Understanding Matter and Energy

Matter, composed of atoms, has three states: solid, liquid, gas. Did you know glass, often considered solid, flows very slowly, challenging our perception of solids?

Atoms consist of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons have a positive charge, while electrons are negative. Surprisingly, 99.9% of an atom's volume is just empty space!

Atoms form molecules by sharing or exchanging electrons through covalent or ionic bonds. A lesser-known bond, the hydrogen bond, is weaker but crucial in DNA's structure.

Gravity, the weakest fundamental force, remains a puzzle. It's so weak that a small magnet can overcome Earth's gravitational pull on a paperclip!

Plants convert light into energy through photosynthesis. Interestingly, they use only a fraction of sunlight, with most energy reflected or transmitted – a potential untapped energy source.

Cells convert glucose into ATP energy via respiration. Astonishingly, a single cell can produce around 38 ATP molecules from one glucose molecule!

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. Remarkably, the total energy of a closed system remains constant over time, a principle underlying all physical processes.

Helium-4, when cooled to near absolute zero, can flow against gravity and climb up walls, defying ordinary fluid behavior!