Ylem
Encyclopedia
Ylem is a term which was used by George Gamow
, Ralph Alpher, and their associates in the late 1940s
for a hypothetical original substance or condensed state of matter, which became subatomic particles and element
s as we understand them today. The term ylem was actually coined by Ralph Alpher.
In modern understanding, the "ylem" described as by Gamow was the primordial plasma
, formed in baryogenesis
, which underwent Big Bang nucleosynthesis
and was opaque to radiation. Recombination
of the charged plasma into neutral atom
s made the universe transparent at the age of 380,000 years, and the radiation released is still observable as cosmic microwave background radiation
.
philosophical word that Gamow's assistant Ralph Alpher came across while thumbing through a dictionary, which means something along the lines of "primordial substance from which all matter is formed" (which in ancient mythology
of many different cultures was called the cosmic egg
), and derives from the Greek hylem, "matter". Restated, the ylem is what Gamow, et al., presumed to exist immediately after the Big Bang. Within the ylem, there were assumed to be a large number of high-energy photon
s present. Ralph Alpher and Robert Herman
made a scientific prediction in 1948 that we should still be able to observe these red-shifted photons today as an ambient cosmic microwave background radiation
(CMBR) pervading all space with a temperature of about five Kelvin (when the CMBR was actually first detected in 1965, its temperature was found to be three Kelvin). It is now recognized that the CMBR originated at the transition from predominantly ionized hydrogen to non-ionized hydrogen at around 400,000 years after the big bang.
...this is YLEM. All this photography was done when I was still in Washington. When this series of origin of elements, alpha, beta, and gamma worked, I remember I bought the bottle of Cointreau to celebrate and wrote YLEM on it and then photographed the bottle and put my head as a genie coming out of it.
Weiner:
What is YLEM in this case?
Gamow:
A mixture of protons, neutrons and electrons.
Weiner:
But the letters stand for what?
Gamow:
You can look in the Webster dictionary. This is a word—I think it's an old Hebrew word, but Aristotle was using it—in Webster dictionary it says "material from which elements were formed".
Weiner:
The primordial substance?
Gamow:
The primordial substance, yes—ylem.
Weiner:
The thick soup or whatever you want to call it?
Gamow:
I mean this is the old Hebrew word meaning something like "space between heaven and earth".
novel Jack of Eagles by James Blish
(From Chapter 13: "Suddenly space-time seethed with stripped atoms, and then with the primordial flux of neutrons, the ylem..."). It was also used by John Brunner
in his 1959 short story "Round Trip", reprinted in the collection Not Before Time
("... at the last there would again be ylem, surrounded by emptiness so complete that it would possess not even the quality of existence.")
Keith Laumer
in the novel 'Dinosaur beach' introduces the ylem field 1969. Space-Time is a product of oscillations in the ylem field. A.E. van Vogt in his 1971 novel "The Battle of Forever" lets the worst guys use Ylem power to exterminate the entire human settlement behind the "barrier" in Chapter 12 and towards the final act of vengeance
by the protagonist
Modyun, using his "indication" capability in Chapter 35 to recoil the Ylem energy in shortening the enemy's eternal life-span to less than 100 years.
The term is also used by British author Richard Calder
in the 1990s to describe the quantum mechanical state of the "quantum magic" in the girls/robots in his 'Dead'-Trilogy (Dead Girls
, Dead Boys
, Dead Things).
In the fantasy/sci-fi anime Silent Möbius
, the "project YLEM" plays a crucial role for the whole order of events, as it is responsible for the creation of Yuki Saiko.
It was recently used by the German
black metal
band Dark Fortress
as an album and song title for their 2010 album, Ylem.
George Gamow
George Gamow , born Georgiy Antonovich Gamov , was a Russian-born theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He discovered alpha decay via quantum tunneling and worked on radioactive decay of the atomic nucleus, star formation, stellar nucleosynthesis, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, cosmic microwave...
, Ralph Alpher, and their associates in the late 1940s
1940s
File:1940s decade montage.png|Above title bar: events which happened during World War II : From left to right: Troops in an LCVP landing craft approaching "Omaha" Beach on "D-Day"; Adolf Hitler visits Paris, soon after the Battle of France; The Holocaust occurred during the war as Nazi Germany...
for a hypothetical original substance or condensed state of matter, which became subatomic particles and element
Chemical element
A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
s as we understand them today. The term ylem was actually coined by Ralph Alpher.
In modern understanding, the "ylem" described as by Gamow was the primordial plasma
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
, formed in baryogenesis
Baryogenesis
In physical cosmology, baryogenesis is the generic term for hypothetical physical processes that produced an asymmetry between baryons and antibaryons in the very early universe, resulting in the substantial amounts of residual matter that make up the universe today.Baryogenesis theories employ...
, which underwent Big Bang nucleosynthesis
Big Bang nucleosynthesis
In physical cosmology, Big Bang nucleosynthesis refers to the production of nuclei other than those of H-1 during the early phases of the universe...
and was opaque to radiation. Recombination
Recombination (cosmology)
In cosmology, recombination refers to the epoch at which charged electrons and protons first became bound to form electrically neutral hydrogen atoms.Note that the term recombination is a misnomer, considering that it represents the first time that electrically neutral hydrogen formed. After the...
of the charged plasma into neutral atom
Atom
The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
s made the universe transparent at the age of 380,000 years, and the radiation released is still observable as cosmic microwave background radiation
Cosmic microwave background radiation
In cosmology, cosmic microwave background radiation is thermal radiation filling the observable universe almost uniformly....
.
History
It reportedly comes from an obsolete Middle EnglishMiddle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
philosophical word that Gamow's assistant Ralph Alpher came across while thumbing through a dictionary, which means something along the lines of "primordial substance from which all matter is formed" (which in ancient mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
of many different cultures was called the cosmic egg
Cosmic Egg
Cosmic Egg is the second studio album by Australian rock band Wolfmother, released on 23 October 2009. It is the first album by the second lineup of the band, featuring vocalist, songwriter and lead guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Ian Peres, rhythm guitarist Aidan Nemeth and...
), and derives from the Greek hylem, "matter". Restated, the ylem is what Gamow, et al., presumed to exist immediately after the Big Bang. Within the ylem, there were assumed to be a large number of high-energy photon
Photon
In physics, a photon is an elementary particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic interaction and the basic unit of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is also the force carrier for the electromagnetic force...
s present. Ralph Alpher and Robert Herman
Robert Herman
Robert Herman was a United States scientist, best known for his work with Ralph Alpher in 1948-50, on estimating the temperature of cosmic microwave background radiation from the Big Bang explosion....
made a scientific prediction in 1948 that we should still be able to observe these red-shifted photons today as an ambient cosmic microwave background radiation
Cosmic microwave background radiation
In cosmology, cosmic microwave background radiation is thermal radiation filling the observable universe almost uniformly....
(CMBR) pervading all space with a temperature of about five Kelvin (when the CMBR was actually first detected in 1965, its temperature was found to be three Kelvin). It is now recognized that the CMBR originated at the transition from predominantly ionized hydrogen to non-ionized hydrogen at around 400,000 years after the big bang.
Interview
In a taped interview available from the American Institute of Physics, Gamow talks about YLEM:...this is YLEM. All this photography was done when I was still in Washington. When this series of origin of elements, alpha, beta, and gamma worked, I remember I bought the bottle of Cointreau to celebrate and wrote YLEM on it and then photographed the bottle and put my head as a genie coming out of it.
Weiner:
What is YLEM in this case?
Gamow:
A mixture of protons, neutrons and electrons.
Weiner:
But the letters stand for what?
Gamow:
You can look in the Webster dictionary. This is a word—I think it's an old Hebrew word, but Aristotle was using it—in Webster dictionary it says "material from which elements were formed".
Weiner:
The primordial substance?
Gamow:
The primordial substance, yes—ylem.
Weiner:
The thick soup or whatever you want to call it?
Gamow:
I mean this is the old Hebrew word meaning something like "space between heaven and earth".
Use in science fiction and popular culture
After the term ylem was coined by Gamow's assistant Ralph Alpher, it was used in the 1952 science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel Jack of Eagles by James Blish
James Blish
James Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...
(From Chapter 13: "Suddenly space-time seethed with stripped atoms, and then with the primordial flux of neutrons, the ylem..."). It was also used by John Brunner
John Brunner
John Brunner may refer to:* Sir John Brunner, 1st Baronet , a.k.a. John Tomlinson Brunner, British industrialist and Liberal Member of Parliament* John L...
in his 1959 short story "Round Trip", reprinted in the collection Not Before Time
Not Before Time
Not Before Time is a collection of science fiction short stories by John Brunner, published in 1968.-Contents:* Prerogative* Fair Warning* The Warp and the Woof-Woof* Singleminded* A Better Mousetrap* Coincidence Day* Seizure...
("... at the last there would again be ylem, surrounded by emptiness so complete that it would possess not even the quality of existence.")
Keith Laumer
Keith Laumer
John Keith Laumer was an American science fiction author. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was an officer in the United States Air Force and a U.S. diplomat...
in the novel 'Dinosaur beach' introduces the ylem field 1969. Space-Time is a product of oscillations in the ylem field. A.E. van Vogt in his 1971 novel "The Battle of Forever" lets the worst guys use Ylem power to exterminate the entire human settlement behind the "barrier" in Chapter 12 and towards the final act of vengeance
Vengeance
Vengeance may refer to:In publications:*Vengeance , a character in the 1859 novel by Charles Dickens*Vengeance , by Scott Ciencin and Dan Jolley*Vengeance , a character in the Marvel Universe...
by the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
Modyun, using his "indication" capability in Chapter 35 to recoil the Ylem energy in shortening the enemy's eternal life-span to less than 100 years.
The term is also used by British author Richard Calder
Richard Calder (writer)
Richard Calder is a notable British science fiction writer who lives and works in the East End of London, but who spent over a decade in Thailand and the Philippines ....
in the 1990s to describe the quantum mechanical state of the "quantum magic" in the girls/robots in his 'Dead'-Trilogy (Dead Girls
Dead Girls
Dead Girls is the début novel by British science fiction author Richard Calder, and was first published in the UK in 1992 and 1995 in the US ....
, Dead Boys
Dead Boys (novel)
Dead Boys is the second novel by British science fiction author Richard Calder, and was first published in 1994.The novel is the second in Calders 'Dead' trilogy, and is preceded by the novel Dead Girls...
, Dead Things).
In the fantasy/sci-fi anime Silent Möbius
Silent Möbius
is a twelve-volume manga, a 26-episode anime series, and a pair of motion pictures, created by manga artist Kia Asamiya. Both anime versions have been licensed by Bandai Entertainment...
, the "project YLEM" plays a crucial role for the whole order of events, as it is responsible for the creation of Yuki Saiko.
It was recently used by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band Dark Fortress
Dark Fortress
Dark Fortress is a black metal band from Landshut, Germany, formed in 1994. They have released six studio albums, a split album and a demo album.-Early:...
as an album and song title for their 2010 album, Ylem.
See also
- BaryogenesisBaryogenesisIn physical cosmology, baryogenesis is the generic term for hypothetical physical processes that produced an asymmetry between baryons and antibaryons in the very early universe, resulting in the substantial amounts of residual matter that make up the universe today.Baryogenesis theories employ...
- Quark matter
- Big Bang nucleosynthesisBig Bang nucleosynthesisIn physical cosmology, Big Bang nucleosynthesis refers to the production of nuclei other than those of H-1 during the early phases of the universe...