Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: Karen W. on 29/03/2011 14:43:29

Title: When I die, where will the energy and atoms that are ME go?
Post by: Karen W. on 29/03/2011 14:43:29

Well, will they be absorbed or re-introduced into the environment or what? Could someone explain?

Title: Re: When I die, where will the energy and atoms that are ME go?
Post by: JMLCarter on 10/04/2011 23:14:12

What science knows is that the matter from which you are made will return to the earth if you are buried or mostly to the atmosphere if you are cremated.

Science has no evidence of is whether there is anything else going on. History show us that new discoveries are still relatively frequent and we cannot support the arrogant position of assuming that science tells us everything at the current time.

Title: Re: When I die, where will the energy and atoms that are ME go?
Post by: Karen W. on 19/04/2011 07:50:18

Thank you for taking time out to answer my odd question...Always room for growing and learning new things..Thanks again.

Title: When I die, where will the energy and atoms that are ME go?
Post by: chris on 19/04/2011 09:28:02

As alluded above, Karen, you, meaning the chemicals and chemical potential energy you contain, will be recycled into the environment; assuming you are interred (rather than cremated), natural processes - largely microbially-led - will break you down, returning the chemical components into the soil and atmosphere; that is, your carbon-based contents will largely become carbon dioxide, your nitrogen-containing molecules will become the amino acids and proteins in the decomposing microbes and then the larger organisms that eat them, and your phosphorus will become the nucleic acids of the same. The thermal energy will dissipate into the surroundings.

Chris