expired atoms

[Bungielad]

Hi all,

Was just wondering if particles,atoms, molecules actually have an expiry date?

E.g....when we die do the atoms that make up our body die with us or do they transform into something else and carry on somewhere else?

If our skin cells die all the time and then we grow new cells, what happens to the particles that made up our dead cells?

Bungielad.

[Macavity]

In the everyday experience, aside from elements that undergo radioactive decay, (most) atoms are stable. YOU will ultimately decay into simpler molecules - Destined to be be completely "recycled"! It is anecdotal that every breath you take contains a few atoms of Julius Caesars dying gasp. Of course, this assumes the atmosphere was completely mixed since Roman times, but illustrates the sort of numbers involved. Each breath you take contains ~10^23 atoms!

On a cosmological scale matter is consumed by Black Holes, but a lot of "stuff" will escape. However, in certain *Grand Unified Theories*, the Proton (Neutrons) in the Nuclei have a finite, theoretical (very long) lifetime. To date, the so called "proton-decay" experiments have placed an experimental limit of this as greater than 10^34 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_decay

In all the above 10^n means 10 followed by "n" noughts. So all these numbers / timescales are truly HUGE. Such may be the ultimate fate of the universe, (all nuclei / atoms will decay into lighter particles, electrons, photons etc.) but this is certainly all a very LOOOOOONG way off.

P.S. A large proportion of the stuff vacuumed up is (your / human) dead skin cells (CAT hair here!) etc. etc.

[ollypenrice]

Heh heh, think of Shakespeare's Hamlet when he stumbles upon the dead court jester's skull. He says to his friend that we might, therefore, find Alexander the Great 'Stopping a bung-hole.'

We have it all to come!!!

   lly

[Macavity]

Excellent!

"Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes...". Since then, I had been thinking:

Then us'll ha' to bury thee

Then t'worms'll come an` eyt thee up

Then t'ducks'll come an` eyt up t'worms

Then us'll go an` eyt up t'ducks

Then us'll all ha' etten thee

That's wheear we get us ooan back

But wanted to avoid overt religious references... As in "Being from Yorkshire"!

(Just a onetime Shropshire Lad a-teasing)

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Most of the atoms that make up our bodies are replaced every few years. Some of our cells live for years, or even an entire lifetime, while others are broken down after only a few days. However, even long-lived cells are involved in processes that constantly replace many of their constituent parts.

We tend to think of ourselves as entities, but it's more accurate to consider life as a process.