The resonance underpinning our existence
We are carbon-based.
That carbon was produced largely in the interiors of stars through a
process in which three helium nuclei (alpha particles) fuse together
to form a single carbon nucleus. This process is intrinsically
unlikely (because it depends on
three alpha particles being in
the same spot at the same time). But it happens. The reason it does is
that the helium atoms bring just the right energy to match one of the
energies which a carbon nucleus is allowed to have (according to the
rules of quantum physics): the matching of the energies (like the
matching of frequencies we have discussed) is a form of resonance.
This resonance (associated with the name of Fred Hoyle, right) is one we
should be glad of: we would not be here without it. That it happens seems
something of a miracle which features frequently in discussions of
the Anthropic Principle. | |