Human molecular formula (overview)
Top: a physicochemical view of the synthesis of a human, each person having a Gibbs free energy of formation (see: human free energy of formation), according to the views of, e.g. Norman Dolloff (1975), Martin Goldstein (1993), Daniel Schroeder (2000), and Libb Thims (2010).

Bottom: a depiction of the new 21st century human molecular formula based view of humans as reactive "molecules" with a measured 22- or 26-element, depending, molecular formula, as found in the following three textbooks: Ecological Stoichiometry (2002), by American limnologists Robert Sterner and James Elser, Human Chemistry (2007), by American electrochemical engineer Libb Thims, and Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics (2011), by Indian-born American mechanical engineer Kalyan Annamalai and American mechanical engineer Carlos Silva, the latter citing Thims’ human molecular formula definition, all tracing their origin to French philosopher Jean Sales 1789 "human molecular hypothesis" in his The Philosophy of Nature: Treatise on Human Moral Nature. [25]
In human chemistry, human molecular formula is the chemical formula for one human, showing the total number of elements that comprise the typical 150-pound person, in which view the person is defined as "human molecule" or "human chemical", among other names, such as human chemical element, human chemical species, human particle, etc.

There are two types of formulas, one the "empirical molecular formula", showing the ratios of elements in proportion to the smallest element, according to percent mass composition, second the "molecular formula", showing numbers of all the elements present in the molecule.

Earliest views
The earliest views of what humans were comprised of—stemming largely from the ancient Egypt, namely the circa 3100 Heliopolis creation myth (see: Nun cosmology)—held that humans were made of clay (see: clay creation theory), e.g. as made on Khnum's potters wheel, and given the breath or spirit of life (see: creation by breath) to become animated (alive).

Seventy-five percent of the modern world can trace their belief that they are alive to this potter's wheel theory (see: comparative mythology and religion). Though belief in the Egyptian gods and goddesses has long been forgotten, the belief in life or the theory of life (and in many cases afterlife) has strongly been retained in the modern person's belief system, the repercussion of which is that nearly all people, religious and non-religious, still presently believe they are "alive" in spite of the fact that this concept does not corroborate with modern chemistry and physics. As English physiologist Charles Sherrington put it frankly in 1938: "chemistry does not know the word life." [24] The reconciliation or rather solution of this seeming paradox, sometimes called the great problem of natural philosophy, is what is referred to as the defunct theory of life perspective (2009) with its repercussion life terminology upgrades (2012).

In circa 500 BC, Greek philosopher Xenophanes (c.570-c.475BC) held that "all creatures that come into being are earth and water." [21]

In circa 450 BC, Greek philosopher Empedocles originating the first standard model of physics, according to which the universe was comprised of four elements: fire (θ∆ics - Encyclopedia of Humanthermodynamics), earth (θ∆ics - Encyclopedia of Humanthermodynamics), air (θ∆ics - Encyclopedia of Humanthermodynamics), water (θ∆ics - Encyclopedia of Humanthermodynamics), meaning that humans are entities made of four elements, whose interactions were governed by two forces: philia (●→|←●), i.e. attraction (or love) and neikos (←●|●→), i.e. repulsion (or hate). The various tissues of the body, according to Empedocles, were comprised of various proportions of these elements: blood contained equal amounts of all four; bone is four parts fire to two parts of water and earth, and so on. [21] This can loosely be said to be the first groping at the idea a human molecular formula.

In circa 375 BC, Greek philosopher Plato held that humans were made by gods "out of earth and fire". [21]

Early chemical views
In circa 1790s, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, supposedly, hypothesized, determined, or experimentally measured that humans are comprised of primarily three elements carbon, hydrogen (inflammable air), and oxygen: [20]

Human = f{C, H, O,}

In 1899, English physiologist John Thornton stated that there were 72 elements known in chemistry and that 14 of these enter into the composition of the human body: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, chlorine, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, fluorine, and silicon; and noted that other elements, such as manganese and lead, have sometimes been found in small quantities. [11] In formulaic terms, at the turn of the 20th century it was known that a human had the following generalized 14-element molecular formula:

Human = f{O, C, H, N, S, P, Cl, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Fl, S}
26-elements
Henry Osborn ns
Chemical formula
George Carey (new)
C:N:P ratio
Alfred Redfield
Henry Osborn
(1857-1935)		 George Carey
(1845-1924)
Alfred Redfield
(1890-1983)

In 1916, American sociologist Carl Kelsey, in his The Physical Basis of Society, stated the that the human body is composed of ten elements with the following percentages: [35]

“The human body contains carbon, 13.5 percent; hydrogen, 9.1 percent; oxygen, 72 percent; nitrogen, 2.5 percent; phosphorus, 1.15 percent; sodium, 0.1 percent; calcium, 1.3 percent; magnesium, 0.001 percent; iron, 0.01 percent and traces of silicon and fluorine.”

In 1916, American anatomist, zoologist, and paleontologist Henry Osborn, in his The Origin of Life: On the Theory of Action, Reaction and Interaction of Energy, stated that there were 26-elements that entered into the structure of what he called "elementary living phases" as follows:

“The earliest fitness we discover in the bacteria or monad is the fitness of grouping and organizing different kinds of energy—the energy of molecules, of atoms, of electrons as displayed in the twenty-six or more chemical elements which enter into life.”

In 1919, about 81 elements were known, and it was in this year that American physician George Carey, shown adjacent, in his Chemistry of Human Life, famous stated, in a rather prophetic manner, that: [2]

“Man's body is a chemical formula in operation.”

Carey, here, was the first to state that not only that the elements that comprise a human can be written as a formula but more to the point that a human is molecular formula "in operation" as he says. This is a huge jump in the insight of human thinking.

In 1925, American chemist Edwin Slosson, in his section on the chemistry of creation and atomic turnover, stated that: “We care nothing, really, for the particular atoms of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen that make up what we mistakenly call ourselves.” [9] Thus, according to Slosson, a human would be characterized by the following generalized 4-element molecular formula:

Human = f{C, H, O, N}

In 1934, American oceanographer Alfred Redfield (1890-1983), shown adjacent, published his “On the Proportions of Organic Derivations in Sea Water and their Relation to the Composition of Plankton”, in which he found that the atomic ratio of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus found in ocean plankton is: [14]

C:N:P = 106:16:1

This has since come to be known as the “Redfield ratio”. [15] The extrapolation of this methodology up to humans would be the publication of an article along the lines of “On the Proportions of Organic Derivations in North America and South America and their Relation to the Composition of Americans and Brazilians”. In any event, Redfield followed his C:N:P ratio work up with his 1958 American Scientist article “The Biological Control of Chemical Factors in the Environment”, which, according to American ecologist Peter Vitousek (2002), is the pioneering article ecological stoichiometric analysis. [16] It was this element ratio work of Redfield that led to the first calculation of the molecular formula for a human by American limnologists Robert Sterner and James Elser in 2000 (see below).

In 1944, Marcel Florkin, in his Introduction to General Biochemistry, as cited by Ernest Schoffeniels (1973), stated that 100 elements were present in the earth’s shell and that “22 elements” are present in organisms. [38]

In 1970, South African scientist Samuel Gorvy, in his The Living Entity, may have given some type of formula of an organism, or man as “chemical molecule” or human molecule (check). [34]

In 1972, American scientist Earl Frieden published his “The Chemical Elements of Life” article in Scientific American, in which he supposedly gave a table in which a human is comprised of 16 elements: [12]

Human = F{O, C, H, N, Ca, P, K, S, Na, Cl, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mo, Zn, I}

In the mid 1970s, it was being reported, in publications such as San Jose Mercury News (“Man’s Worth Rises, Chemically Speaking”, 1972), Chemical and Engineering News, and high school science textbooks, supposedly, originating as a joke by someone, that it “used to be common knowledge that, from head to toe, the chemical value of the human body was 98 cents”; the joke supposedly became funnier by reporting inflation values each year: $3.50 (1972), $5.60 (1977), and $6M (1976) by Harold Morowitz. (Ѻ)

Animated systems peroidic tableThe Biological Chemistry of the Elements (2001)
A 2001 periodic table listing of elements found to have function or possibly have function in animate organisms. [13]
Towards the late 20th century, scientists began to categorize these dozen-and-a-half or so listing of elements that comprise a human into the format division of "main elements" and "trace elements".

In 2001, to exemplify, Portuguese chemists J.J. da Silva and English chemist Robert Williams made what they termed a "biological elements period table", as shown adjacent, captioned as the “distribution of elements essential for life in the periodic table”, which lists thirty total elements, 11 bulk elements, 14 trace elements, and 7 possibly essential trace: [13]

● Bulk elements: H, C, N, O, Na, Mg, P, S, Cl, K, Ca
● Trace elements: B, F, Si, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Mo, I
● Possibly essential: As, Br, Sr, Cd, Sn, Ba, W

found in animated organisms. The labeling of "elements essential for life", to note, is an anthropocentric-religious-mythology slant to the picture; whereas, correctly, the table should be labeled as "elements found to have function in animate organism", being that there is no such thing as a "living" atom, molecule, chemical, or atomic geometry (see: defunct theory of life). A recent 2012 blog post by a chemistry teacher called Gibby, comments the following: “You are what you eat. But do you recall munching some molybdenum or snacking on selenium? Some 60 chemical elements are found in the body, but what all of them are doing there is still unknown.” [17] This unsourced statement, however, seems to be on the high end; the general rule is that an element has to be found to have a specific active function in the human body if it is to be included in the molecular formula for that body.

Sterner-Elser empirical molecular formula | 2000
See main: Sterner-Elser human molecular formula
On 18 Apr 2000, or circa thereabouts, inspired by the earlier 1934-1958 C:N:P ratio plankton composition work of American oceanographer Alfred Redfield, the first calculation of the empirical molecular formula for an average human was done by American limnologists Robert Sterner and James Elser who determined the following 22-element human empirical molecular formula for an average human: [2]

Molecular formula (human)
(Sterner-Elser)
[empirical]
= H375,000,000O132,000,000C85,700,000N6,430,000Ca1,500,000P1,020,000S206,000Na183,000K177,000
Cl127,000Mg40,000Si38,600Fe2,680Zn2,110Cu76I14Mn13F13Cr7Se4Mo3Co1


Ecological StoichiometryRobert Sterner
Robert Sterner
James Elser (s)
Ecological Stoichiometry (2002)
James Elser

In 2002, Sterner and Elser officially published this "formula" or "chemical formula in operation", as Carey (1919) called it, in the opening pages to their Ecological Stoichiometry textbook, shown adjacent. This new "textbook" definition of a person, defines a human as a 22-element molecule. Sterner and Elser give the following synopsis of what this “formula” means in regards to the "new view" of what exactly a human is: [3]

“This formula combines all compounds in a human into single abstract ‘molecule’. The stoichiometric approach considers whole organisms as if they were single abstract molecules. Organisms can be thought of as complex evolved chemical substances that interact with each other and the abiotic world in a way that resembles a complex, composite, chemical reaction. This formula for the ‘human molecule’ [allows one] to think about how every human represents the coming together of atoms in proportions that are, if not constant, at least bounded and obeying some rules.”

This "every human represents the coming together of atoms" seems to bring to mind French philosopher Jean Sales' prophetic 1789 statement:

“We conclude that there exists a principle of the human body which comes from the great process in which so many millions of atoms of the earth become many millions of human molecules.”

from his The Philosophy of Nature: Treatise on Human Moral Nature, which, of course, initiated the human molecular hypothesis. In 2008, Sterner commented the following, to American electrochemical engineer Libb Thims, about their calculation: [5]

“I have attached the spreadsheet used to construct that formula for a human molecule in our book. My copy of the spreadsheet is dated April 18, 2000. I cannot say exactly when we made the calculations. That date might have to do with some modification of the figure or some other edit. At any rate, it gives an indication.”

The date of 18 Apr 2000 thus marks a paradigm shift in human thought: the first day, in the history of the universe, as is known, that a molecule calculates its own molecular formula. The ramifications of this calculation are unprecedented and will result in the coming millennium to bring about the follow-through of the Goethean revolution, to say the least.

On 26 Feb 2008, American electrochemical engineer Libb Thims emailed Sterner (and Elser) about their ambiguous "while this is not strictly true" side comment:

"I want to ask you a question to clarify your point of view. My question is that on page two you state: 'the stoichiometric approach considers whole organisms as if they were single abstract molecules' (this is good); but then you state: 'while this is, of course, not strictly true ...' Could you please clarify you mindset, on the 'not strictly true' part, so that I can present you view correctly in my [upcoming] book [The Human Molecule]."

Sterner's response is as follows: [18]

"Dr. Elser and I were trying to get across that by considering all elements to be part of one single, abstract molecule, one loses all the information inherent in the actual distribution of elements within actual biomolecules."

Some, such as American civil-ecological engineer Jeff Tuhtan (2012), have taken the sentence addition fragment "while this is not strictly true" to mean that Sterner and Elser "do not view a human as an abstract molecule", which of course contradicts their explicit statement of "the stoichiometric approach considers whole organisms as if they were single abstract molecules." [19] Whatever the case, Sterner and Elser seem to be the first to ever calculate the molecular formula of a human.

What exactly is a human?
HM calculation (circa 2002)

→		Human molecular formula (spread sheet) 2005
Top: a circa 2002 off-the-cuff quickly-made scratch-paper attempt of the calculation of the human molecular formula for a typical human, i.e. a crude-version molecular formula for a human, by American electrochemical engineer Libb Thims, using a percentage ratio method; arrived at during the writing of a three-volume unpublished manuscript, entitled Human Thermodynamics (see: publications, unpublished section), following about seven years worth of thought on how to model human reproduction as a chemical reaction (no analogy), of the form A + B → C (where A is a man, B a woman, and C a newly conceived child), in terms of the spontaneity criterion. [10] Right: one of Libb Thims’ early spread sheets (Ѻ), saved as “human formula”, for the calculation of the average human molecular formula, shown online in 2005.
Thims molecular formula | 2002
Thims human molecular formula
The second-known calculation of both the empirical human molecular formula (formula showing the smallest ratio of atoms) and the human molecular formula (formula showing all of the atoms present in the molecule) was done, independently, by American electrochemical engineer Libb Thims in 2002, specifically in a manuscript chapter to a three-volume textbook Human Thermodynamics, in a chapter entitled "Where Does One Go after Death?" on the question of what happens when you die, in the context of the conservation of energy and thermodynamics. To give a bit of preliminary, from 1995 to 2001, Thims had been working on the famous elective affinities problem, in the form of how to predict the reaction feasibility of birth or synthesis of a human using the Gibbs function reaction spontaneity criterion applied to the following human reproduction reaction model:

A + B → C

where, during these years, Thims conceived of A as a male, B a female, and C a newly-synthesized detaching-from-the-parential-structure child at about the age of fifteen. During these years, Thims gave little thought to atomic-thinking, and generally considered A, B, and C to be humans, as one sees them and views them commonly and colloquially, as biological organisms, so to speak. When, however, Thims began to pry deeper into the subject, specifically by applying the first law of thermodynamics to the second one "dies" and no longer exists and began to ask what exactly constitutes a person at the moment of death: the molecular view of the human emerged along with a the view that a certain amount of the composition of a person is embodied, not solely in the physical body of the person, but also in, obviously, material possessions, property, land ownership, etc., but more elusively in the form of bond energy, in the thermodynamic sense, as Fritz Haber originally introduced the notion of bond energy in the guise of Lewis thermodynamics and the ATP-powering reaction view or model. This query thus eventually led to the development of theory of the human chemical bond and of human molecular orbital theory. In any event, during this period of focusing on the query of what happens to a person at the point of death according to thermodynamics, a subject generally known as cessation thermodynamics, Thims began ruminate on how to go about calculating the molecular formula for an individual human, during which time, following several months of research, investigation, and searching for mass composition tables of humans, Thims eventually produced, similar to Sterner and Elser, a meta-analysis 26-element empirical human molecular formula as shown below: [4]

Molecular formula (human)
(Thims)
[empirical]
=
H2.5E9O9.7E8C4.9E8N4.7E7P9.0E6Ca8.9E6K2.0E6Na1.9E6S1.6E6Cl1.3E6Mg3.0E5Fe5.5E4
F5.4E4Zn1.2E4Si9.1E3Cu1.2E3B7.1E2Cr98Mn93Ni87Se65Sn64I60Mo19Co17V





Thims also calculated a human molecular formula, based on the empirical molecular formula, for an average 70-kg (154-lb) human, the 2008 version of which is shown below: [1]

Molecular formula (human)
(Thims)
[molecular]
=
CE27HE27OE27NE26PE25SE24CaE25KE24ClE24NaE24MgE24FeE23FE23
ZnE22SiE22CuE21BE21IE20SnE20MnE20SeE20CrE20NiE20MoE19CoE19VE18


In Latex, the human molecular formula is:

Human molecular formula (Latex)

Human Chemistry (Volume One) 250px
The Human Molecle (300px)




Libb Thims (2008)
Libb Thims



Human Chemistry (2007)The Human Molecule (2008)

Thims commented on this "formula", in the 2002 manuscript, the following:

"By describing the existence of a human in this form we are by no means making attempts to degrade our existence, we are only trying to help elucidate our understanding of this existence.”

In short, it became imperative in Thims' mind to determine what exactly was the fundamental particle definition of one human at the moment of death, knowing that both the laws of matter and energy conservation will hold; several months were spent doing research on how to go about calculating the molecular formula for a human. Thims went on, from 2002 to 2007 to recalculate this formula several times, as more accurate mass composition tables became available. [4] He would eventually define this atomic view as bound state existence, on the physics model of the bound state.

In terms of publication, the 2002 manuscript chapter was only disseminated to a handful of people; in 2004 to 2005, a hundred copies of a 120-page manuscript entitled Cessation Thermodynamics, which contained the human molecular formula, were given to a hundred people exactly who read the book and gave Thims feedback on the model; in 2005, with the launching of HumanThermodynamics.com, the Thims calculations of the human molecular formula were online; the first published book to included the formula was Thims' 2007 Human Chemistry, shown adjacent, wherein chapter two entitled "The Human Molecule" contained the formula with discussion.

In 2008, after discovering that American historian Henry Adams used the human molecule viewpoint significantly, such as in his 1910 A Letter to American Teachers of History, Thims began to do a more thorough investigation into the history of this person = human molecule point of view. On 17 Feb 2008, after doing a Google Book search on keywords "human molecule thermodynamics", Thims discovered the 2002 Sterner-Elser calculation; Thims then emailed Sterner within the hour, who in turn attached to Thims his 2000 spread sheet date, as discussed previously. [5] This finding, along with other findings, such as C.G. Darwin and Pierre Teilhard's human molecule views, among others, resulted in the publication of the 2008 booklet The Human Molecule, a history of the subject of the person defined as a molecule.

New Scientist | 2005
In 2005, in a New Scientist article entitled “That’s Life”, they give a publication for what they call a person's "chemical formula", albeit an empirical one. The following is the 12-element empirical formula given in the New Scientist article for a human: [7]

Molecular formula (human)
(New Scientist)
[empirical]
=H15,750N31006,500C2,250Ca63P48K15S15Na10Cl6Mg3Fe1


_____		New Scientist 03 December 2005 250px
The 03 Dec 2005 New Scientist issue containing the article "That's Life", opening section shown above, which gives a 12-element empirical molecular formula for a human. [7]

which they define as one's "chemical formula". The opening section to the article is as follows: [7]

"What chemical formula would accurately describe an adult human being, in terms of the relative distribution of elements (including pollutants)? And what might be the formula for the first alien life form we encounter? One's "chemical formula" depends on a number of factors, most notably whether we're talking about a he or a she. Male bodies contain more water than female bodies, which have extra lipids. By weight, oxygen amounts to about two-thirds of the body, followed by carbon at 20 per cent, hydrogen at 10 per cent and nitrogen at 3 per cent. Elements originating from pollutants would only be present in trace amounts. If a human body were broken into single atoms, we would arrive at an empirical formula H15750 N310 O6500 C2250 Ca63 P48 K15 S15 Na10 Cl6 Mg3 Fe1. The relative numbers of atoms in this differ from the composition by weight because atoms have ..."

What is lacking in this calculation are some 10 to 14 elements shown to have active role in the internal functioning of a person, such as are found in the Thims formula and the Sterner-Elser formula. This formula made it into the Q&A physics forum. [8]
Physiological Ecology (2007)
(2007)
Encyclopedia of Ecology (2008)
(2008)		Global Ecology (2010)
(2010)		A Modeling Approach for Alpine Rivers Impacted by Hydropeaking Including the Second Law Inequality (2011)
(2012)
In ecology, the three books to the left employ the Sterner-Elser human molecular formula employing books, the book to the right, an ecological thermodynamics PhD dissertation by Jeff Tuhtan, to the right employs the Thims human molecular formula, in particular the concept of the fish molecule.

Ecology
In 2007, Americans ecologist William H. Karasov and zoologist and physiologist Carlos del Rio, in their Physiological Ecology: How Animals Process Energy, Nutrients, and Toxins, utilize the Sterner-Elser human molecular formula, and discuss it, as shown below (left), about which the summarize: [29]

“The practitioners of biological stoichiometry do not question the importance of physiology and biochemistry, rather they attempt to use the metaphor of living systems as molecules in an attempt to construct a minimal, but more complete, ecological theory than one based on a single currency (energy, or carbon, or nitrogen).”

In 2008, the Sterner-Elser human molecular formula made it into an entry on the "biology of the elements", shown below (right), in the five volume Encyclopedia of Ecology, albeit in an entry on ecological stoichiometry written Robert Sterner and James Elser. [26] Sterner and Elser reproduce the same "Biology of the Elements" ecological stoichiometry subsection in the 2010 collaborative book Global Ecology, edited by Danish ecologist and chemical engineer Sven Jorgensen. [27]

William Karasov and Carlos del Rio
Physiological Ecology
(2007)
Human molecule (physiological ecology)		_________The Biology of the Elements (2008)
Robert Sterner and James Elser
Encyclopedia of Ecology
(2008)

American limnologists Robert Sterner and James Elser's 2008 and 2010 "biology of the elements" entry on their 22-element molecular formula a human, which is re-worded slightly from their original 2002 entropy, e.g. they say "living human" (2010) instead of "living human being" (2002); the distance themselves from the previous use of the term "human molecule" (2002) and add in the term "analogy" (2010), which was not used in the original presentation. No doubt these changes have something to do with the Hmolpedia entry on their work, previous discussion on the implications of this formula with Thims in 2008, who does not consider this to be “analogy” but reality.

In 2012, American civil ecological engineer Jeff Tuhtan, in his thermodynamics of fish systems PhD dissertation, inspired by American electrochemical engineer Libb Thims’ concept of the human molecule and fish molecule, citing Thims' 2008 The Human Molecule, employs general thermodynamics of human molecule theory to aquatic ecosystems, about which he comments in general: [30]

“The human species is but one of many. Viewed from a sort of universal microscope, we appear as but a vast collection of molecules in motion. In our current state we are firmly attached to an Earthly substrate, feeding off the energy gradient of the Sun. The fate of our chemical species is undeniably tied to the affinities and energies of interaction required to maintain our evolving earth ecosystem. We live in a closed system. In order to understand the nature of things, we must learn more about both our reactions and our products.”
Human molecule (2011)Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics
The new 2011 thermodynamics textbook definition of a human, based on American electrochemical engineer Libb Thims' 2002 calculation of the 26-element human molecular formula, in Indian-born American mechanical engineers Kalyan Annamalai, Ishwar Puri, and Milind Jog’s Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics. [2]

Annamalai | Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics | 2011
In 2011, Indian-born American mechanical engineer Kalyan Annamalai, in his Advanced Thermodynamics Engineering, co-written with Ishwar Puri and Milind Jog, employed American electrochemical engineer Libb Thims' 26-element molecular formula became the standard thermodynamics textbook definition of a human, as follows:

“Humans may be called a 26-element energy/heat driven dynamic atomic structure.”

detailed in their section 14.4.1: Human body | Formulae. [22]

2013 | Forward
In 2013, American evolutionary paleontologist Neil Shubin, noted for his 2006 discovery of Tiktaalik, the so-called missing link amphibian fish, citing the 2002 Sterner-Elser human molecular formula, published his The Universe Within: the Deep History of the Human Body, in chapter two of which he opens to the following big bang to human molecule 13.7 billion-year scenario:

Big bang to human molecule (Shubin)The Universe Within (2013)Your Inner Fish (2008)

Commenting about this, in end note commentary: [33]
2013
2013
God vs Thims (labeled)Debates of the Hmolpedians (2013)
Left a God vs Thims (compare: God vs Gibbs) labeled image from the 2013 Triple≡Bond Chemistry (triplenlace.com) article “Chemical Formula of a Human”, showing the religious implications of human molecular formula work. Right: the 2013 Debates of the Hmolpedians by David Bossens, on the philosophical implications of human molecular formula theory.

“This is of course not a true chemical formula, as the ratios of elements in us [see: hmolscience periodic table] compose not a single unique molecule, like a crystal of salt, but a body consisting of numberous different kinds of them.”

In 2013, Belgian psychologist David Bossens published his Debates of the Hmolpedians, which includes Thims human molecular formula. [31]

Religion
In 2013, the online Spanish chemistry news and education outlet Triple≡Bond Chemistry (triplenlace.com) published the article “Chemical Formula of a Human”, citing the Sterner-Elser human molecular formula (2000) and the Thims human molecular formula (2002), illustrated with the following "hand of god" stylized painting—a protein molecule play on Michelangelo’s circa 1512 fresco "The Creation of Adam"—alluding to the inherent religion-overthrowing implications in such a view. [36] Namely, is it free energy differentials, defined by chemical thermodynamics, or the hand of God, defined by the Bible, that created or rather synthesized humans?

Harkup
In 2013, English chemist Kathryn Harkup (Ѻ), using the incorrect “59-elements in humans” basis, from John Emsley’s The Elements (1989), commented: “I'm sure you have all wondered what the empirical formula would be for a human. Well, wonder no more. With invaluable help from John Emsley's book "The Elements" and a calculator I have spent a sunny afternoon working it out”, then gives the following 59-element empirical formula for a human, using Hill order (which is a non-functionable ordering system at this size): [37]

Harkup formula (59-elements) (with errors)
Harkup then comments, hastily, the time-honored regurgitation statement: “Of the 59 elements detected only 23 are essential for life (although the role of some such as Si is still debated)”; as to passingly imply that 36 of the above elements, e.g. arsenic (As) "a poison", rubidium (Rb) a "muscle toxin", tungsten (W) a toxin found near waste sites, which causes "respiratory" problems in animals, lead (Pb) a "poison" common to children, aluminum (Al) a "toxin", etc., were somehow organism-functional working elements in humans; which is not the case. Maybe she should have spent more time then a "sunny afternoon" working on her formula calculation?

BioNumbers | Harvard
In 2015, BioNumbers, Harvard Medical School's database of "useful biological numbers", began listing both the molecular formula and empirical molecular formula for a human, per citation of Thims (2002):

Human molecular formula (molecular)Human molecular formula (empirical)
The 2015 entries for “molecular” [left] (Ѻ) and “empirical” [right] (Ѻ) molecular formulas for an average human, in Harvard’s Medical School’ BioNumbers, per citation of American electrochemical engineer Libb Thims 26-element “human molecular formula” (see: Thims human molecular formula (2002); compare: Sterner-Elser human molecular formula (2000), a 22-element formula).

(add discussion)

Hanson’s | Human formula | For dummies
On 6 Apr 2015, American biologist science writer Joe Hanson (Ѻ), of the PBS digital studios “It’s OK to be Smart” YouTube Channel, who defines himself as a “curious group of atoms” (Ѻ), used the 2013 NPR.org citation (Ѻ), of Neil Shubin’s 2013 book citation [The Universe Within: Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets, and People], of the Sterner-Elser human molecular formula (a 22-element empirical human molecular formula), to make a 7-min “The Recipe For Life …” (Ѻ), in which he cobbles together a smattering of internet sources, e.g. Ed Uthman’s 2000 “Elemental Composition of the Human Body”, listing 59 elements comprising one human (itself crudely based on John Emsley’s The Elements), to firstly state that we can put a human in a blender:

Human in blender

From which the following 32-element human periodic table, according to Hanson's oversimplified (incorrect) analysis, results:

Incorrect | 32-elements

Hanson HMF periodic table (2015)
Correct | 26-elements
HPT (dominance)

Hanson's periodic table is incorrect, in that there are six elements listed, namely: Sr, Ba, W, Cd, As, Br, not a functional part of the molecular formula of a existive human.

On 7 Apr, Hanson’s video got picked up by Richard Gray, of DailyMail.co.uk, which became the headline story “Recipe for a HUMAN revealed: Biologist calculates the chemical formula for a person” (Ѻ), resulting in near tabloid reporting of facts.

On 22 Nov 2016, Hanson emailed the following correction objection to Libb Thims:

“You state "Hanson's periodic table is incorrect, in that there are six elements listed, namely: Sr, Ba, W, Cd, As, Br, not a functional part of the molecular formula of a existive human." If you watch our video, you'll hear the dialogue states "just over 30 of them are known to be essential to some form of life on earth" and our graphic/list is not limited to human biology as you've incorrectly stated. Here's some references for you:

You seem to have good intentions with your site, but we'd like anyone who finds it to not be misinformed about our work.”

Thims noted this, but also pointed out more errors in the video, e.g. that in his “Elements in Human” label, at 6:28, he has rubidium (which is a muscle toxin) listed as the 16th element by percent mass. Correctly Copper Cu (0.0003%) is the 16th element in humans. Hanson, to note, also has multiple errors in his 2015 evolution and the second law video (Ѻ), e.g. the statement: "When 2 humans get together and make a new human, doesn't that increase the order of the universe?", as pointed out by Thims (via YouTube channel HumanChemistry 101 video comments).

See also
● Evolution timeline
● Great chain of being
● Human molecule
● Molecular evolution table

chemical formula of a human (2007) Yahaoo
A 2007 Yahoo Answers “What is the Chemical Formula for a Human”, with best answer given by David C (Ѻ), via citation paste of the 2005 online version (Ѻ) of the Thims human molecular formula (2002).
References
1. Thims, Libb. (2008). The Human Molecule, (preview) (Google Books). Morrisville, NC: LuLu.
2. Carey, George W. (1919). The Chemistry of Human Life. Los Angeles:The Chemistry of Life Co.
3. Sterner, Robert W. and Elser, James J. (2002). Ecological Stoichiometry: the Biology of Elements from Molecules to the Biosphere (chapter one) (human molecule, empirical formula pg. 3; discussion, pgs. 47, 135). Princeton University Press.
4. (a) Thims, Libb. (2002). Human Thermodynamics (ch. 19: “Where Does One Go After Death”, pgs. 491-), unpublished manuscript. Chicago: Institute of Human Thermodynamics.
(b) Thims, Libb. (2002). Human Thermodynamics (Volume One), Date: Sept. Chicago: Institute of Human Thermodynamics.
(c) Thims, Libb. (2005). Cessation Thermodynamics. Institute of Human Thermodynamics.
(d) Thims, Libb. (2007). Human Chemistry (Volume One), (preview), (ch. 2: "The Human Molecule", pgs. 15-35). Morrisville, NC: LuLu.
(e) The discovery of the Sterner-Elser calculation was a partial impetus behind the expansion of the 2007 chapter two of Human Chemistry, into the 2008 booklet The Human Molecule (March 6).
5. (a) Note: Thims only became aware of Sterner's calculation on February 17, 2008 after doing a Google book search on keywords "human molecule thermodynamics"; Thims then emailed Sterner within the hour.
(b) Email communicate from Robert Sterner to Libb Thims on February 20, 2008.
7. Author. (2005). “That’s Life”, New Scientist, Dec 03.
8. Human chemical formula? (2006) – PhysForum.com.
9. Slosson, Edwin. (1925). The Sermons of a Chemist (pg. 11). Harcourt, Brace, and Co.
10. Thims, Libb. (c.2002). "Notes of 36-outline to a framework on book on Human Thermodynamics" (formula scratch attempt, somewhere in parts 22-29), Unpublished Notes.
11. Thornton, John. (1899). Human Physiology (14 elements in human body, pg. 412). Longman’s Green.
12. Frieden, Earl. (1972). "The Chemical Elements of Life" (abs). Scientific American (pgs. 52-60), Jul.
13. Silva, J.J.R. Frausto, and Williams, Robert. (2001). The Biological Chemistry of the Elements: the Inorganic Chemistry of Life (pg. 9). Oxford University Press.
14. (a) Alfred C. Redfield – Wikipedia.
(b) Alfred Redfield (about) – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
(c) Redfield, Alfred. (1934). “On the Proportions of Organic Derivations in Sea Water and their Relation to the Composition of Plankton”, in: James Johnstone Memorial Volume (editor: R.J. Daniel) (pgs. 177–192). University Press of Liverpool.
15. Redfield ratio – Wikipedia.
16. (a) Redfield, Alfred. (1958). “The Biological Control of Chemical Factors in the Environment”, American Scientist.
(b) Vitousek, Peter. (2002). “Forward”, in: Ecological Stoichiometry, by Robert Sterner and James Elser. Princeton University Press.
17. Gibby. (2012). “The Chemistry of the Human Body”, We Need Fresh Air, WordPress.com, Feb 12.
18. Email communication from Sterner to Libb Thims, 26 Feb 2008.
19. (a) Sterner and Elser quote on human as molecule (2012) – Hmolpedia threads.
(b) Ecological stoichiometry (2012) – Hmolpedia threads.
20. Scott, George P. (1985). Atoms of the Living Flame: an Odyssey into Ethics and the Physical Chemistry of Free Will (pg. 74). University Press of America.
21. Ball, Philip. (2011). Unnatural: the Heretical Idea of Making People (pgs. 30-32). Vintage Books.
22. Annamalai, Kalyan, Puri, Ishwar K., and Jog, Milind A. (2011). Advanced Thermodynamics Engineering (§14: Thermodynamics and Biological Systems, pgs. 709-99, contributed by Kalyan Annamalai and Carlos Silva; §14.4.1: Human body | Formulae, pgs. 726-27; Thims, ref. 88). CRC Press.
23. Osborn, Henry F. (1916). The Origin of Life: on the Theory of Action, Reaction and Interaction of Energy (pgs. vii, xvi, xix). The Science Press; Reprinted by: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
24. Sherrington, Charles. (1940). Man on His Nature (pg. #). CUP Archive.
25. (a) Sterner, Robert W. and Elser, James J. (2002). Ecological Stoichiometry: the Biology of Elements from Molecules to the Biosphere (chapter one) (human molecule, empirical formula pg. 3; discussion, pgs. 47, 135). Princeton University Press.
(b) Thims, Libb. (2007). Human Chemistry (Volume One), (preview), (ch. 2: "The Human Molecule", pgs. 15-35). Morrisville, NC: LuLu.
(c) Annamalai, Kalyan, Puri, Ishwar K., and Jog, Milind A. (2011). Advanced Thermodynamics Engineering (§14: Thermodynamics and Biological Systems, pgs. 709-99, contributed by Kalyan Annamalai and Carlos Silva; §14.4.1: Human body | Formulae, pgs. 726-27; Thims, ref. 88). CRC Press.
26. Sterner, Robert W. and Elser, James J. (2008). “Ecological Stoichiometry: Overview”, in: Encyclopedia of Ecology, Five-Volume Set, Volume 2 Overview (§, pgs. 1101-16, §§: Biology of the Elements, pg. 1103). Publisher.
27. Sterner, Robert W. and Elser, James J. (2010). “Ecological Stoichiometry: Overview”, in: Global Ecology (pg. 337). Publisher.
28. (a) Sterner, Robert W. and Elser, James J. (2008). “Ecological Stoichiometry: Overview”, in: Encyclopedia of Ecology, Five-Volume Set, Volume 2 Overview (§, pgs. 1101-16, §§: Biology of the Elements, pg. 1103). Publisher.
(b) Sterner, Robert W. and Elser, James J. (2010). “Ecological Stoichiometry: Overview”, in: Global Ecology (pg. 337). Publisher.
29. (a) Karasov, William H. and Rio, Carlos M. (2007). Physiological Ecology: How Animals Process Energy, Nutrients, and Toxins (pg. 538). Princeton University Press.
(b) William Karasov (faculty) – University of Wisconsin-Madison.
(c) Carlos Martinez del Rio (faculty) – University of Wyoming.
30. Tuhtan, Jeff. (2012). “A Modeling Approach for Alpine Rivers Impacted by Hydropeaking Including the Second Law Inequality” (pg. 1) (pdf), PhD dissertation, Stuttgart University, Germany.
31. Bossens, David. (2013). Debates of the Hmolpedians. Lulu.
33. Shubin, Neil. (2013). The Universe Within: Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets, and People (§: pg. #; end note, pg. 198). Random House.
34. Gorvy, Samuel. (1970). The Living Entity (entropy, 29+ pgs; man as chemical molecule, pgs. 51-52; organism, formula of, pgs. 51-52; human molecule, pgs. 51-52). [Cape Town] Nasionale Boekhandel [i.e. Tafelberg Publishers].
35. Kelsey, Carl. (1916). The Physical Basis of Society (pg. 7). D. Appleton and Company.
36. Staff. (2013). “Fórmula química del ser humano” (Chemical Formula of Human), Triplenlace Quimica, i.e. Triple≡Bond Chemistry (triplenlace.com), Sep 4.
37. Harkup, Kathryn. (2013). “The Chemical Formula for a Human” (Ѻ), Harkup.co.uk, Apr 7.
38. (a) Florkin, Marcel. (1944). Introduction a la Biochemie generale. Publisher.
(b) Schoffeniels, Ernest. (1973). Anti-Chance: a Reply to Monod’s Chance and Necessity (L’Anti-Hasard) (Amz) (translator: B.L. Reid) (pg. 33). Pergamon, 1976.

Further reading
● Mitchell, H.H., Hamilton, T.S., Steggerda, F.R., and Bean, H.W. (1945). “The Chemical Composition of the Adult Human Body and Its Bearings on the Biochemistry of Growth” (pdf), Journal of Biological Chemistry, 158:625-37.

External links
● Chemical makeup of the human body – Wikipedia.
● Human body chemical composition – ForeSight.org.
● Human molecule symbol methodologies – IoHT, Chicago.
● What is the molecular formula for a human? – WikiAnswers.com.

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