{Fundamental Forces [continued(7)]}[22nd October 1979]

[Redbook2:159H][19791022:2255b]{Fundamental Forces [continued(7)]}[22nd October 1979]

19791022.2255

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Then again: 'This form of matter, however, with its multitude of shapes and textures and its complicated molecular architecture, can exist only under very special conditions, when the temperature is not too high, so that the molecules do not jiggle too much. When the thermal energy increases about a hundredfold, as it does in most stars, all atomic and molecular structures are destroyed. Most of the matter in the Universe exists, in fact, in a state which is very different from the one just described. In the centre of the stars exist large accumulations of nuclear matter, and nuclear processes which occur only very rarely on earth predominate there. They are essential for the great variety of stellar phenomena observed in astronomy, most of which arise from a combination of nuclear and gravitational effects.' (Capra). So who is at work there?*

*See [entry after next].

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