One Hour Of Mind-Blowing Mysteries Of The Atom | Full Documentary

byproducts, which are known for their unpleasant odors and are also potent greenhouse gases. Finally, these substances leave the body and enter the atmosphere. So, when you go outside and detect an unusual smell in the air, there's a chance you're inhaling

atom

s coming from your great-grandmother. The extra

atom

s and molecules within your body are released as nutrients into the underlying soil. For every kilogram of dry body mass, about 32 grams of nitrogen, 10 grams of phosphorus, 4 grams of potassium and one gram of magnesium are ultimately added to the soil. Interestingly, these components serve as fertilizers for plants in the vicinity of the burial site.

Overall, the decomposition process plays a positive role in the surrounding ecosystem. Now, let's consider cremation. What happens after your body undergoes cremation? Most of the atoms in your body—hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur—turn into gases due to the intense heat of the cremation process. These gases are released into the atmosphere in the form of water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. However, it should be noted that a significant part of his remains, several kilograms, take the form of ashes after cremation. Interestingly, the weight of these ashes is approximately equivalent to birth weight, showing the cyclical nature of life.

So what is the composition of these ashes? An analysis reveals that phosphate and calcium make up the majority of these ashes, which is understandable since these elements form the structure of bones. Consequently, these atoms originate mainly from its skeletal structure. What will become of these ashes? Over time they will likely find their way into the soil and integrate into the structure of the plants. These plants can subsequently serve as food for animals and humans, ultimately returning the remains of their existence to human bodies. Little pieces of you could end up in your great-grandchildren's morning cereal or hamburger, allowing you to persist in supporting life on our planet.

However, there is one notable exception:   its body contains traces of radioactive elements. Some of these elements will undergo spontaneous fission through radioactive decay, transforming into other elements before entering the biosphere. For example, radioactive potassium can be converted to calcium, while minute amounts of thorium and uranium within the body will eventually be converted to lead. In addition to this decomposition process, certain helium atoms will also be generated due to the insufficient gravitational force on our planet. Helium tends to escape into space, while a fraction of this helium can be captured by massive bodies such as the Sun and Jupiter.

Some will venture beyond the solar system, moving towards the stars and the cosmos. Consequently, certain atoms of your composition are destined for an extraordinary journey, traversing indefinitely the farthest reaches of the universe until the end of time. Do atoms last forever? Although life on Earth may seem fairly constant and predictable, with the ebb and flow of the tides, the daily cycle of the sun, and the immutable progression of the months, when we consider the bigger picture, our universe is actually

full

of dynamic change. and activity. Every day, millions of stars are born and die, and eventually the same fate awaits our Sun billions of years from now.

As our star begins to become a red giant, temperatures on Earth will rise, leading to the extinction of life. Only a few billion years after that, once the Sun exhausts its nuclear fusion fuel, its death throes will begin. During this process, it will shed its outer layers and eventually fade into darkness. Nothing in our universe is truly eternal. Or is that it? Atoms are the fundamental components of matter and make up our universe as we know it. When we die, our bodies don't just disappear. Instead, they break down into their constituent parts and become part of the ecosystem again.

In essence, our atoms continue to exist long after we are gone. But how long can atoms last? Will they eventually cease to exist? To answer this question, we need to understand a little about how atoms work. As you know, atoms are made up of protons and neutrons surrounded by a cloud of electrons. The number of electrons in the cloud is equal to the number of protons, which contributes to stability. Ultimately, the number of protons determines the atomic number. For example, helium has two protons, giving it an atomic number of two, and it appears as the second element on the periodic table of elements.

The number of neutrons in an atom is usually constant, but not always. Sometimes, if an atom doesn't have the right number of neutrons, it can lose a neutron, similar to losing a sock when washing it. When this occurs, the atom becomes unstable and, in an effort to stabilize, emits subatomic particles. Often the atom will release an electron. This is how atoms undergo changes. Whenever you have a heavy atom, there is a chance that it will start to spontaneously break down into smaller particles. This process is known as radioactive decay. It is a fundamentally random process, meaning we cannot accurately predict when a decay will occur or when a subatomic particle will be emitted.

However, we can analyze the pattern statistically and estimate the average time it takes for half of the atoms in a sample to decay, called the half-life. Because atoms have a finite number of protons and neutrons, they generally emit particles until they reach a point where their half-life is so long that they are effectively stable. For example, bismuth-209 is believed to have the longest decay rate. It undergoes alpha decay and its half-life is a billion times longer than the current estimated age of the universe. Therefore, for all practical purposes, bismuth-209 is considered almost eternal. However, true eternal life would depend on whether the protons can decay.

Some scientists have proposed hypotheses related to this, known as proton decay, a hypothetical form of radioactive decay. According to one idea, the Georgi-Glashow model, protons can become a positron and a neutral pion, which then decay into two gamma-ray photons. The estimated half-life of protons in this model is 1.29 times 10 to the power of 34 years. This is an extremely long time. However, there is currently no experimental evidence confirming proton decay. However, ongoing research in some of the world's leading laboratories may, with luck and scientific rigor, reveal new insights in the future.