“In reality, nothing but atoms and the void.”
Introduction
The perspective that the morphology of the atom is similar in many ways to the structure of the solar system was proposed by Niels Bohr in 1915 and has become known as the “planetary model” of the atom. The atom has a central body, the nucleus, around which the electrons orbit. The central body of the solar system is the sun and it has 9 planets that orbit around it. While physicists debate about the strict accuracy of the proposal, they agree that the perception is approximately correct. It is a profound thought to imagine that one of the smallest structures that our mind can perceive, has morphological similarity to one of the largest structures we can perceive, leaving us to wonder about an order in the universe of recurring units, and the presence of uniformity.
The Atom Below and the Solar System Above Showing a Remarkable Similarity
Biology Lies In Between. How does it Fit?
The atom with a central nucleus and surrounding orbits of electrons has a remarkable similarity to the makeup of the solar system with the sun as the central nucleus around which the planets orbit resulting in one unified structure. Biology lies somewhere in between and our quest is to find out how this may have happened.
Copyright 2012 Courtesy Ashley Davidoff MD 45826b04.800
How May Biology Fit into this Common Morphology?
If we extrapolate the principle that in both the atom and the solar system, a central controlling body is surrounded and is bound by forces to structures that surround it, in the case of the atom, a central nucleus “controls” the structure by its fixed atomic number and connects with the orbiting electrons by electrostattic forces thus holding it together as a unit. In the case of the sun , it “controls” the structural order of the solar system by gravitational forces which hold that system intact as a unit.
We have insight into the inner workings of the cells through direct observation with electron micrsocopy Could we for example perceive the nucleus as the central “controlling” structure around which the organelles “orbit” ? Could the endoplasmic reticulum be perceived as an evolved series of orbits where the power and forces of the central body are executed through the endoplasmic reticulum in order to keep the whole unit together?
The Nucleus of the Cell and the Surrounding Endoplasmic Reticulum
This image shows the centrallly positioned nucleus surrounded by the endoplasmic reticulum which acts as a liason between the nucleus and the cytoplasm and connects the nucleus with the cytoplasm and cytoplasmic organelles while holding the functionality of the cell intact. The membrane of the cell assists in holding the structure together as a unit, while acting as a conduit which allows interchange with other cells.
Courtesy Ashley Davidoff copyright 2012 108275b04.75bk01b.8s
For life we need water heat and electromagnetism. Without electromagnetism we cannot think, move body parts, or have our heart pump.
References
Hawking Stephen The illustrated A Brief History of Time A Bantam Book 1996