In the direction of Ursa Major, at the edge of the M82 Cigar Galaxy dozens of light-years from Earth, there exists a lonely star system. Apart from the star at its center, this system contains two planets orbiting the star: one called the Electron-Deficient Planet, which is dark green, and another called the Electron-Rich Planet, which is silvery white. Their orbital paths nearly coincide, and even their orbital periods are almost identical, which causes them to forever remain on opposite sides of the central star, never able to “meet.”
They don’t truly lack electrons, as they are both electrically neutral—the number of protons on these planets equals the number of electrons. However, the chemical substances composing them have an intense desire to lose or gain electrons. These two planets have other names—the Oxidizer Planet and the Reducer Planet.
Both planets have liquid substances on their surfaces. The Electron-Deficient Planet’s surface is covered by dark green oceans of manganic anhydride, with an atmosphere containing large amounts of fluorine gas, oxygen, dinitrogen pentoxide, sulfur trioxide, neon dioxide, and other gases. The oceans contain small amounts of concentrated sulfuric acid and $MnO_3^+$, with islands of potassium permanganate and potassium dichromate scattered throughout, while the ocean floor contains minerals such as ferrates, perchlorates, and superoxides. The Electron-Rich Planet, on the other hand, has silver oceans of potassium-sodium alloy, containing small amounts of cesium, rubidium, francium, mercury, magnesium, alkyl sodium, and alkyl lithium. The ocean floor is deposited with large amounts of sodium blocks, elemental cesium, charcoal, sodium hydride, and lithium aluminum hydride reefs. The planet’s interior has a core composed of liquid magnesium-aluminum alloy, and the atmosphere consists mainly of argon, elemental ammonium, and trace amounts of hydrogen gas, silanes, and short-chain hydrocarbons.
However, by chance, a massive “light particle” (or “mass point”) flew past the M82 Cigar Galaxy from the direction of the elliptical galaxy M32 near Andromeda at nearly the speed of light. The orbits of the two planets in this star system were slightly affected, their orbital periods developed small deviations and became misaligned, their orbital phase difference decreased, and they slowly approached each other. Finally, after more than twenty million time grains had passed, the two planets entered each other’s gravitational range—they would collide in less than 10 time nodes! This was the inescapable final destiny of the two planets.
The two planets continuously accelerated under their mutual gravitational attraction, reaching speeds of 5 light-seconds per time thread within one-fifth of a time node. The atmospheres of the two planets were attracted first, with the outer thin gases beginning to combine. Since the Electron-Rich Planet’s outer atmosphere contained more argon, with reducing gases in the minority, when they met the fluorine gas from the Electron-Deficient Planet, they only produced a dim blue flame. As the two planets continued their accelerating fall, the blue flame gradually became brighter and more dazzling, as if a small blue sun had been lit between the two planets. At this point, the surface temperature of the Electron-Rich Planet reached over eight hundred degrees, the potassium-sodium alloy oceans began to boil and vaporize, forming silvery bubbles, while the manganic anhydride on the Electron-Deficient Planet began to release oxygen, minerals on the ocean floor decomposed, turning into manganese dioxide and transforming the entire dark green ocean into a gray-black boiling furnace bubbling with oxygen. The neon dioxide in the atmosphere began to decompose, and the large amounts of oxygen produced along with the heat caused the atmosphere to expand. At this moment, the vaporized potassium-sodium alloy reacted with fluorine gas, purple flames enveloped both planets, and the two planets partially disintegrated and exploded before even colliding. All this occurred in less than half a time node. After another few tenths of a time node, the two planets finally collided. Accompanied by intensely colorful flames (from the flame test reactions of metals on the Electron-Rich Planet), the two planets completely exploded into a mass of burning fragments that splattered in all directions, with occasional explosive flashes from incompletely reacted oxidizers and reducers. After several hundred time nodes, some of the splattered fragments fell toward the central star, others were thrown into deep space, and only a few remnants orbited the star to form a thin accretion disk. The burning of residual matter made the accretion disk emit a dim glow. After another few dozen time grains, the accretion disk completely cooled, and only the solitary star could be seen here, as if the other two planets had never existed.
The tragic scene has made it unbearable for me to look. (If sound could travel through space, the explosion would be even more unbearable for me to hear.) What more can I say? I understand the reason why these two planets were thus cleaned up by the star-striker with light particles.
From then on, I have never again heard of any planet having too many or too few electrons.
//This article is actually an old piece of mine, written on June 19, 2014 (shortly after the college entrance examination)