This is carbon.
And of all the chemical elements
in the Universe,
it's one of the most plentiful.
So what would happen if all of it
suddenly disappeared for five seconds?
Carbon is the fourth
most abundant element
in the Universe.
And it's part of many things,
including you.
That's right.
Your body is 18% carbon.
That's a pretty big chunk of you to lose,
even for five seconds.
In your body,
carbon bonds with other elements
to form proteins,
fats, sugars, even your DNA.
So if carbon suddenly disappeared,
would you disappear too?
You might think that five seconds
without carbon wouldn't be long enough
to wreak havoc in our Universe.
But let me tell you,
once all the carbon disappeared,
nothing would be the same again.
Let's go from big to small.
First, the Universe.
Space dust that surrounds stars
is made of elements like carbon and iron.
This dust is clumped together
by the strong winds coming from stars.
And eventually,
these clusters of dust form into planets.
Many planetary systems in the Universe
are carbon-rich.
That means they could have graphite crusts,
carbon monoxide atmospheres
and even oceans of tar.
Without carbon,
these worlds would only
be silicon and oxygen.
The planets would crumble
and turn back into space dust.
Maybe they would reassemble back
into planets again
once all the carbon reappears
five seconds later.
But this would take millions,
possibly billions of years.
And whatever life has formed on
these worlds would have to begin
evolving from ground zero.
Our planetary system
is a little different
because it is oxygen-rich.
It has twice as much oxygen as carbon.
That's because when
our Solar System was forming,
all the carbon got blown into deep space.
At first,
the Earth didn't have any carbon in it.
The carbon that made life
possible on Earth
came from interstellar
comets and asteroids.
And if this extraterrestrial carbon
were to disappear for five seconds,
some bad things would happen.
First, the carbon cycle would
immediately stop.
Under normal circumstances,
carbon cycles through living things,
water and the atmosphere.
This is happening
all the time through things
like photosynthesis,
decomposition and respiration.
So if we stopped eating,
digesting and breathing carbon,
sure, we'd be reducing our
carbon emissions by a lot.
But in this case, it would be too much.
Without any carbon dioxide
in our atmosphere,
we'd lose the greenhouse effect,
which keeps our planet warm
and makes life possible.
Our climate would radically change.
The average temperatures would plummet
and everything would freeze.
Solids made of pure carbon,
like diamonds, coal and graphite,
would disappear immediately,
since that's all they are.
You'd find that washing your clothes,
dishes and body would suddenly
be more challenging too.
Carbon is a water-soluble additive
that creates the soapy lather
you love so much.
Without it, most of these household
products would become mostly just water.
But you know what?
Cleaning your body
might be the least of your worries.
Carbon is the second
most abundant element in your body.
And your primary energy source
comes from breaking carbon bonds.
That means your body wouldn't
be able to extract energy
from compounds like glucose.
For that matter,
glucose wouldn't exist anymore.
It would become water.
Carbon is the backbone
of your DNA's structure.
Without it, your DNA would fall apart
and wouldn't be able to tell your cells
how to grow and function.
Almost two trillion of your body's cells
divide every day,
which is essential to your life.
Take carbon out of the mix,
and these cells would stop working.
And this wouldn't only affect your DNA.
If carbon disappeared,
it would affect all the proteins,
fats and muscle tissue in your body too.
Without any carbon in the Universe,
your body would fall apart.
You'd just be a sloppy mess of water
and inert compounds.
Ugh. Somebody bring a mop.
You, the Earth and the Universe
would be destroyed
in those five short seconds.
Maybe five seconds
without gravity would be
easier to live with.
But that's a story for another WHAT IF.