Do the dynamics of atoms and their properties hold true across the universe?
In: Chemistry
Who is to say atoms on earth are the same? Just all the ones we have measured have been the same, and so we draw a natural conclusion that they all must be the same.
We don’t hold it true to be an undeniable fact. We will question anytime something would change if it does, but it hasn’t yet. That is science. We change our understanding due to observations.
Most objects we have tested have been the same. We have tested hige pressures, zero pressures, high and low temperatures. All of these are typical variables in space. Radiation levels, etc. What we do not account for is things like dark matter as this is still an uncertain topic, and other things closer to quantum physics. I am severely uninformed about this myself, but I hope to spend some weeks or months to get as up to date with developments as I can grasp myself.
But we can only test what condotions we can create. And even creating them through artificial means may not create natural universe conditions precisely. But what we have tested all come out to be the same. And we see no signs of an altering of morphology of atoms through these conditions outside of the realm of possibility of what we currently understand.
So yes, for now, we understand it to be a nucleus of an atom, and electrons of an atom, all adhere to specific conditions no matter where in the universe you are. A hydrogen atom will always absorb energy similarly and emit energy similarly throughout the universe, and we can detect it and understand it to have hydrogen properties no matter where in the universe the hydrogen atom is.
That we know of, of course. Who knows, maybe there has been a recent paper which observes some changes, or may be one in the future with better instruments to observe atoms closer and closer to a black hole, or what happens to atoms during a nova. Who knows.
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