One minute after the Big Bang, all the protons, neutrons, and electrons that would ever exist had been produced.

There were no atomic nuclei, though. No atoms. No materials as you and I know it–like wood, metal, or soil. Just a soup of subatomic particles and radiation.

The existing protons and neutrons could try to accrete together into an atomic nucleus, but they wouldn’t last long. High-energy photons–particles or “packets” of light–would quickly break them up.

But that was about to change…

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