During the first millionth of a second in the history of the universe, a hydrogen nucleus could NOT exist. Why not?
A) During this time quarks existed in isolation and so protons did not exist.
B) The electromagnetic force did not exist during this era.
C) Cosmic inflation had pushed protons and electrons too far apart to interact with each other.
D) Protons and antiprotons were continually annihilating each other, and there were no protons to form hydrogen atoms.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

During the first millionth of a second of the universe, it was too hot and dense for quarks to bind together into protons and neutrons, meaning protons (hydrogen nuclei) could not exist as they do in cooler, less dense conditions.

During the First Millionth of a Second in the History