The Bigger They Come the Harder They Fall

And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

(1 Samuel 17:4) NKJV

Nuclear decay is an unfortunate consequence of large atomic nuclei. Small atomic nuclei don’t normally decay because the force holding them together isn’t so great as to cause excessive friction within the nuclei.

Very large atomic nuclei have so much gravitational force pulling them to be as dense as possible that the pressure and friction can cause a particle to be emitted. It’s like if we hold Play-doh in our hand and squeeze our hand closed, the Play-doh will be pressed out between our fingers. An atomic nuclei can undergo repeated ejections of particles. When this happens the atomic weight and number of the substances changes. We’re then witnessing what’s called an atomic decay sequence.

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