For a long time the Big Bang theory had one gaping hole that troubled a lot of people—namely, that it couldn’t begin to explain how we got here. Although 98 per cent of all the matter that exists was created with the Big Bang, that matter consisted exclusively of light gases: the helium, hydrogen and lithium that we mentioned earlier. Not one particle of the heavy stuff so vital to our own being—carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and all the rest—emerged from the gaseous brew of creation. But—and here’s the troubling point—to forge these heavy elements, you need the kind of heat and energy thrown off by
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