But when the temperature dropped below 3000 K, the rapidly moving electrons and nuclei slowed sufficiently to amalgamate into atoms; electrons were captured by the atomic nuclei and drawn into orbit. This was a key transformation. Because protons and electrons have equal but opposite charges, their atomic unions are electrically neutral. And since a plasma of electrically neutral composites allows photons to slip through like a hot knife through butter, the formation of atoms allowed the cosmic fog to clear and the luminous echo of the big bang to be released. The primordial photons have been
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