---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every molecule in our bodies started off…"
description: "\"“Every molecule in our bodies started off life as a gas, and long after our demise, when the big red bloated sun swallows everything around us, all tho..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4d/sam-kean-10876_life_every-molecule-in-our-bodies-started-off_3192702.png"
---

#  Every molecule in our bodies started off life as a gas…

![“Every molecule in our bodies started off life as a gas, and long after our demise, when the big red bloated sun swallows everything around us, all those atoms will return to a gaseous state.” quote by Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4d/sam-kean-10876_life_every-molecule-in-our-bodies-started-off_3192702.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4d/sam-kean-10876_life_every-molecule-in-our-bodies-started-off_3192702.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4d/sam-kean-10876_life_every-molecule-in-our-bodies-started-off_3192702.png)

> ““Every molecule in our bodies started off life as a gas, and long after our demise, when the big red bloated sun swallows everything around us, all those atoms will return to a gaseous state.””

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

All matter cycles from gas to solid and back, ending in a gaseous state when the sun expands.

**In simple terms:** Matter returns to gas after the sun dies.

Key Takeaway

Remember the universe’s endless cycles.

Themes

science cosmology impermanence

Mood

awe humble

Type

scientific reflective

When to use this quote

- space exploration
- education
- philosophical contemplation

Key Concepts

entropy stellar evolution

Questions to Reflect On

- What does this cycle suggest about our place?
- How can this perspective affect daily life?

A Different Perspective

Human lifespan is fleeting compared to cosmic timescales.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Atoms Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms-return-5894791/) [Gaseous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaseous-864396/) [Gaseous State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaseous-state-3117142/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Gas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-gas-5894792/) [Return Gaseous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return-gaseous-5894793/)

## Related quotes

> [“Asked how he became a star, Mr. Carson once replied, “I started in a gaseous state and then I cooled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/asked-how-he-became-a-star-mr-carson-once-replied-i-started-in-a/)

[Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/)

> [We try not to encourage demonstrations of his mastery of the gaseous arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/we-try-not-to-encourage-demonstrations-of-his-mastery-of-the-gaseous/)

[James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/)

> [Laughter is grace in its gaseous form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathleen-falsani/laughter-is-grace-in-its-gaseous-form/)

[Cathleen Falsani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathleen-falsani/)

> [God: a gaseous vertebrate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/god-a-gaseous-vertebrate/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/)

[Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/)

> [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/)

[Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/)

> [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/)

[Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/)

> [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/)

[Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/)

> [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/)

[Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/)

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

## More by Sam Kean

> [“So while Pauling struggled with his model, Watson and Crick turned theirs inside out, so the negative phosphorus ions wouldn’t touch. This gave them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/so-while-pauling-struggled-with-his-model-watson-and-crick-turned/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [So if big enough droplets fell far enough fast enough, someone floating right near the metallic hydrogen layer inside Jupiter maybe, just maybe, could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/so-if-big-enough-droplets-fell-far-enough-fast-enough-someone/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [Mendeleev, unlike the squeamish Meyer, had balls enough to predict that new elements would be dug up. Look harder, you chemists and geologists, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/mendeleev-unlike-the-squeamish-meyer-had-balls-enough-to-predict-that/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [“Lithium regulates the proteins that control the body’s inner clock. This clock runs, oddly, on DNA, inside special neurons deep in the brain. Special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/lithium-regulates-the-proteins-that-control-the-body-s-inner-clock/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [“Despite the earnest belief of most of his fans, Einstein did not win his Nobel Prize for the theory of relativity, special or general.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/despite-the-earnest-belief-of-most-of-his-fans-einstein-did-not-win/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [“The irony is too rich not to point out. When arranging the different human races in tiers, from just below the angels to just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/the-irony-is-too-rich-not-to-point-out-when-arranging-the-different/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [“Think of the most fussy science teacher you ever had. The one who docked your grade if the sixth decimal place in your answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/think-of-the-most-fussy-science-teacher-you-ever-had-the-one-who/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [“For his part, Mendeleev scanned Lecoq de Boisbaudran’s data on gallium and told the experimentalist, with no justification, that he must have measured something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/for-his-part-mendeleev-scanned-lecoq-de-boisbaudran-s-data-on-gallium/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [“Sir Isaac Newton famously said that he had achieved everything by standing on the shoulders of giants—the scientific men whose findings he built upon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/sir-isaac-newton-famously-said-that-he-had-achieved-everything-by/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [“If certain bacteria, fungi, or algae inch across something made of copper, they absorb copper atoms, which disrupt their metabolism (human cells are unaffected).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/if-certain-bacteria-fungi-or-algae-inch-across-something-made-of/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [“Scarily, cadmium is not even the worst poison among the elements. It sits above mercury, a neurotoxin. And to the right of mercury sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/scarily-cadmium-is-not-even-the-worst-poison-among-the-elements-it/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [“Somehow, though, life turned that danger around, and this former poison became essential. It may sound trite, but this reversal always reminds me of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/somehow-though-life-turned-that-danger-around-and-this-former-poison/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [“Since before even the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians, human beings used the stars and seasons to track time and record their most important moments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/since-before-even-the-ancient-egyptians-and-babylonians-human-beings/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [“Today alpha equals 1/137.0359 or so. Regardless, its value makes the periodic table possible. It allows atoms to exist and also allows them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/today-alpha-equals-1-137-0359-or-so-regardless-its-value-makes-the/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

> [“Furthermore, because silicon packs on more protons than carbon, it's bulkier, like carbon with fifty extra pounds. Sometimes that's not a big deal. Silicon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/furthermore-because-silicon-packs-on-more-protons-than-carbon-it-s/)

[Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

[Explore all 58 Sam Kean quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/)

## More Life quotes

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/)

[Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/)

> [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/)

[Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/)

> [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/)

[Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/)

> [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/)

[Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/)

> [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/)

[Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/)

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

[Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Every molecule in our bodies started off life as a gas, and long after our demise, when the big red bloated sun swallows everything around us, all those atoms will return to a gaseous state.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sam Kean"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/every-molecule-in-our-bodies-started-off-life-as-a-gas-and-long-after/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/every-molecule-in-our-bodies-started-off-life-as-a-gas-and-long-after/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4d/sam-kean-10876_life_every-molecule-in-our-bodies-started-off_3192702.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4d/sam-kean-10876_life_every-molecule-in-our-bodies-started-off_3192702.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4d/sam-kean-10876_life_every-molecule-in-our-bodies-started-off_3192702.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Every molecule in our bodies started off life as a gas, and long after our demise, when the big red bloated…” — Sam Kean",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Sam Kean",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Every molecule in our bodies started...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/every-molecule-in-our-bodies-started-off-life-as-a-gas-and-long-after/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/every-molecule-in-our-bodies-started-off-life-as-a-gas-and-long-after/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
