chemicals between us

You have Saheli to blame for triggering this one. I was really going to stop writing about science for the rest of the week, but she had to go and allude to my penchant for an appropriate distance in relationships. I have been resisting the urge to write about this for some time; it is probably one of my favorite science analogies of all time.

Above is a very poor representation of the oft-studied, famous (in my head) potential energy curve-- my primer. This is a very good mock-up of the handwritten potential energy curve I had hanging up in my dorm room in college. No, I will not provide you with photographic evidence of this, as I was going through some unfortunate apparel choices at the time.

The potential energy curve measures the change in attractive/repulsive forces between two atoms as they approach each other in space. When two atoms are far apart, this is termed the dissociative limit. They are so far apart that they just don't care about each other one way or the other. Long-distance relationships never work, do they?

As two atoms approach each other more closely, they gradually become more attracted to each other. They like what they see, they'd like to know more. They're a little cautious in their interest. Maybe this other atom is trouble, but maybe that is a little intriguing. But as the two atoms are moved closer together, they reach a certain, specific distance that is absolute perfection. They are in a perfect state of bliss there.

And yet, push them past this point, move them closer together still, and it is bad news bears. The repulsion grows at a hyperbolic rate. It passes the indifference stage, and goes into intense hostility. The thrill is not just gone; it has been replaced with annoyance. And isn't that how it should be?

I wanted to save this idea, so that I could write it when I had more time, when I could put it all together the way I envision it in my head. But, ultimately, I do not think it is necessary. This one is pretty obvious. What can I say, I am all about personal space.