3, the latter of which has a gravitational mass of an impressive 600,000 Suns. The stars making up the dwarf satellite Segue 1 are circled here. As we discover smaller, fainter galaxies with fewer numbers of stars, we begin to recognize just how common these small galaxies are as well as how elevated their dark matter-to-normal matter ratios can be; there may be as many as 100 for every galaxy similar to the Milky Way, with dark matter outmassing normal matter by factors of many hundreds or even more.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/keckobservatory.org\/found_heart_of_darkness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: Marla Geha\/Keck Observatory<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>If that abundance was just ~1000 times smaller, stellar enrichment would be extraordinarily low.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1303\" height=\"1279\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/winds-and-stars.jpg?w=1303\" alt=\"cigar galaxy messier 82\" class=\"wp-image-164270\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/winds-and-stars.jpg 1303w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/winds-and-stars.jpg?resize=20,20 20w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/winds-and-stars.jpg?resize=40,40 40w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/winds-and-stars.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/winds-and-stars.jpg?resize=375,368 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/winds-and-stars.jpg?resize=640,628 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/winds-and-stars.jpg?resize=768,754 768w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/winds-and-stars.jpg?resize=1024,1005 1024w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/winds-and-stars.jpg?resize=1280,1256 1280w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"12.392857142857\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"20\">\n<p>This close-up view of Messier 82, the Cigar Galaxy, shows not only stars and gas, but also the superheated galactic winds and the distended shape induced by its interactions with its larger, more massive neighbor: M81. (M81 is located off-screen, to the upper right.) When star-formation actively occurs across an entire galaxy, it becomes what\u2019s known as a starburst galaxy, characterized by violent, gas-expelling winds. If the galaxy is too low in mass, this enriched material will all get ejected, preventing the formation of later-generation stars with the potential for rocky planets.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"http:\/\/www.robgendlerastropics.com\/M81-82-HST-Subaru-H1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: R. Gendler, R. Croman, R. Colombari; Acknowledgement: R. Jay GaBany; VLA Data: E. de Block (ASTRON)<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Without sufficient heavy elements produced in stars, rocky worlds could never form.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?w=960\" alt=\"how much dark matter\" class=\"wp-image-159238\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg 960w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=20,20 20w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=40,40 40w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=160,160 160w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=256,256 256w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=335,335 335w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=512,512 512w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=640,640 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=854,854 854w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=375,375 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5a2f2361a7ea4307394759e7_The-formation-of-cosmic-structure-is-dependent-on-how-normal-and-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=768,768 768w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.884615384615\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"19\">\n<p>While the web of dark matter (purple, left) might seem to determine cosmic structure formation on its own, the feedback from normal matter (red, at right) can severely impact the formation of structure on galactic and smaller scales. Both dark matter and normal matter, in the right ratios, are required to explain the Universe as we observe it. Structure formation is hierarchical within the Universe, with small star clusters forming first, early protogalaxies and galaxies forming next, followed by galaxy groups and clusters, and lastly by the large-scale cosmic web.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.illustris-project.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: Illustris Collaboraiton\/Illustris Simulation<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>3.) The existence of dark matter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?w=840\" alt=\"10 year timelapse crab nebula\" class=\"wp-image-475961\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif 840w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=20,12 20w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=40,23 40w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=80,45 80w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=160,90 160w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=256,144 256w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=320,180 320w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=480,270 480w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=640,360 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=832,468 832w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=420,236 420w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=495,278 495w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=680,382 680w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/deltef-hartmann.gif?resize=375,211 375w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.8752598752599\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"15\">\n<p>This decade-long timelapse, from 2008 to 2017, shows incredibly detailed features in the gaseous and filamentary structures of the Crab Nebula expanding over time. Over the timescale of this animation, the nebula has further increased in size by about a tenth of a light-year, allowing us to visualize the passage of extremely large timescales in mere instants, and to comprehend the incredible speeds at which material is ejected from a supernova.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.astrobin.com\/full\/327338\/0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: Detlef Hartmann\/Astrobin<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Without dark matter, supernova ejecta would escape their home galaxies.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"959\" height=\"535\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5f56ce6f49043e937d1c3ac0_According-to-models-and-simulations-all-galaxies-should-be-embedded-in-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?w=959\" alt=\"dark matter\" class=\"wp-image-154057\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5f56ce6f49043e937d1c3ac0_According-to-models-and-simulations-all-galaxies-should-be-embedded-in-dark-matter_960x0.jpg 959w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5f56ce6f49043e937d1c3ac0_According-to-models-and-simulations-all-galaxies-should-be-embedded-in-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=20,12 20w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5f56ce6f49043e937d1c3ac0_According-to-models-and-simulations-all-galaxies-should-be-embedded-in-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=40,23 40w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5f56ce6f49043e937d1c3ac0_According-to-models-and-simulations-all-galaxies-should-be-embedded-in-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=80,45 80w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5f56ce6f49043e937d1c3ac0_According-to-models-and-simulations-all-galaxies-should-be-embedded-in-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=160,90 160w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5f56ce6f49043e937d1c3ac0_According-to-models-and-simulations-all-galaxies-should-be-embedded-in-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=256,144 256w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5f56ce6f49043e937d1c3ac0_According-to-models-and-simulations-all-galaxies-should-be-embedded-in-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5f56ce6f49043e937d1c3ac0_According-to-models-and-simulations-all-galaxies-should-be-embedded-in-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=375,209 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5f56ce6f49043e937d1c3ac0_According-to-models-and-simulations-all-galaxies-should-be-embedded-in-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=640,357 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_5f56ce6f49043e937d1c3ac0_According-to-models-and-simulations-all-galaxies-should-be-embedded-in-dark-matter_960x0.jpg?resize=768,428 768w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.860465116279\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"17\">\n<p>According to models and simulations, all galaxies should be embedded in dark matter haloes, whose densities peak at the galactic centers. On long enough timescales, of perhaps a billion years, a single dark matter particle from the outskirts of the halo will complete one orbit. Without a massive dark matter halo, galaxies would be smaller, lower in mass, and unable to hold onto the ejecta from stellar cataclysms.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/hubblesite.org\/contents\/media\/images\/2012\/26\/3053-Image.html?news=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: NASA, ESA, and T. Brown and J. Tumlinson (STScI)<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>This \u201ccosmic glue\u201d holds galaxies together, a necessity for late-generation stars.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1406\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?w=2500\" alt=\"An artistic representation of possible first life in the form of organic molecules near a cosmic object with a stellar background.\" class=\"wp-image-493346\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg 2500w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=2048,1152 2048w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=20,12 20w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=40,23 40w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=80,45 80w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=160,90 160w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=256,144 256w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=832,468 832w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=1200,675 1200w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=1440,810 1440w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=1824,1026 1824w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=420,236 420w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=495,278 495w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=680,382 680w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=854,480 854w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=375,211 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lifepossible.jpg?resize=1280,720 1280w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.381443298969\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"18\">\n<p>This conceptual image shows meteoroids delivering all five of the nucleobases found in life processes to ancient Earth. All the nucleobases used in life processes, A, C, G, T, and U, have now been found in meteorites, along with more than 80 species of amino acids as well: far more than the 22 that are known to be used in life processes here on Earth. Similar processes no doubt happened in stellar systems all throughout most galaxies over the course of cosmic history, bringing the raw ingredients for life to all sorts of young worlds.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2022\/life-blueprint-in-asteroids\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: NASA Goddard\/CI Lab\/Dan Gallagher<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>4.) The excited Hoyle state of carbon<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/tripalpha.jpg?w=960\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-235905\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/tripalpha.jpg 960w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/tripalpha.jpg?resize=375,163 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/tripalpha.jpg?resize=640,277 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/tripalpha.jpg?resize=768,333 768w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.8796992481203\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11\">\n<p>The prediction of the Hoyle State and the discovery of the triple-alpha process is perhaps the most stunningly successful use of anthropic reasoning in scientific history. This process is what explains the creation of the majority of carbon that\u2019s found in our modern-day Universe, and demonstrates that it was created in the process of stellar nucleosynthesis.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/33K76Dg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: E. Siegel\/Beyond the Galaxy<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Inside red giants, three helium atoms undergo carbon fusion.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"907\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/72561-222corotill.webp?w=1280\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-173973\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/72561-222corotill.webp 1280w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/72561-222corotill.webp?resize=375,266 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/72561-222corotill.webp?resize=640,454 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/72561-222corotill.webp?resize=768,544 768w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/72561-222corotill.webp?resize=1024,726 1024w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.865168539326\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"19\">\n<p>When main sequence stars evolve into subgiants, as illustrated here, they get larger, cooler, and much more luminous, as their cores contract and heat up, increasing the rate of fusion but also making the star itself a lot puffier in the process. The subgiant phase ends when, and if, helium fusion begins: where helium atoms fuse into an excited state of carbon in their cores; without this excited state, the production of carbon (and all heavy elements) would be too low to admit life in the Universe.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/appel.nasa.gov\/2016\/10\/25\/kepler-offers-insight-into-mysteries-near-and-far\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: NASA\/Ames\/JPL-Caltech<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/hoyle-state-primordial-nucleus-behind-elements-life\/\">A carbon resonance of just the right mass<\/a> is required <a href=\"https:\/\/physicsworld.com\/a\/carbons-hoyle-state-calculated-at-long-last\/\">to build up life-friendly elements<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_60299d8e5203360173c7f6a6_A-proton-isn-t-just-three-quarks-and-gluons-but-a-sea-of-dense-particles-_960x0.jpg?w=960\" alt=\"proton internal structure\" class=\"wp-image-160612\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_60299d8e5203360173c7f6a6_A-proton-isn-t-just-three-quarks-and-gluons-but-a-sea-of-dense-particles-_960x0.jpg 960w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_60299d8e5203360173c7f6a6_A-proton-isn-t-just-three-quarks-and-gluons-but-a-sea-of-dense-particles-_960x0.jpg?resize=375,281 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_60299d8e5203360173c7f6a6_A-proton-isn-t-just-three-quarks-and-gluons-but-a-sea-of-dense-particles-_960x0.jpg?resize=640,480 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/https___specials-images.forbesimg.com_imageserve_60299d8e5203360173c7f6a6_A-proton-isn-t-just-three-quarks-and-gluons-but-a-sea-of-dense-particles-_960x0.jpg?resize=768,576 768w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"8.3924050632911\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"12\">\n<p>A proton isn\u2019t just three quarks and gluons but a sea of dense particles and antiparticles inside. The more precisely we look at a proton and the greater the energies that we perform deep inelastic scattering experiments at, the more substructure we find inside the proton itself. There appears to be no limit to the density of particles inside, but whether a proton is fundamentally stable or not is an unanswered question.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/news.fnal.gov\/2012\/05\/quarks-and-gluons-and-partons-oh-my\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: Jim Pivarski\/Fermilab\/CMS Collaboration<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>5.) A stable proton<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"955\" height=\"873\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/proton-decay.jpg?w=955\" alt=\"proton decay pathways\" class=\"wp-image-425589\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/proton-decay.jpg 955w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/proton-decay.jpg?resize=375,343 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/proton-decay.jpg?resize=640,585 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/proton-decay.jpg?resize=768,702 768w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.8592375366569\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11\">\n<p>Two possible pathways for proton decay are spelled out in terms of the transformations of its fundamental constituent particles. These processes have never been observed, but are theoretically permitted in many extensions of the Standard Model, such as SU(5) Grand Unification Theories.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/iopscience.iop.org\/article\/10.1088\/0034-4885\/59\/7\/001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: J. Lopez, Reports on Progress in Physics, 1996<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In theory, protons can decay to mesons plus leptons.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png?w=1024\" alt=\"grand unified theory\" class=\"wp-image-166870\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png 1024w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png?resize=20,20 20w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png?resize=40,40 40w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png?resize=160,160 160w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png?resize=256,256 256w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png?resize=335,335 335w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png?resize=512,512 512w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png?resize=640,640 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png?resize=854,854 854w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png?resize=375,375 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1024px-Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg.png?resize=768,768 768w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.371508379888\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"18\">\n<p>The particle content of the hypothetical grand unified group SU(5), which contains the entirety of the Standard Model plus additional particles. In particular, there are a series of (necessarily superheavy) bosons, labeled \u201cX\u201d in this diagram, that contain both properties of quarks and leptons, together, and would cause the proton to be fundamentally unstable. Their absence, and the proton\u2019s observed stability, provide strong evidence against the validity of this theory in a scientific sense.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Georgi-Glashow_charges.svg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: Cjean42\/Wikimedia Commons<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>If these decays occurred too easily, normal matter would be unstable.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1792\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SSS_PC_full-c4.jpg?w=1792\" alt=\"borexino\" class=\"wp-image-370309\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SSS_PC_full-c4.jpg 1792w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SSS_PC_full-c4.jpg?resize=1536,1029 1536w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SSS_PC_full-c4.jpg?resize=20,12 20w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SSS_PC_full-c4.jpg?resize=375,251 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SSS_PC_full-c4.jpg?resize=640,429 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SSS_PC_full-c4.jpg?resize=768,514 768w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SSS_PC_full-c4.jpg?resize=1024,686 1024w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SSS_PC_full-c4.jpg?resize=1280,857 1280w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.889632107023\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"17\">\n<p>Neutrino detectors, like the one used in the BOREXINO collaboration here, generally have an enormous tank that serves as the target for the experiment, where a neutrino interaction will produce fast-moving charged particles that can then be detected by the surrounding photomultiplier tubes at the ends. These experiments are all sensitive to proton decays as well, and the lack of observed proton decay in BOREXINO, SNOLAB, Kamiokande (and successors) and others have placed very tight constraints on proton decay, as well as very long lifetimes for the proton.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/borex.lngs.infn.it\/opendata\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: INFN\/Borexino Collaboration<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The proton\u2019s stability, still unexplained, enables all cosmic life.<\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ????><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1008\" height=\"775\" src=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/peptide-coevolution.jpg?w=1008\" alt=\"peptide coevolution\" class=\"wp-image-185518\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, (max-width: 1280px) 60vw, (max-width: 1536px) 46vw, 710px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/peptide-coevolution.jpg 1008w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/peptide-coevolution.jpg?resize=375,288 375w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/peptide-coevolution.jpg?resize=640,492 640w, https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/peptide-coevolution.jpg?resize=768,590 768w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.40694239291\">\n<div class=\"img-caption__desc\" wp_automatic_readability=\"16\">\n<p>If life began with a random peptide that could metabolize nutrients\/energy from its environment, replication could then ensue from peptide-nucleic acid coevolution. Here, DNA-peptide coevolution is illustrated, but it could work with RNA or even PNA as the nucleic acid instead. Asserting that a \u201cdivine spark\u201d is needed for life to arise is a classic \u201cGod-of-the-gaps\u201d argument, but asserting that we know exactly how life arose from non-life is also a fallacy. These conditions, including rocky planets with these molecules present on their surfaces, likely existed within the first 1-2 billion years of the Big Bang.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1002\/chem.201800500\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit<\/a>: A. Chotera et al., Chemistry Europe, 2018<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><em>Mostly Mute Monday tells an astronomical story in images, visuals, and no more than 200 words.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"bt-block bt-block--margin-exclude bt-inp mb-8\">\n<div class=\"bg-gray-100 dark:bg-gray-800 text-black dark:text-white p-5 lg:p-6 xl:p-7 2xl:p-8\" wp_automatic_readability=\"32\">\n<div class=\"mb-3.5\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9\">\n<p>\n                    Sign up for the Starts With a Bang newsletter                <\/p>\n<p>\n                    Travel the universe with Dr. Ethan Siegel as he answers the biggest questions of all                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n                    <noscript class=\"ninja-forms-noscript-message\"><br \/>\n\tNotice: JavaScript is required for this content.<\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>        <!-- That data is being printed as a workaround to page builders reordering the order of the scripts loaded--><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/starts-with-a-bang\/5-coincidences-make-existence-possible\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sign up for the Starts With a Bang newsletter Travel the universe with Dr. Ethan Siegel as he answers the biggest questions of all Notice: JavaScript is required for this &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=127341\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8628],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127341\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}