V
Villan Of The North
Guest
No need to define what an isotope is or indeed what an unstable isotope is, I'm no chemistry/physics geek but I have a reasonable basic knowledge.
My question concerns the source of unstable isotopes. As we know, nature always tries to find the balance or neutral point and the condition of unstable isotopes is no exception, an isotope is unstable because it is in imbalance. The decay of an isotope is "its attempts" (as if it can decide for itself :17: ) to attain balance of forces/energies. Given this fact, ultimately there should be no unstable isotopes at some point in the (very very very distant) future as all unstable isotope will decay (perhaps several times through several different states) into stable isotopes.
The implication of this is that the natural state (natural in terms of physics, not in terms of what actually occurs in nature) of all isotopes is stable............so where did/do the unstable isotopes come from?
Ok, so we can manufacture unstable isotopes but they are in tiny quantities compared to what is out there. And yes, I am aware that radiation from the Sun (another result of unstable isotopes) can create unstable isotopes as evidenced in analysis of moon rocks however our atmosphere and magnetic poles protect the earth from this radiation. Besides, in a way all this is doing is passing on the instability from the reactions in the Sun on to other isotopes found on, amongst other places, the Moon so all it's really doing is prolonging the process or rather extending the time frame until all isotopes are stable (I'm aware that we are talking about billions of years here)
I wonder if unstable isotopes are a left over from or even a continuation of the Big Bang (or what ever other process started the whole affair) Could they be a continuing part of the Big Bang, like a ripple effect or a process that started then but is still incomplete? When something is not in its natural state there has to be a reason for it, are unstable isotopes just a part of the creation process that is, so far, incomplete or is there some other force creating this instability, changing energy levels within atoms? Could it have anything to do with the vast unaccounted for mass and energy of the universe known as "dark"?
I have no idea but it would be interesting to read others' thoughts on this.
My question concerns the source of unstable isotopes. As we know, nature always tries to find the balance or neutral point and the condition of unstable isotopes is no exception, an isotope is unstable because it is in imbalance. The decay of an isotope is "its attempts" (as if it can decide for itself :17: ) to attain balance of forces/energies. Given this fact, ultimately there should be no unstable isotopes at some point in the (very very very distant) future as all unstable isotope will decay (perhaps several times through several different states) into stable isotopes.
The implication of this is that the natural state (natural in terms of physics, not in terms of what actually occurs in nature) of all isotopes is stable............so where did/do the unstable isotopes come from?
Ok, so we can manufacture unstable isotopes but they are in tiny quantities compared to what is out there. And yes, I am aware that radiation from the Sun (another result of unstable isotopes) can create unstable isotopes as evidenced in analysis of moon rocks however our atmosphere and magnetic poles protect the earth from this radiation. Besides, in a way all this is doing is passing on the instability from the reactions in the Sun on to other isotopes found on, amongst other places, the Moon so all it's really doing is prolonging the process or rather extending the time frame until all isotopes are stable (I'm aware that we are talking about billions of years here)
I wonder if unstable isotopes are a left over from or even a continuation of the Big Bang (or what ever other process started the whole affair) Could they be a continuing part of the Big Bang, like a ripple effect or a process that started then but is still incomplete? When something is not in its natural state there has to be a reason for it, are unstable isotopes just a part of the creation process that is, so far, incomplete or is there some other force creating this instability, changing energy levels within atoms? Could it have anything to do with the vast unaccounted for mass and energy of the universe known as "dark"?
I have no idea but it would be interesting to read others' thoughts on this.
