[Cletus.D.Yokel]

:: It was entitled, “Some of the Things That Molecules Do.” ::

Interesting, by the title.

As a chemist (away from the rarefied air of therotical physics for some time), I must ask, can molecules “evolve”? I know they can decay and, even subsequently return to their natural state but, can Lead (Pb) become Gold (Au)?

[papertyger]

...I know they can decay and, even subsequently return to their natural state...

Funny that: how things fall apart easier than they go together...

[Zathras]

I’ve got this one tivo’d to check out.
Always have a soft spot for basic chemistry.

[afsnco]

Ah, yes. That pesky Second Law of Thermodynamics... Not to mention the First Law of Thermodynamics... Also, that pesky, Law of Biogenesis...

[alexander_busek]

As a chemist (away from the rarefied air of therotical physics for some time), I must ask, can molecules “evolve”? I know they can decay and, even subsequently return to their natural state but, can Lead (Pb) become Gold (Au)?

Short answer: Radioactive decay (e.g., Radium -> Radon -> Lead).

Even so-called "stable" elements actually have extremely long halflives. Eventually (in trillions or even quadrillions of years) all atoms heavier (with an atomic number higher) than iron will decay into iron.

But no, I wouldn't call that "evolution."

Regards,

[Mamzelle]

I've had it explained to me that scientific experiments should be "reproducible"--that is, if one species changes into another, you should be able to make it happen in the laboratory. Certainly it should have happened by now, considering the many experiments all over the world over so many years with fruit flies. Yet, no new fruit fly.

So the "scientists" just call people names when those people express skepticism.

Science is in process of being ruined by progressivism.

[ifinnegan]

“I must ask, can molecules “evolve”? I know they can decay and, even subsequently return to their natural state but, can Lead (Pb) become Gold (Au)?”

Lead and gold are elements, not molecules.

[gleeaikin]

I felt a sense of spiritual awe when I first saw the Periodic Table in high school.