The Molecular or Galactic Epoch

That future Complexification was realized when molecules began to form. Aside from all the amazing properties atoms contain by simply changing the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons they have, Q4P also gave them another trick up their sleeve: The ability to combine into molecules.

Astrophysicists usually call this the Galactic Epoch, as they focus on the fact, rightly, that matter began to react to its own gravity, condensing to start forming galaxies of swirling matter.

But Potentialism already predicted this formation as a forgone conclusion. Space formed areas of matter and empty space, constituting the Push and Pull effect of Q4P, and spirals of matter became the first galaxies – just as they were always expected to.

So, for Potentialism, we focus on something far more important and the real Complexification event. As matter compressed under its own gravity, stars eventually formed. This had two crucial effects – one a complexity event and one a Complexification event.

Let’s look at the complexity event first. Matter was nothing new at this point. The world was full of atoms. But they were all

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relatively light atoms. If you have ever counted the elements on the periodic table, that chemistry chart that shows all types of atoms we know about, there are currently 118 elements. So, how did we get from just hydrogen and helium to all these elements?

During this period, Q4P was still mightily working on atomic complexity. It took the form of stars. As stars formed, they created enormous heat and gravity. And that made them a creative furnace in the universe. We can even consider the first star a Complexification event in and of itself because it created a forge to make new elements in.

You may have heard someone say we are star dust. That’s not just poetry; it is literally true. Stars had to be born and finish their life for us to fill out that periodic table. The heavier elements that fill out the table are literally the dust from dead stars.

This is another thing to consider about Q4P itself – it wastes nothing. Even if you see something that seems to be crumbling instead of being created, there is a meaning and purpose to it. In the case of stars, they needed to coalesce, be born, and die to give us all the elements necessary to make up our current universe.

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These new elements are also the material needed to jumpstart the Molecular Epoch. Q4P designed this array of elements so they could combine like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to make molecules.

No less amazing than atoms, molecules gave us an entirely new level of complexity never before seen. If we only had atoms, there would only be 118 different types of matter in the universe. The end. Done.

Since Q4P designed them to combine, what we were given is an endless array of ways they could come together to build matter of unimaginably greater complexity. Let’s look at one of the simplest and most necessary molecules to us humans – water. Its chemical formula is H2O. If you’re unfamiliar with chemistry notation, that simply means there are two hydrogen atoms connected to one oxygen atom.

Much like atoms changed completely by adding a few particles to one, combining atoms completely changed what they were. Here on earth, at normal temperatures, oxygen and hydrogen are both gases. But combined, suddenly you have a liquid. Its properties are entirely different. You can’t breathe water any more than you can drink hydrogen. It is fundamentally different just because these atoms have decided to act as one thing.

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