Message #49639

[Industria]

Requirement 3: Strong Nuclear Force

The force that binds the particles of the atomic nucleus together is called the strong nuclear force. If the strong nuclear force were only about three percent stronger, then all the hydrogen in the universe would have long since been transformed into helium! Such an increased force would cause two protons to form a helium nucleus lacking a neutron (diproton). Since the strong nuclear force is not quite strong enough to bring about this reaction, we have hydrogen in abundance, so vital for an environment favorable for life—providing for water, and energy for the sun. Stars fueled exclusively by helium would be relatively short-lived, and may even explode during their formation process.

If the strong nuclear force were about five percent stronger, diprotons would form in the sun’s core, making the thermonuclear reactions many millions of times more efficient. This would cause its thermonuclear fuel to be used up in a short span of time, relatively speaking.

Now suppose the strong nuclear force was reduced to a hundredth of its normal strength—then what? Protons would repel each other in the nucleus. Hence, no elements could exist other than hydrogen, which has only one proton!

Now suppose that the strong nuclear force was reduced by one-third of its normal capacity. In such a case, there could exist a number of elements. All these elements, including carbon and oxygen, would be unstable, with relatively short lifetimes. If planets existed under such conditions, they would be extremely radioactive due to the continuous decay of unstable elements.

If the strong nuclear force were reduced by only five percent, then deuterons could not exist. Remember that deuterons are crucial for the sustained nuclear reaction of the sun. The strong nuclear force, as the other requirements thus covered, has to fall within a relatively narrow range in order for a favorably balanced universe to sustain life.

Again, what is the probability that the universe came into existence by random chance?

Stop and think about the careful creative forethought that has to precede even the existence of matter, since blind chance could never have come up with the exact combination of such infinite possibilities.