Elemental Musings

Some thoughts about the real source of energy and power

thunder and lightning display the tremendous power of electricity from charged particles

I usually wake up shortly after 5, but don’t want to get up till 6. So I lay there, too awake to go back to sleep, and my mind starts rolling. Today, instead of mundane thoughts about things that needed doing today, I started thinking about some very elemental things.

Hydrogen is the ‘first’ element. It has one proton in its nucleus and one spinning, circulating, negatively charged electron. Moving electrons create a magnetic field. When directed and controlled, electrons in motion are the basis of electric power. Forget about the mysteries of electron orbits, their quantum levels, and subatomic particles – let’s keep it simple.

If two hydrogen atoms are chemically bonded together, we have H2, a hydrogen gas molecule.

(They really ‘want’ to get together – a hydrogen atom, with one proton and one electron, can bond very strongly with other elements. This is why it is not economical to produce hydrogen for fuel – it takes too much energy to separate hydrogen from water (H20) or methane (CH4.)

Helium, the second element, has 2 protons and 2 neutrons in the nucleus, surrounded by 2 electrons.

Problem: electromagnetic force. Protons have a ‘positive’ magnetic charge. A positive charge will attract a negative charge, but it will repel another positive charge. It so happens that holding protons together in the nucleus of an atom takes an awesome amount of force. Just try touching two household magnets together, N pole to N pole, or S pole to S pole, and you’ll get the idea. The closer you bring them, the harder it is to get any closer. It’s almost impossible to actually hold them together.

I can observe magnetism in action, and describe it, but I don’t really understand it. Gravity is a similar mystery. I know what it is, but I don’t understand it. If you asked me why gravity exists, where it came from, or how an invisible force field can travel through space, I would be at a loss to explain it. All we can do is describe what we observe. Gravity, we can say, is the attraction, or pull, of two ‘masses’ on each other, and like magnets, the pull varies with distance. This invisible force carries through millions of miles of space, if the masses are large enough. Gravity holds the planets in orbit around the sun. It’s similar to magnetism, but different from the attraction or repulsion of electricly charged particles. The force of repulsion of two positively charged particles is orders of magnitude stronger than the attraction of gravity.

Question: If it’s that hard to hold protons together, how did the elements ever form?

For example, how can oxygen have 8 protons in its nucleus? Why don’t they fly apart? What about carbon, with 12 protons?

(The reason I mention hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, is because they are of such biological importance. From them we get Carb-O-Hydrates.)

It takes an awesome amount of energy and power to hold all the atoms in the universe together. Where did that energy come from?

I love Colossians 1:16-17: “For by Him all things were created, ..visible and invisible,..He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

God is the source of all energy and power. Not only that, but His power is far beyond our imagination. The bible says He created the heavens and the earth and everything in it, simply by speaking. He spoke, and it happened. It’s the same with prophecy. He speaks, and it’s as good as done – in His perfect timing.

“God said “Let there be light”; and there was light.” Gen.1:3

Which brings up another subject. What is light? In physics class, I learned it’s an electromagnetic wave of energy. The frequency and wavelength determine the colors we see. With shorter wavelengths, like ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays, we can’t see the waves; nor can we see the longer wavelengths, like infrared or microwaves or radio waves.

Question: Is light a wave or is it particles?

In a class on quantum mechanics, I was taught that light not only is made of particles called photons, but that the particles could be in two places at once! It sounded crazy to me, and still does. I don’t understand it.

Ai: “Quantum light particles, or photons, are the fundamental particles of electromagnetic radiation. They are massless particles that carry energy and momentum, exhibiting both wave-like and particle-like properties. Einstein's theory of light quanta, also known as the photoelectric effect, explains that light's energy is quantized, meaning it exists in discrete packets called photons.”

Question: Where does this ‘light’ energy come from? Why and how does it travel through space at 670,616,629 mph, or 186,282 miles per second? Why is its speed a constant? Physics can’t explain its origin; it can only observe and describe its characteristics.

For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:27

More next week…