JuliaRushton

EnvironmentalChemistry
3/2/16

You.
Howdidyougethere?Howdideverythingyouvecometoknowandcherishgethere?Of
course,onecantracetheirgenealogybackgenerations,butthatwontbringthemtoa
consensusonthequestion.Howdidwe,asalifeform,gethere?Whathadtohappeninorder
forlifetobegininitssimplestforms?Thisquestionhasgoneunansweredforcenturies.One
couldsaythatitallbeganwhenGodsaidWhynot?,othersmightsaythatitwasformedonthe
backofaturtleandothersstillmightsaythatitalwayshasanditalwayswillbe.Evenafterall
theseanswers,thereisstillnoproventheoryonhowit

cameintoexistence.Thencomesthe
science.
LetusassumethatyouhaveheardsomethingontheBigBang,thatyouknowhowand
whenitstarted,theoreticallyspeaking,andwhatdominoedafterit.Thisisthetheorythathas
themostevidencebaseduponit.Oneofthefactsthatbackupthisisthat,yes,theuniverseis
expandingoutwardsindifferentlyandweknowthisbecauseofredshiftwhichisbasicallywhen
lightshiftsfarthertotheredsectionofthespectrum,signifyingthatobjectsaremovingaway
fromus.Anotherfactiscosmicmicrowavebackgroundradiation.Toimaginethis,picturethe
inneredgeofaballoonthat,veryslowlyandsteadily,isbeingfilledwithair.Thisissignificant
sincetheBigBangstatesthattheuniversebeganfromapointandexpandedrapidlyinall
directions.Thisintenseheatandpressurewouldleavesometraceandmostdefinitelystillhave
somemomentum.HereiswhereCMBR(CosmicMicrowaveBackgroundRadiation)comesinto
play.
Forthoseofyouthatreallyhavenoideaonwhathappenedintheconceptionofthe
universe,hereisabriefexplanationontheveryearlystagesofit.TheBigBanghappenedina
splitsecond,causedbyinflationwhichiswhenspaceisfilledwithenergy.Thisiswhenallthe
Hydrogeninouruniversewascreated.OnemillionthofasecondaftertheBigBang,the
expansionoftheuniversebeginstoslowdown,creatinggravityandthestrongforce.Protons
andNeutronsarenowformed.Afterthreeseconds,ProtonsandNeutronscometogetherto
createnucleiofsimpleelementssuchashydrogen,heliumandlithium.Itlltakeanother
300,000yearsforelectronstobecapturedintheirorbit.
10,000yearsaftertheBigBangiswhendifferentwavelengthsoflight,suchasxrays,
radiowaves,andultravioletrayswereformed.Thesewavesarestretchedanddiluteduntil
today,theymakeupthefaintglowofmicrowaveswhichbathetheentireuniverse.300,000
yearsaftertheBigBang,neutralatomsareformedaselectronslinkwithhydrogenandhelium
nuclei.CMBRbeginsfromthismoment,givingusapictureofhowtheuniversesmatterwas
distributedatthistime.
Now,allofthisisveryinterestingandcrucialtoonesunderstand,butitsnotexactly
answeringthekeyquestionthatwasproposed.Toanswerthis,thestarsmustbeborn.
300millionyearsaftertheBigBang,gravityamplifiesslightirregularitiesinthedensityof
primordialgas.Theuniversecontinuestoexpandrapidly,butpocketsofgasbecomemoreand
moredense.Themostabundantelementsbegintoassembleintomolecules,simpleoneslike

water(H
O)andmorecomplexoneslikethesugarglycolaldehyde(C
H
O
).Starsignitein
2
2
4
2
thesepockets,andgroupsofthesestarsbecomethefirstgalaxies.Thelargestobjectsindust
cloudswouldtakeinsmallerobjectsduetotheirgravitationalpull.Gravitywouldbegintotakein
dustandgascontainingelementssuitableforthebirthofastar.Theearlyuniversewasfilled
withlargestars,lastingonlyabillionyearsandcreatingasupernovawhenitdied.These
graveyardswouldalsobethenurseryforotherstars.
Beforethedeathofthestar,itmustgothroughitslifecycle,whichbeginswithfusion.
Fusioninthecoreofastarproduceshydrogenandthatthentoheliumthengoesontofuseinto
heavierelements.Largestarsfuseallthewayuptoiron,themoststablenucleusandreleases
noenergy.Beforethisstage,carbonfusesintoneonat1,080milldegreesF,oxygentosilicon
at2,700milldegreesFandsilicontoironat7,200milldegreesF.Theselargestarsbecome
likeanonion,withdifferentelementsbeingfusedindifferentlayersandatdifferent
temperatures.Largestarscanalsoproduceelementsheavierthanironbyneutroncapture.
LargeStarsturntoRedGiantswhichthenturntosupernovaeswhentheyimplodeon
themselveswhentheircorebecomestoodense.Theelementsgetspreadviasolarwinds,but
alsofromtheexplosion.
However,inorderforustobecreated,thesefirstgenerationstarsmusthavediedin
intensiveandexplosiveways,formingsupernovas.Supernovasgiveoffthemostelementsofa
celestialevent,givingoffabouthalfoftheentireperiodictable.Hereiswheretheearthgotits
aluminium,nickelandmanyothersandhowitgottheelementscreatedinlargestars.These
elementshadtobecarriedthroughoutspacetoothercornersoftheuniversebycosmicrays,
whichoriginatefromtheshockwavesofsupernovas.Theycarryparticlesfromtheexplosion
thoughspace,travelingalmostasfastasthespeedoflight.Theseraystransportlithium,
berylliumandboronandalsopickupparticlesastheymovethroughouttheuniverse.
Theseexplosionsenabledthepossibilityofasecondgenerationofstarstoform,likeour
sun.TheSunwasformedoverfivebillionyearsago,similartotheprocessthatwasdescribed
earlier.Everysecond,thesunconvertsabout500milliontonsofhydrogenintohelium.Dueto
itsgravitationalpull,startedtogatherobjectsaroundit,includinglargedustcloudsand
asteroids.Thesetogetherformedprotoplanetsandoneofthosewasourbelovedearth.
Thisearthwascompletelycoveredinmoltenrockandunderconstantbombardmentby
cometsandspacedebris.Theatmospherewascomposedofsulphurdioxide,nitrousoxide,
methaneandammonia.Thisissimilartothegasthatvolcanoesreleasewhentheyexplode.
Themoltenrockbegantocooland,alittleafterthis,ainundationofasteroidshitearthand
theseheldparticlestotheessenceofalllifeitself.Water.These,includingcomets,hitearthfor
millionsofyears,buildingupenoughwatertocovertheearthinavastocean.
DeepinsideEarth,nearitscenter,liesEarth'scorewhichismostlymadeupofnickel
andiron.AbovethecoreisEarth'smantle,whichismadeupofrockcontainingsilicon,iron,
magnesium,aluminum,oxygen.Toreiterate,alloftheseelementswereformedbyeitherstars
orstarsexplodingintosupernovas.Theseparticleswerethencarriedthroughouttheuniverseto
eventuallyfindthemselvesinaverymassivedustcloud,avastdiskofgasanddebristhat
swirledaroundoursun,givingbirthtoplanets,moons,andasteroids.Withallthissaidand
done,itisblatantlyobviousthatweare,andeverythingthatweknowandloveis,nothingmore
thanstardust.Onecanarguethatwewerecreated200,000yearsago,orwiththecreationof

bacteria,orwiththecreationoflargestars,orevenwiththeBigBangitself.Allofthesearetrue
intheirownrespects,forwithoutanyofthesestagesinhistory,wewouldntbehere.You
wouldntbehere.
Theuniverseiseverythingthatisaroundus,thatisinus,thatisoutsideofourplanet,
solarsystem,galaxy.Theuniverseisbothinsideofusandwearealsoinsideofit.Thesame
atomsthatcomposeeverythingelse,makeupus.Youwerecarriedoncosmicraystraveling
almostasfastasthespeedoflight,youoriginatedfromastar,fromthefirstgenerationof
celestialbodies.Theelementsthatareinsideofyouhavebeenhereforbillionsofyears,only
evolvingtofitthenextissueathand.