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3200: Chemical Formula

2026-02-03T06:20:42Z

2601:647:4100:BF90:904C:8790:F045:A70F: Correcting detail about registered isomers because the true number is difficult to verify, but PubChem shows a very high number on the search results.

{{comic
| number = 3200
| date = January 28, 2026
| title = Chemical Formula
| image = chemical_formula_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x225px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Some of the atoms in the molecule are very weakly bound.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by all of the carbon in the universe. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This supposed "{{w|chemical formula}} for the universe" merely lists the numbers of atoms of each element that are [https://ptable.com/#Properties/Abundance/Universe thought to exist] in the observable universe. Usually, chemical formulae imply rather more of a discrete binding together of the atoms involved. They also represent a single {{w|molecule}} of the substance, rather than trying to cover the entire number of atoms in the whole quantity under consideration.

This may be poking some fun at the relative usefulness (or rather, uselessness) of chemical formulas for large organic molecules. While it is a useful concept for teaching people about chemistry and {{w|Chemical equation#Balancing chemical equations|balancing equations}}, and it was useful in the early days of chemistry to try to categorize and learn about molecules via {{w|stoichiometry}} - it does not give much useful information, such as its structure. For example, even the simple formula C11H15NO2 has over 300 registered isomers.<ref>https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/#query=C11H15NO2&input_type=formula</ref> Many of them are NOT good to eat.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDMA#Side_effects</ref><ref>https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/17517#datasheet=LCSS</ref> For other purposes, formulae may group the components accordingly, such as {{w|1,1,1-Trichloroethane|CH3CCl3}} (simplifies to C2H3Cl3, as does {{w|1,1,2-Trichloroethane|an isomer}}) or {{w|ammonium carbonate|[NH4]2CO3}} (not usually identified as CH8O3N2, and not strictly an organic compound either).

As is common practice for real compounds that contain organic structures or substructures, the numbers of atoms of carbon and hydrogen are listed before all of the others; the others are listed in alphabetical order. There are estimated to be 1080 atoms of hydrogen (H), by far the most common element in the universe. The next most common element, helium (He), is a long way to the right in the list, and out of view, but would be about a third as many as the hydrogens.

In reality, there is not a fixed number of atoms of each element across the lifetime of the universe. The matter originally created in the {{w|Big Bang}} was unbound protons and neutrons. In the first few minutes, {{w|Big Bang nucleosynthesis|some of these combined to form lightweight nuclei}}, but most remained as {{w|proton}}s (i.e. the nuclei of hydrogen atoms). Other more complex atoms, up to {{w|atomic mass}} 56, formed later (and are still being formed) as a result of {{w|stellar nucleosynthesis}}. Still more massive nuclei have been and are being formed via {{w|supernova nucleosynthesis}}. Although the proportions of these atoms depend in a complex way on the fusion processes involved, and on the stabilities of those nuclei, the most massive atoms are generally both short-lived and less favored to form, so their elemental abundances in the universe are very small. As shown above, the number of americium (Am) atoms is much smaller than those of any other element in the visible part of the "formula". This indicates that there are slightly fewer atoms of americium in the entire universe than the total number of atoms of hydrogen and oxygen in 1.0 L of liquid water. However, [https://isis-online.org/uploads/isis-reports/documents/np_237_and_americium.pdf considerably more than that amount] (by orders of magnitude) is known to exist on Earth as a result of nuclear energy production, so it may be that the comic is based solely on natural abundances rather than taking human activity (or activity by hypothetical other beings) into account.

The title text is probably referencing {{w|gravity}}, because, for the most part, these atoms would be "held together" only by gravity, and it is a very weak bond indeed.

The numbers of atoms are large, but they are not nameless. Using the {{w|long and short scales}}, these numbers can be described as:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Pos!!Symb!!Name !!Quantity !!Short Scale name !!Long Scale name(s) !!Ranked quantity*
|-
| 1|| C ||Carbon ||data-sort-value="1e76"|1076 ||Ten quattuorvigintillion ||Ten thousand duodecillion Ten duodecilliard ||4
|-
| 2|| H ||Hydrogen ||data-sort-value="1e80"|1080 ||One hundred quinvigintillion ||One hundred tridecilllion ||1
|-
| 3|| Ac ||Actinium ||data-sort-value="1e67"|1067 ||Ten unvigintillion ||Ten undecillion ||data-sort-value="84"|≈84
|-
| 4|| Ag ||Silver ||data-sort-value="1e69"|1069 ||One duovigintillion ||One thousand undecillion One undecilliard ||data-sort-value="68"|≈68
|-
| 5|| Al ||Aluminium Aluminum||data-sort-value="1e75"|1075 ||One quattuorvigintillion ||One thousand duodecillion One duodecilliard ||14
|-
| 6|| Am ||Americium ||data-sort-value="1e26"|1026 ||One hundred septillion ||One hundred quadrillion ||data-sort-value="84"|≈84
|-
| 7|| Ar ||Argon ||data-sort-value="1e75"|1075 ||One quattuorvigintillion ||One thousand duodecillion One duodecilliard ||11
|-
| 8|| As ||Arsenic ||data-sort-value="1e70"|1070 ||Ten duovigintillion ||Ten thousand undecillion Ten undecilliard ||data-sort-value="40"|≈40
|-
| 9|| At ||Astatine ||data-sort-value="1e47"|1047 ||One hundred quattuordecillion||One hundred thousand septillion One hundred septilliard ||data-sort-value="84"|≈84
|-
| 10|| Au ||Gold ||data-sort-value="1e69"|1069 ||One duovigintillion ||One thousand undecillion One undecilliard ||data-sort-value="68"|≈68
|-
| 11|| B ||Boron ||data-sort-value="1e71"|1071 ||One hundred duovigintillion ||One hundred thousand undecillion One hundred undecilliard||data-sort-value="61"|≈61
|-
| 12|| Ba ||Barium ||data-sort-value="1e70"|1070 ||Ten duovigintillion ||Ten thousand undecillion Ten undecilliard ||data-sort-value="33"|≈33
|-
| 13|| Be ||Beryllium ||data-sort-value="1e71"|1071*||One hundred duovigintillion ||One hundred thousand undecillion One hundred undecilliard||data-sort-value="61"|≈61
|-
|data-sort-value="43"|43*||He||Helium||data-sort-value="3e79"|1079*||Ten quinvigintillion ||Ten tridecilllion ||2
|-
|data-sort-value="73"|73*||O ||Oxygen||data-sort-value="1e78"|1078*||One quinvigintillion ||One tridecilllion ||3
|}
:<nowiki>*</nowiki> - Information not provided by the comic; Source for ranked data, in particular, does not ''entirely'' agree with the quantities that are given in the comic.

The formula as it appears in the comic is truncated. The complete formula of the universe in this style (but arranged in decreasing order of abundance after carbon, which also happens to place hydrogen immediately after) would be
C₁₀⁷⁷ H₁₀⁸⁰
He₁₀⁷⁹
O₁₀⁷⁸
Ne₁₀⁷⁶ N₁₀⁷⁶ Fe₁₀⁷⁶ S₁₀⁷⁶
Mg₁₀⁷⁵ Si₁₀⁷⁵ Ar₁₀⁷⁵ Ni₁₀⁷⁵ Ca₁₀⁷⁵ Al₁₀⁷⁵ Na₁₀⁷⁵ Cr₁₀⁷⁵
Ti₁₀⁷⁴ Mn₁₀⁷⁴ P₁₀⁷⁴ K₁₀⁷⁴ V₁₀⁷⁴ Cl₁₀⁷⁴ Co₁₀⁷⁴
F₁₀⁷³ Zn₁₀⁷³ Ge₁₀⁷³
As₁₀⁷² Br₁₀⁷² Li₁₀⁷² Sc₁₀⁷² Cu₁₀⁷² Ga₁₀⁷² Se₁₀⁷² Kr₁₀⁷² Rb₁₀⁷² Sr₁₀⁷² Zr₁₀⁷² Te₁₀⁷² Xe₁₀⁷² Ba₁₀⁷² Ce₁₀⁷² Pb₁₀⁷²
B₁₀⁷¹ Be₁₀⁷¹ Y₁₀⁷¹ Nb₁₀⁷¹ Mo₁₀⁷¹ Ru₁₀⁷¹ Pd₁₀⁷¹ Cd₁₀⁷¹ Sn₁₀⁷¹ I₁₀⁷¹ La₁₀⁷¹ Pr₁₀⁷¹ Nd₁₀⁷² Sm₁₀⁷¹ Gd₁₀⁷¹ Dy₁₀⁷¹ Er₁₀⁷¹ Yb₁₀⁷¹ Os₁₀⁷¹ Ir₁₀⁷¹ Pt₁₀⁷¹ Hg₁₀⁷¹
Rh₁₀⁷⁰ Ag₁₀⁷⁰ In₁₀⁷⁰ Sb₁₀⁷⁰ Cs₁₀⁷⁰ Eu₁₀⁷⁰ Tb₁₀⁷⁰ Ho₁₀⁷⁰ Tm₁₀⁷⁰ Lu₁₀⁷⁰ Hf₁₀⁷⁰ Ta₁₀⁷⁰ W₁₀⁷⁰ Re₁₀⁷⁰ Au₁₀⁷⁰ Tl₁₀⁷⁰ Bi₁₀⁷⁰ Th₁₀⁷⁰ U₁₀⁷⁰
Tc₁₀⁰ Pm₁₀⁰ Po₁₀⁰ At₁₀⁰ Rn₁₀⁰ Fr₁₀⁰ Ra₁₀⁰ Ac₁₀⁰ Pa₁₀⁰ Np₁₀⁰ Pu₁₀⁰ Am₁₀⁰ Cm₁₀⁰ Bk₁₀⁰ Cf₁₀⁰ Es₁₀⁰ Fm₁₀⁰ Md₁₀⁰ No₁₀⁰ Lr₁₀⁰ Rf₁₀⁰ Db₁₀⁰ Sg₁₀⁰ Bh₁₀⁰ Hs₁₀⁰ Mt₁₀⁰ Ds₁₀⁰ Rg₁₀⁰ Cn₁₀⁰ Nh₁₀⁰ Fl₁₀⁰ Mc₁₀⁰ Lv₁₀⁰ Ts₁₀⁰ Og₁₀⁰ according to some broad stroke estimates of abundance.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[A long panel with a chemical formula trailing off the right side halfway through the last symbol]
:C1076 H1080 Ac1067 Ag1069 Al1075 Am1026 Ar1075 As1070 At1047 Au1069 B1071 Ba1070 Be
:[Caption below the panel:] The approximate chemical formula for the universe

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]

3200: Chemical Formula

2026-02-03T06:19:17Z

2601:647:4100:BF90:904C:8790:F045:A70F: Adding missing references to the discussion about C11H15NO2

{{comic
| number = 3200
| date = January 28, 2026
| title = Chemical Formula
| image = chemical_formula_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x225px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Some of the atoms in the molecule are very weakly bound.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by all of the carbon in the universe. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This supposed "{{w|chemical formula}} for the universe" merely lists the numbers of atoms of each element that are [https://ptable.com/#Properties/Abundance/Universe thought to exist] in the observable universe. Usually, chemical formulae imply rather more of a discrete binding together of the atoms involved. They also represent a single {{w|molecule}} of the substance, rather than trying to cover the entire number of atoms in the whole quantity under consideration.

This may be poking some fun at the relative usefulness (or rather, uselessness) of chemical formulas for large organic molecules. While it is a useful concept for teaching people about chemistry and {{w|Chemical equation#Balancing chemical equations|balancing equations}}, and it was useful in the early days of chemistry to try to categorize and learn about molecules via {{w|stoichiometry}} - it does not give much useful information, such as its structure. For example, even the simple formula C11H15NO2 has 302 registered isomers.<ref>https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/#query=C11H15NO2&input_type=formula</ref> Many of them are NOT good to eat.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDMA#Side_effects</ref><ref>https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/17517#datasheet=LCSS</ref> For other purposes, formulae may group the components accordingly, such as {{w|1,1,1-Trichloroethane|CH3CCl3}} (simplifies to C2H3Cl3, as does {{w|1,1,2-Trichloroethane|an isomer}}) or {{w|ammonium carbonate|[NH4]2CO3}} (not usually identified as CH8O3N2, and not strictly an organic compound either).

As is common practice for real compounds that contain organic structures or substructures, the numbers of atoms of carbon and hydrogen are listed before all of the others; the others are listed in alphabetical order. There are estimated to be 1080 atoms of hydrogen (H), by far the most common element in the universe. The next most common element, helium (He), is a long way to the right in the list, and out of view, but would be about a third as many as the hydrogens.

In reality, there is not a fixed number of atoms of each element across the lifetime of the universe. The matter originally created in the {{w|Big Bang}} was unbound protons and neutrons. In the first few minutes, {{w|Big Bang nucleosynthesis|some of these combined to form lightweight nuclei}}, but most remained as {{w|proton}}s (i.e. the nuclei of hydrogen atoms). Other more complex atoms, up to {{w|atomic mass}} 56, formed later (and are still being formed) as a result of {{w|stellar nucleosynthesis}}. Still more massive nuclei have been and are being formed via {{w|supernova nucleosynthesis}}. Although the proportions of these atoms depend in a complex way on the fusion processes involved, and on the stabilities of those nuclei, the most massive atoms are generally both short-lived and less favored to form, so their elemental abundances in the universe are very small. As shown above, the number of americium (Am) atoms is much smaller than those of any other element in the visible part of the "formula". This indicates that there are slightly fewer atoms of americium in the entire universe than the total number of atoms of hydrogen and oxygen in 1.0 L of liquid water. However, [https://isis-online.org/uploads/isis-reports/documents/np_237_and_americium.pdf considerably more than that amount] (by orders of magnitude) is known to exist on Earth as a result of nuclear energy production, so it may be that the comic is based solely on natural abundances rather than taking human activity (or activity by hypothetical other beings) into account.

The title text is probably referencing {{w|gravity}}, because, for the most part, these atoms would be "held together" only by gravity, and it is a very weak bond indeed.

The numbers of atoms are large, but they are not nameless. Using the {{w|long and short scales}}, these numbers can be described as:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Pos!!Symb!!Name !!Quantity !!Short Scale name !!Long Scale name(s) !!Ranked quantity*
|-
| 1|| C ||Carbon ||data-sort-value="1e76"|1076 ||Ten quattuorvigintillion ||Ten thousand duodecillion Ten duodecilliard ||4
|-
| 2|| H ||Hydrogen ||data-sort-value="1e80"|1080 ||One hundred quinvigintillion ||One hundred tridecilllion ||1
|-
| 3|| Ac ||Actinium ||data-sort-value="1e67"|1067 ||Ten unvigintillion ||Ten undecillion ||data-sort-value="84"|≈84
|-
| 4|| Ag ||Silver ||data-sort-value="1e69"|1069 ||One duovigintillion ||One thousand undecillion One undecilliard ||data-sort-value="68"|≈68
|-
| 5|| Al ||Aluminium Aluminum||data-sort-value="1e75"|1075 ||One quattuorvigintillion ||One thousand duodecillion One duodecilliard ||14
|-
| 6|| Am ||Americium ||data-sort-value="1e26"|1026 ||One hundred septillion ||One hundred quadrillion ||data-sort-value="84"|≈84
|-
| 7|| Ar ||Argon ||data-sort-value="1e75"|1075 ||One quattuorvigintillion ||One thousand duodecillion One duodecilliard ||11
|-
| 8|| As ||Arsenic ||data-sort-value="1e70"|1070 ||Ten duovigintillion ||Ten thousand undecillion Ten undecilliard ||data-sort-value="40"|≈40
|-
| 9|| At ||Astatine ||data-sort-value="1e47"|1047 ||One hundred quattuordecillion||One hundred thousand septillion One hundred septilliard ||data-sort-value="84"|≈84
|-
| 10|| Au ||Gold ||data-sort-value="1e69"|1069 ||One duovigintillion ||One thousand undecillion One undecilliard ||data-sort-value="68"|≈68
|-
| 11|| B ||Boron ||data-sort-value="1e71"|1071 ||One hundred duovigintillion ||One hundred thousand undecillion One hundred undecilliard||data-sort-value="61"|≈61
|-
| 12|| Ba ||Barium ||data-sort-value="1e70"|1070 ||Ten duovigintillion ||Ten thousand undecillion Ten undecilliard ||data-sort-value="33"|≈33
|-
| 13|| Be ||Beryllium ||data-sort-value="1e71"|1071*||One hundred duovigintillion ||One hundred thousand undecillion One hundred undecilliard||data-sort-value="61"|≈61
|-
|data-sort-value="43"|43*||He||Helium||data-sort-value="3e79"|1079*||Ten quinvigintillion ||Ten tridecilllion ||2
|-
|data-sort-value="73"|73*||O ||Oxygen||data-sort-value="1e78"|1078*||One quinvigintillion ||One tridecilllion ||3
|}
:<nowiki>*</nowiki> - Information not provided by the comic; Source for ranked data, in particular, does not ''entirely'' agree with the quantities that are given in the comic.

The formula as it appears in the comic is truncated. The complete formula of the universe in this style (but arranged in decreasing order of abundance after carbon, which also happens to place hydrogen immediately after) would be
C₁₀⁷⁷ H₁₀⁸⁰
He₁₀⁷⁹
O₁₀⁷⁸
Ne₁₀⁷⁶ N₁₀⁷⁶ Fe₁₀⁷⁶ S₁₀⁷⁶
Mg₁₀⁷⁵ Si₁₀⁷⁵ Ar₁₀⁷⁵ Ni₁₀⁷⁵ Ca₁₀⁷⁵ Al₁₀⁷⁵ Na₁₀⁷⁵ Cr₁₀⁷⁵
Ti₁₀⁷⁴ Mn₁₀⁷⁴ P₁₀⁷⁴ K₁₀⁷⁴ V₁₀⁷⁴ Cl₁₀⁷⁴ Co₁₀⁷⁴
F₁₀⁷³ Zn₁₀⁷³ Ge₁₀⁷³
As₁₀⁷² Br₁₀⁷² Li₁₀⁷² Sc₁₀⁷² Cu₁₀⁷² Ga₁₀⁷² Se₁₀⁷² Kr₁₀⁷² Rb₁₀⁷² Sr₁₀⁷² Zr₁₀⁷² Te₁₀⁷² Xe₁₀⁷² Ba₁₀⁷² Ce₁₀⁷² Pb₁₀⁷²
B₁₀⁷¹ Be₁₀⁷¹ Y₁₀⁷¹ Nb₁₀⁷¹ Mo₁₀⁷¹ Ru₁₀⁷¹ Pd₁₀⁷¹ Cd₁₀⁷¹ Sn₁₀⁷¹ I₁₀⁷¹ La₁₀⁷¹ Pr₁₀⁷¹ Nd₁₀⁷² Sm₁₀⁷¹ Gd₁₀⁷¹ Dy₁₀⁷¹ Er₁₀⁷¹ Yb₁₀⁷¹ Os₁₀⁷¹ Ir₁₀⁷¹ Pt₁₀⁷¹ Hg₁₀⁷¹
Rh₁₀⁷⁰ Ag₁₀⁷⁰ In₁₀⁷⁰ Sb₁₀⁷⁰ Cs₁₀⁷⁰ Eu₁₀⁷⁰ Tb₁₀⁷⁰ Ho₁₀⁷⁰ Tm₁₀⁷⁰ Lu₁₀⁷⁰ Hf₁₀⁷⁰ Ta₁₀⁷⁰ W₁₀⁷⁰ Re₁₀⁷⁰ Au₁₀⁷⁰ Tl₁₀⁷⁰ Bi₁₀⁷⁰ Th₁₀⁷⁰ U₁₀⁷⁰
Tc₁₀⁰ Pm₁₀⁰ Po₁₀⁰ At₁₀⁰ Rn₁₀⁰ Fr₁₀⁰ Ra₁₀⁰ Ac₁₀⁰ Pa₁₀⁰ Np₁₀⁰ Pu₁₀⁰ Am₁₀⁰ Cm₁₀⁰ Bk₁₀⁰ Cf₁₀⁰ Es₁₀⁰ Fm₁₀⁰ Md₁₀⁰ No₁₀⁰ Lr₁₀⁰ Rf₁₀⁰ Db₁₀⁰ Sg₁₀⁰ Bh₁₀⁰ Hs₁₀⁰ Mt₁₀⁰ Ds₁₀⁰ Rg₁₀⁰ Cn₁₀⁰ Nh₁₀⁰ Fl₁₀⁰ Mc₁₀⁰ Lv₁₀⁰ Ts₁₀⁰ Og₁₀⁰ according to some broad stroke estimates of abundance.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[A long panel with a chemical formula trailing off the right side halfway through the last symbol]
:C1076 H1080 Ac1067 Ag1069 Al1075 Am1026 Ar1075 As1070 At1047 Au1069 B1071 Ba1070 Be
:[Caption below the panel:] The approximate chemical formula for the universe

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]