Initial Reports
To: Celestia, Luna, and any other whom it may concern
Notes On Equestrian Physics, Genetics, Magic, and other sundry things that make no bucking sense
Initial Papers, Observations, and Theories
By Emeris Fillson
Foreword
Okay, I’m going to try and maintain some level of professionalism here to keep this useful, but excessively dry academic papers help no one, so I’ll try to keep the tone light. Also, as a note: I have no access to my previous reality at this time, and thus I am working entirely from memory, personal calculations, reverse-engineered experiments and equations, and an abacus.
There will be errors on my part, as I am the only source of contrasting information, and despite my attempts to be objective, there will be exceptions.
Social Mores and Expectations
Gender Roles
The differences between my species general gender roles (and my culture in specific) with those of ponies, specifically those of central Equestria are particularly striking.
In human cultures, the role of protector, warrior, and leader tend to be ascribed entirely to males, whereas those of caregiver and homemaker tend to be ascribed to females. There are cultures where females are the acknowledged social movers and shakers, but in all of these cases that I am aware, males are still the leaders of hunting and full on leaders in war. Societies such as these, however, have been rare, and most societies have been very patriarchal over the centuries.
As a direct contrast, due at least in part to the extremely favorable female-to-male ratio and partly the very real, physical pressence of divine entities exclusively of female nature, ponies are distinctly matriarchal. However, the flip is not a mirror image.
A distinct one that must be noted for any reader is that the role of warrior and protector are two distinct roles.
A warrior is a guard, a solider, one to fight external threats to the society.
A protector is the one who stands up to the bullies, shields their friends, fights the monsters, and is the one expected to get into a fight when individuals of the same species are involved.
Amongst humans, both of the above roles are ascribed to males. Warrior and Protector. Males are expected to take up arms in defense of their home, their friends, and their country. But it is a social taboo (of varying degrees of intensity depending up on the culture, time period, and region) to harm females, almost on par with harming children in a significant number of cultures.
Amongst ponies however, males are the warriors, while females are the protectors. Males are the ones expected to take up arms in defense of country (especially in organized war between countries or active hunts of dangerous monsters), whereas females are expected to defend the family and more threats at home. There is a distinct mix of whom is expected to defend against threats such as hydras or manticores as well as deal with criminals. While I do not have enough data to say so with confidence, these specific tasks do not have a female:male ratio differing significantly from the norm of the area.
The working theory is that, due to males of both cultures being larger on average (and thus, stronger), they are the ones normally delegated to combat roles. However, while human males (hereafter referred to as men plural, or man singular) have an approximate 1:1 ratio with females, pony males (hereafter reffered to as stallions) have an approximate 5:1 ratio to females. This difference means that any one stallion is more valuable to the group than any single man. Because of this, it is more acceptable to allow a man to ‘sacrifice’ himself to protect the family from threats at home.
(Of note is that the sexual dimorphism between male and female humans in regards to muscle-mass and body-fat index is more pronounced than that of ponies.)
Amongst ponies, while stallions are expected to be the warriors, they are also expected to be the more fickle, emotionally fragile and to portray a stoic exterior. This is, to me, as a former human, a strange juxtaposition.
Amongst humans, males are expected to be more logical, stoic, stubborn, and aggressive, whereas females are expected to be emotional, fickle, and friendly.
I currently have no theories as to the cause of such a distinction between the two species.
As examples, here are roles and situations as well as the common perceptions of expected gender roles:
The Leader of the Guard: Male in Both Species
The Police: Male in most human cultures, Male or Female in Pony cultures
The Bully (physical torment, taunting, stealing of lunch money): Male in human cultures, Female in pony cultures
The automatic assumed victim: Female in human cultures (“Hey! Don’t pick on a girl!”), Male in pony cultures (“Hey! Don’t pick on a colt!”)
The Child Caretaker: Female in human cultures, Male in pony cultures
Monster Hunting: Male in both cultures
Defending home against a monster: Male amongst humans, slight female preference amongst ponies
Dominance
In most human cultures, men are distinctly dominant over females, though the degree of dominance has varied wildly over the centuries. However, in pony cultures, mares have always been dominant.
This dominance has been expressed in many ways over the centuries in both cultures. From simple social expectations of subservience, to the subservient gender having fewer legal rights, all the way to certain cultures treating the subservient gender being treated as little more than slaves.
In my culture, while males were the normally the explicit dominant of the family unit, the females were normally the actual dominant either through internally acknowledged authority or manipulation.
In central equestrian culture, the mares are the expected and true dominant in most situations, however the stallion is the explicit dominant in all relationship and parenting issues such as the termination of the relationship, the pacing of the relationship, the rules for any children, and any house rules. While some stallions have demonstrated effective dominance through manipulation, this is not as socially expected as it is in my culture.
Breeding Habits
While the title of this section is... unfortunate. There is no other appropriate title that does nto have inappropriate connotations.
In human cultures, it can be very difficult to determine the father of a child, and thus, social strcutures have appeared to make it easier. Polygamy and Monogamy have been practiced by humans, with official monogamy being the norm. Remember that males are normally the more dominant gender amongst humans, and that the male to female ratio is approximately 1:1.
How mates are chosen has varied wildly over the centuries. In some cultures, the females chose the mating pairs of their offspring. In others, the males. In even others, it was entirely at the volition of those that were to be mated. However, one key point amongst humans that differs from ponies is that casual mating has always been discouraged.
This is due to the fact that humans do not have a clear estrus cycle, nor clear ways of causing ovulation, and as such, casual mating can very easily lead to unwanted, unexpected, or unneccessary offspring. This is also why female-centric polygamy has been discouraged and never ‘socially acceptable’ amongst humans, as while the mother is obvious identifiable no matter what, it can be difficult to determine the father. Thus, marriage, a legal binding between two (or more) mates to not mate outside of said marriage, has been the mating norm amongst human cultures.
Amongst ponies however, monogamous relations are discouraged. This is primarily due to the ratio of females to males (approximately 5:1 in most time periods). However, while marriage exists, it has been almost exclusively a system of the nobility to bind two noble herds together It has only been recently that marriage has been something that ‘common’ ponies have begun to do.
Casual mating is less of an issue amongst ponies, though it is still discouraged.
The following is only specific to my original culture and modern central equestrian culture:
In my culture, males are expected to be the active ones in courtship. A male is expected to approach the female and woo the female with sweet words, gifts, affection, and dominance displays. The female is normally the one in control of the relationship status. Males are the ones who must normally meet expectations to maintain the relationship, any expectations of the female are less explicit.
Amongst ponies, this is explicitly reversed. Females are expected to be the active member in courtship. The female woo’s the male, normally through a delicate dance between being dominant and “playfully submissive”.
A stallions first mare is normally the one to bring in other mares for the ‘herd’ (the standard term for a family unit), however this is not always the case. Mares may ‘petition’ the first mare for rights to be part of the herd, but the stallion has a sort of veto power. Herds tend to have a vague structure that has been slowly falling out of official practice, this structure tends to be very simple and only be the first or alpha mare and the stallion. While all social units have a more dominant or leadership-capable individual, up until the past century, this position of first or alpha mare has been acknowledged and semi-offical. Unusually, while stallions are expected to be the dominant character in relationship issues and policies, this position of first or alpha mare is expected to be decided upon entirely by the mares of the herd themselves without input from the stallion.
Genetics
Equestiran genetics are, for lack of better terms, a complicated, strange mess that at times, seems almost like it shouldn’t work, and yet does. Based upon the genealogy trees, genetic testing, and extensive magical scans, I have come up with a number of conclusions that are far further along than the ponies own genetic studies.
To note: most of this section refers to pony genetics in particular, as ponies have the most complicated genetic structure and breeding patterns of any known species aside from possibly the dragons.
To start off: Ponies have a triploid genetic structure. Chromosomes do not pair up, rather, the group into threes. This alone sets them apart from all species on earth which I was aware of prior to my departure.
One of the most notable things about equestrian genetics that explains much of the differences between both of our cultures is the genetic inheritance of gender.
While species in my world have chromosomal pairs, these pairs often being of identical structure, those for gender are not. In mammals at the least, the gender of a species is determined by the pair of sex chromosomes. An XX means a female, while an XY means a male. As one chromosome is inhereited from each parent, females will always give an X, while males have a 50/50 chance of giving an X or Y.
This leads to an approximately equal ratio of males to females.
While there are a number of different forms of choosing of gender in my world, this is the only system used by the warm blooded species as well as the only sentient species.
Ponies however, have a tricrhomosomal system, the mother donates two chromosomes, while the male donates one. While the labels of X and Y are not appropriate for the pony sex chromosomes, there currently exists no official label for these genetics, and they operate similarly enough to use these labels.
If the pony has either XXY or XXX chromosomes, they are female, whereas the only way a stallion occurs is if the pony has XYY.
As the mare donates a pair of randomly selected chromosomes of her own, the possibilities are: XX: 2/3 ; XY: ⅓. While a male donates one, creating a disposition of X: 1/3 Y: 2/3
This generates the following results:
XX (2/3) XY (1/3)
X (1/3) Female (2/9) Female (1/9)
Y (2/3) Female (4/9) Male (2/9)
Because of this, mares are selected over stallions approximately 7/9ths of the time. Or, for every stallion, there are three to four mares. This disagrees with the current 4 to 5 mares for every stallion, however, stallions have a slightly higher death rate than mares due to their socially expected position as warrior and monster hunter.
Further examinations of pony genetics will take time and extensive study of equestrian genealogy charts and is pending access and availability of time.
Physics
My studies of these effects have been extremely limited due to time constraints as well as technological barriers. Equestria simply lacks the infrastructure to support the more advanced forms of technology that I require to do proper testing of the more nuanced and subtle aspects of newtonian physics and quantum effects. However, there have been several conclusions that I have been able to draw based on the experiments that I have remembered or reverse engineered.
The biggest difference is Magic itself. While there are a number of equestrian theories based on the rules and effects of magic, as well as a number of them postulating the source of magic, none of these account for quantum effects as said effects have not yet been discovered by ponies. Some rudimentary testing has proven that quantum effects are still in effect and are, if not precisely like that of my home, they are similar enough that the same formulas and calculations hold sway.
I currently have no working theories on the origins of magic. It appears to draw from the same sub-space field which all subatomic particles come from. But I have been unable to determine its carrier particle in such a case. If this is the case, then greater magical potential would mean a greater ability to produce, store, and manipulate these particles, causing greater imbalances in this field, and thus, more powerful magic. However, until I am able to develop magics capable of analyzing the quantum world for these carrier particles in real-time, the experiments must be put on hold, and the theory remains untestable.
As magic itself is a very in-depth and extensive field (similar to an entire extra field of quantum mechanics to research) I shall leave the rest of my musing and testing results in another section dedicated to them.
The next biggest deviation from the laws of physics as I understood them is the speed of light. It’s different. Assuming that a hoof-length is comparable to a foot at a 4:5 ratio, then the speed of light in a vacuum in Equestria is approximately 784,532,015.4 feet per second. This works out to be a rounded 257,223,611.607 meters per second, significantly slower than my world’s ~299,000,000 m/s. The repurcussions of this are huge, to say the least, changing c changes so much. E^2 = (mc^2)^2 + (pc)^2, the derminate of the amount of energy in an object as well as the energy required to accelerate it, changes drastically. Just... consider the ramifications. I myself, with little more than a rudimentary understanding of physics, am still trying to figure out all of the effects this one change has.
Gravity appears to be, as best I can tell, to be the same as that which I am used to, though, due to the aforementioned alteration of c, inertia is less of an issue. I am also having issues calculating the actual effects of gravity, as Celestia’s sun appears to be smaller, but also cooler and closer than its appearance would suggest. The implications this has for the strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, and gravity are... dubious at best, as Celestia rather explicitly maneouvers the sun about the sky in a geocentric solar system. Any exceptions to the projected physics can be very easily attributed to magic. So, until I am able to get a more accurate data on the four fundamental forces, I am unable to do proper calculations on the size and mass of the sun.
Mind you, some basic experiments were able to determine that those forces were still the fundamental forces, though I suspect that magic is either a super-force, a more basic form of the other four forces. Or a fifth fundamental force, one whose field distortions are able to affect all other fields. However, I have no experimental data to support or refute this hypothesis at this time. It’s merely a gut feeling. Further experimentation is required.
Magic
Magic is... well, friendship, duh. But it’s also something else.
Skipping the poetry of how wonderful and beautiful it is, it’s a strange, esoteric, and difficult to understand field that seems at the same time, counter-intuitive, and yet makes perfect sense. At macro-scale events, where Newtonian physics hold sway. Magic is extremely intuitive. But at quantum scale events, or at its extremes, it diverges from most forms of logic that I am aware of. I am still determining how it even exists on a quantum scale, and as such, I have been unable to theorize much otherwise.
However, as previously mentioned, on the macro-scale, it makes a considerable amount of sense.
One of the core concepts of magic is the Circles of magic. The power input to effect output of spells varies, and while on average it is a very shallow exponential line, along that line it peaks and troughs like a sine wave. These peaks of power-input to effect-output ratios are the ideal target areas for spells, and each peak is another circle of magic. There are only ten circles, as the sine curve goes away after the tenth circle, becoming slightly more exponential in the process. However, only gods such as the Princesses, Elder Dragons, and the occasional alicorn have been known to access the tenth circle of magic at all. Twilight was basically a prodigy, as young as she was, she could access the ninth circle with some of her upper tier spells.
I’d discovered this entirely on accident while testing the limits of my magic as an alicorn, but it was later confirmed by research into higher level magic.
There are a surprising number of ‘fields’ of magic, and it has been changing slowly for centuries. I am aware of the following in the current paradigm:
Medicinal
Alteration
Telekinesis
Reality Calcification
Boons
Charms
Evocation
Clairvoyance
Countermagic
Reality Warping
Additionally, there are ‘unofficial’ and ‘forbidden’ schools of magic
Blood
Runic
Name
Soul
Necromancy
Currently, I am a Tenth Degree Master of Reality Calcification, Boons, and Countermagic, and a Ninth Degree Master of the unofficial school of Battlemagic. I will be going over the founding principles, origins, and uses of those magics in future papers.
Until I gain permission from royalty to include forbidden magics in these papers, I will not include notes on those schools, though I have extensive knowledge of them. Additionally, until I am able to acquire Twilight’s time to assist me, further notes on other magical fields will be postponed.
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Linked Story: Consequences of Unoriginality
While these are from an in-character perspective, these papers are going to be primarily my own suppositions on the world of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, drawing heavily from Xenophillia by the completely awesome Anonauthor. Seriously, whoever you are, write more shit, that was awesome.
I am very open to suggestions, comments, further suppositions and I'd particularly love to include counter-papers by other researchers in the equestrian world, that'd be awesome.
If someone wishes to use this information or world-building for their own equestria, feel free, I would just like to know about such usage because it'd make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know that I made something useful
I strongly suspect that the geas involves Name and/or Soul magic.
The change in c is well under an order of magnitude; a more reasonable interpretation of the data is that his estimate of the hooflength/foot conversion ratio is slightly off.
...
The Punnett square assumes an XXY female, which not all breeding mares are. Assuming an initial distribution of P% XXY females and Q% XXX females (where P%+Q% = 100%), we have:
XXY+XYY: 2p/9 XYY; 5p/9 XXY; 2p/9 XXX
XXX+XYY: 0q/9 XYY; 6q/9 XXY; 3q/9 XXX
q=(1-p), so: 2p/9 XYY; (6-p)/9 XXY; (3-p)/9 XXX
The proportion of XXY females in the new population, which call P2, is then (6-p)/((3-p)+(6-p)) = (6-p)/(9-2p). Graphing this equation reveals that low values of P will result in P2>P, and high values of P will result in P2<P, implying that over time the ratio will tend towards a stable middle point. We can find that point by solving p=(6-p)/(9-2p), as follows:
p=(6-p)/(9-2p)
9p-2p^2 = 6-p
0 = 2p^2 -10p + 6
By the quadratic formula:
p = 10/4 +/- sqrt(100-4*2*6)/4
p = 5/2 +/- sqrt(100-48)/4
p = 5/2 +/- sqrt(52)/4
p ~= 4.3 or 0.7
We know we're looking for a proportion, so we want the one between 0 and 1.
QED: About 70% of the mares in Equestria are XXY, and about 30% are XXX.
We earlier calculated that we have 2p/9 XYY (i.e., males), which works out to about 15%, or just under 1/6. So we should expect slightly more than five mares to every one stallion, which is very slightly more than observed.
I would speculate that, since stallions are considered more valuable due to their rarity, it is possible that a mare that has foaled a colt (and who therefore must be XXY) may be considered a more valuable mate. Further research is indicated to test this hypothesis.
1570600
You.
I love you.
Platonically if you're a guy mind you, but I love you.
On the first one, Yep! Note that "In the modern theory-" line about the magical schools, that's very important. There are other, unnofficial schools of magic, as well as ones that have been absorbed into others, etc. etc.
The thing about c is intentional, though I'm not sure which direction to take it really. The intention is that things like inertia, mass, and other sundry things are altered noticeably, but not world-breakingly. What direction would you take it? My personal knowledge runs out pretty fast on this.
Thank you for doing that math for me! So much.
I knew that I hadn't accounted for that, and Emeris would have accounted for it eventually, but I didn't really have the time to sit down and figure out what math I'd have to do to account for it.
And yes, in this world-building exercise, mare's who have demonstrated mothering a colt are more valuable than others.
1570905
> What direction would you take it?
It seems to me that advanced physics like relativity requires fairly careful study to find out. Unless there's a physics lab somewhere in Equestria, it's unlikely Emeris could reasonably come to justified conclusions about that stuff.
(I don't think Gary couldn't do it, either. Since his dress designs turned out awful in retrospect, we can infer that the GSE made him an acclaimed designer rather than a competent one; that is, it doesn't confer actual competence. If Gary tried to research physics, he'd come up with meaningless drivel that everyone fawned over. He might be able to build a death ray or something though.)
1571092
You misunderstand what I mean, I meant the speed of light relative to our own
And this isn't caused by the GSE. Emeris is actually extremely competent at this. Note how in Chapter 1 he notes that his calculative abilities had not been affected by the curse in either direction.
Also note how little he's actually confirmed and how much is supposition. He's been using magic as a substitute for technology when it comes to analyzing things (mostly genetics), but careful use of telekinesis and sense-enhancing magics enabled a large number of experiments that he simply does not have the technology or infrastructure for otherwise. As my knowledge of the physics and experiements involved is less than what Emeris' knowledge is intended to be, I cannot give specific examples, though I can try to find some.
The only one that comes to mind is the classic "Electron, Particle or Wave?" double-slit experiment. If you can find a way to generate electrons and fire them in a direction as well as detect them one by one, then it becomes easy to do the experiment.
Or, for a future one that he will do: The power of Celestia's sun. If you know the distance of the sun from the planet and have a bucket of water, a thermometer, and a clock, you can calculate the energy output of the sun. Note that he can (and will) just ask Celestia herself how far the sun is from Equestria and get an accurate answer, the only issue is converting units.
1571281
I thought you/he were talking about the relative values of c in Equestria vs. Earth; I'm not sure what I said to give an impression otherwise.
If you're inferring the speed of light to mean anything other than how long it takes for light to get somewhere, and Emeris is, then you're working with relativity.
If he has "little more than a rudimentary understanding of physics", then it's not at all clear to me how he would even verify the existence of e.g. strong and weak nuclear forces, unless unicorn magic is capable of examining and manipulating subatomic particles with minimal training.
I think the point I'm trying to make is that Emeris probably understands less than he thinks he does about Equestrian physics, and is jumping to conclusions based on insufficient evidence.
1572472
We're talking past each other for some reason, probably a misunderstanding on my part >_<
To start off: Yes, he is jumping to conclusions a bit.
The "little more than a rudimentary understanding of physics" line is Emeris selling himself short. While it's not official, he's intended to have nearly had an equivalent to a bachelors in physics by the time he was introduced to Equestria. And while Unicorn magic (in this worldbuilding exercise) is not capable of examining and manipulating subatomic particles, it is capable of doing so with atoms and chemicals given an awareness of and disposition towards such. Emeris was the Alicorn of the Earth for two years and more than capable of getting any naturally occurring mineral or element he so desired.
Doing so over time, he tried to create an Equestrian periodic table of elements... and ended up with something very similar to the one we're/he's accustomed to. As in, basically identical. This is from both the chemical properties of the elements, as well as the size of their atoms and their atomic weights (figured out by taking a mole [or fraction thereof] of atoms of the element, weighing it, and calculating its atomic weight from there). This implies that whatever causes atoms to be... well... atoms... is functionally identical to our world.
Combined with other experiments such as "Does spinning a magnet induce an electrical current?" and the reverse "Does a wound copper wire around something magnetic create a magnet?" as well as others, he has data to support the two world's being nigh identical in function, though the data doesn't explicitly point to them being identical 'under the hood'. That is him guessing and getting overly excited about the ramifications/possibilities.
1572537
Given those observations -- especially unification of electricity and magnetism -- I'd say the conclusions are reasonable. Also, if he can directly measure the sizes of atoms, he can use that to establish the length conversions.
But, yes, he's definitely getting overexcited -- if the difference in c had as far-reaching implications as he thinks, the modified physics couldn't have produced the same periodic table.
1572552
I'm trying to read your conversation with the author, but being a teenager who got a 60/100 for physics, can we please just say:
IT'S MAGIC, DON'T QUESTION IT.
1572552
I (and by extension, Emeris) totally didn't think of using atoms to derive length conversions. Also not sure how you'd go about it to be honest.
I had him over-excited about the difference of c for a couple reasons, the two main ones being it's in character for him, but also because I myself don't know the full ramifications of what a difference in the speed of light (*coughmassless-particle-speedcoughcough*) would have on physics
1572577
Actually, Hayquill is doing basically exactly what I requested. And this story/sidestory is mostly about the physics of Equestria because of/in spite of magic. In spite of any appearances otherwise, I greatly appreciate Hayquill
1572577
You can do that if you like. This is a side-document, meaning it's optional.
1572601
Well my biology finals are in two weeks time, I guess I can read this and tell people I'm studying.
1572617
I honestly recommend this. Funny, but also informative.
And suddenly, last paragraph says that the human is an alicorn... explanation please?
1574119
Connected story. Shameless Plug!
Main character, the IC writer of these papers, was once human and through means that will be eventually revealed within said connected story, was transported into Equestria explicitly as a Gary-Stu. The prologue of the story deals with how he becomes instead a "normal" unicorn and the rest of the story deals with the ramifications of having spent 2+ years as a Gary-Stu.
Not actually true. Birds have a similar, but inverted, system, with ZZ being male and ZW being female, and the platypus has the downright psychotic(and currently nowhere near being understood) system that leads to them having five pairs of sex chromosomes.
1611728
Whoaaaaa, wait, what?
I knew that one about birds, though I thought they were still referred to as X and Y (whoops
), but the platypus one is totally new to me.
To note: This is an explicit case of lack of knowledge IC rather than mine on the part of the birds, but that platypus one's totally blindsided me, say what?
1611972
I'm serious. Platypus are just that insane.
News on it
Where I initially learned of it.
These things are crazy down to the genetic level.
Hold on... forgive my squirrelly ignorance when it comes to genetics, but do the two chromosomes the female donates come from the same chromosomal triplet? Because if that's the case, then there should be a 2/3 chance of donating an XY pair - if we separate the two X chromosomes as distinct but identical entities (Call them A and B, so an XXY mare would have ABY), then the potential pairs from this are AY, BY and AB, in other words, XY, XY and XX. So, unless there's some sort of other factor in the decison, it seems to me, it should be that way.
Again, not that learned when it comes to genetics, but I'd appreciate an explanation.
I object to the title of this paper!
Total Paper Word Count: 3167
Social Mores Word Count:1468
Genetics Word Count: 491
Physics Word Count: 666
Magic Word Count: 417
Putting the single category of Social Mores under 'other sundry things' when it comprises of nearly half the paper and is more than twice the length of the second longest section is a gross mislabeling of this paper! Furthermore it was the most in-depth analysis in this paper! The three credited sections were more akin to introductions to later papers!
Oh and you forgot to mention the 'super females' who have a 0% chance of having sons under genetics.
When in-story is this supposed to be written? The first chapter seemed like it was set after Emeris's de-Gary-fication, but this one makes reference to him being a 10th degree master, which is rather beyond him as an Earth Unicorn. I would just assume that he wrote this while still an alicorn, but he makes reference to getting help from Twilight, who he avoided like the plague while under the GSE.
Is Degree not a direct counterpart to Circle, or have you changed your mind in the years since writing this?
On a side note, what would the differences be between XXX and XXY mares?
The basic quantities of the universe are closely tied with many things. Having completely different basic values of the universe would almost certainly prevent a planet made of atoms, much less one capable of supporting life.