The Sulphur In Me
How Sulphur Connects us with the Universe
On the morning of Friday 23rd February 2024, I took a seat at my desk motivated to write an article for the upcoming Monday issue of this substack. I had planned to write about AI ethics. Instead, I wrote about Sulphur. No, there is no connection between Sulphur and AI, at least as far as I know.
I tend to meander from time to time, driven by curiosity rather than priority, and I can only hope that you, my loyal readers, will pardon such momentary deviations and in the process, come to enjoy the art of following your curiosities yourself.
I remember the first time I encountered the raw smell of sulphur in a chemistry lab. That rotten-egg tang, tinged with an odd hint of electricity, stopped me in my tracks. There was a repulsive fascination to it, something that whispered of forces far larger and older than myself.
Little did I realise back then that this stinky element wasn't just some terrestrial oddity. The same sulphur steams from the Earth and seethes in the fiery depths of volcanoes, swirls in the noxious clouds of Venus, even lingers in the cosmic dust from which planets are born.
The sulphur in me, shaped by the fiery hearts of long-dead stars, didn't just appear by magic. It's a building block in my proteins, a helper in my body's chemical reactions. In a strange act of cosmic recycling, the sulphur excreted by ancient bacteria became part of my bones, and the sulphur spewed forth by volcanoes might become part of tomorrow's lifeforms.
I am not sure what reminded me of this memory of Sulphur, but as soon as I got reminded of it, I couldn’t help but write about it. So in this article, I will be exploring the sulphur in me, in you, in the earth, and beyond, and hopefully, derive from it, some insights that might fascinate you and make you think about such elements more deeply.
Microcosmic Sulphur
Sulphur wouldn't be on my "favourite elements" list, mostly due to the smell. But its role in my body? That's a grudging respect I can absolutely get behind. You see, sulphur might be stinky, but it's an unsung hero within my biochemical landscape. It's woven into the very building blocks of my being - the amino acids cysteine and methionine that give my proteins their unique shapes and functions.
Without sulphur, my body wouldn't be able to construct the sturdy keratin in my hair and nails. My skin would lose some of its elasticity, as collagen depends on sulphur for its strength. Even my joints rely on sulphur-containing molecules for lubrication and flexibility. Those creaks and groans that seem to amplify with age? They might partly be a testament to sulphur's quiet work.
Sulphur's importance extends beyond structural elements. This versatile element plays a role in a myriad of metabolic processes. It's part of the molecular machinery that helps detoxify my body, and a crucial part of glutathione, one of the body’s master antioxidants.
Sometimes, my connection to sulphur becomes more tangible. The faint, metallic tang when I work out hard? That's a bit of sulphur being released as my muscles break down proteins. Even the fleeting scent of garlic or onions on my breath is courtesy of odorous sulphur compounds.
Artwork - Sulphur Connects Us
Macrocosmic Sulphur
Stepping out of my own body (metaphorically) and considering sulphur from the perspective of the Earth, the importance of sulphur only amplifies. It's the 14th most abundant element in the Earth's crust, lurking in mineral deposits, swirling within the oceans, and even tainting the air we breathe.
It's a fiery companion in volcanoes, violently spewed forth in clouds of choking gas, only to rain back down and enrich the soil. Deep within the ocean, hydrothermal vents belch out sulphur compounds that fuel unique ecosystems built around bacteria that harness sulphur's energy.
The Earth isn't just a storehouse of sulphur; it's a dynamic system where the element constantly shifts and transforms. This is the sulphur cycle in action. Microorganisms play an important role, breaking down organic matter and releasing sulphur, sometimes in the form of that tell-tale rotten-egg scented hydrogen sulphide gas.
Other microbes transform this sulphur into sulphates, which plants eagerly absorb as a nutrient. Animals get a dose by munching on those plants or the creatures that ate them.
The sulphur cycle doesn't always hum along unnoticed. When sulphur dioxide from volcanic eruptions or the burning of fossil fuels mingles with water in the atmosphere, things get less pleasant – that's acid rain.
Cosmic Sulphur
The sulphur story stretches far beyond the boundaries of my body or even the confines of Earth. To truly understand this audacious element, we have to consider sulphur from the perspective of space and time itself.
At the core of massive stars, where temperatures are unfathomable and pressures unimaginable, lighter elements like hydrogen and helium fuse, releasing tremendous energy and forging heavier elements in the process. It's within these furnaces that sulphur is born.
When these colossal stars grow old and unstable, they often end their lives in spectacular supernova explosions. These cataclysmic events blast the elements they created across the cosmos, enriching the vast interstellar spaces. The sulphur atoms within my body were quite likely forged in such an explosion billions of years ago.
Vast clouds of dust and gas, seeded with sulphur and other elements left behind by stellar deaths, gradually swirl and coalesce. These stellar nurseries give birth to new stars and planetary systems – like our very own solar system. Young Earth, bombarded by meteorites and comets carrying their cargo of cosmic elements, inherited its sulphur bounty.
Over aeons, sulphur seeped from the molten core to become part of belching volcanoes. It seeped into the oceans, cycled through lifeforms, and was locked away in ancient sedimentary layers. This is the grand sulphur cycle.
Sometimes, standing under a star-strewn sky, I feel humbled by the sheer scale of it all. But then, the realisation hits: the same sulphur fueling those distant stars burns subtly within me. We're not just made of stardust in the cliché sense – we're sculpted from very specific elements forged in cosmic events of awe-inspiring power.
Philosophical Sulphur
Now obviously I can’t end any article without getting a bit philosophical, so here’s a philosophical take on sulphur.
Sulphur has a symbolic weight. For centuries, the smell of sulphur evoked the image of volcanoes. They spoke of Earth's power, the unseen forces capable of reshaping landscapes in a breath. In a sense, the sulphur within me connects me to that same molten, restless potential that lies at the very core of our world.
Its reactivity, that eagerness to form new bonds and shift states, hints at the very essence of existence itself. The universe, from the birth of a star to the minute workings of my cells, is about constant change. Sulphur, ever ready to transform, seems like an embodiment of this fundamental truth. It suggests that I, like everything else in the universe, am not a static being but rather a complex back and forth of creation and dissolution, my form sculpted and resculpted by elemental forces.
On a grander scale, sulphur becomes a symbol that transcends the personal. It represents the interconnectedness of everything. The sulphur atoms within me were born in the death throes of a star. They became part of the Earth, cycled through organisms both ancient and modern, and will perhaps one day be incorporated into something new and yet unforeseen.
This element reminds me that existence isn't built on isolated islands—it's a vast ocean of matter and energy, a continuous flow where, even at the atomic level, the boundaries between self and universe become poetically blurry.
So Why Talk About Sulphur?
It's true, I'm not just a collection of sulphur atoms. Carbon, the backbone of life's molecules, oxygen that fuels my every breath, and even trace elements with surprising roles – they all bear the mark of stars. Yet, there's something special about sulphur that makes it stand out as a symbol of our cosmic connection.
Sulphur isn't locked away in some inaccessible form; it's found in volcanoes, oceans, and the very air. This abundance made it part of the human story for millennia. We've smelled it, used it, and made it part of our understanding of the world.
It bonds easily with other elements, playing diverse roles in both biology and geology. This makes it more than a building block; it's a force of transformation, as much a part of me as it is of the restless heart of our planet.
Let's not forget the nose factor. Love it or hate it, sulphur has a potent, unmistakable odour. That whiff of rotten eggs might be unpleasant, but it's an undeniable link to something larger – it speaks of Earth's fiery depths and of the elemental processes that shaped our world.
Sulphur isn't a replacement for other elements with cosmic origins. It's a gateway. Its story illuminates a grander truth: we are intimately connected to the universe, not just through abstract concepts, but in the very matter from which we are built.
Nice one today, and very much up my personal alley.