The Laws of Conservation and How They Connect Us to the Universe

New Scientist

The poetically minded will sometimes refer to humanity as being made of “star stuff” to give some higher, grander description to our existence. No, we aren’t just a bunch of intelligent animals bickering with each other as we try to see who can destroy the world first as we’re flying through the vast emptiness of space. We’re special, made up of the ingredients that shape a cosmos far beyond our comprehension. We’re more than what we actually are.

And in a literal sense, that’s true. The elements and atoms that make up our bodies can all trace their origins to cosmic dust and the Big Bang. Stars create all of the periodic elements that comprise the universe.

But perhaps a better approach would be to point out that we carry on the very life of stars within ourselves, not just fragments and unintended runoff from the burning of their cores. Because due to the laws of conservation, the universe’s energy continues within us. The same energy that fueled a massive star is flowing through our veins. And this energy was intentional, created by the stars to live, just as we depend on it now. The elements that make us up? The stars don’t really need them, other than hydrogen and helium. Just happy accidents that made it possible for us to exist.