Immortality facts for kids
Immortality or eternal life is the idea of something that is alive and will stay alive forever. The opposite is mortality, which means a living thing can die. Right now, only a few simple life forms, like bacteria, are known to be truly immortal.
Stories about people or animals living forever are popular in fiction and mythology. However, this is not yet possible in real life. Many religions teach that people have an immortal soul that continues to live in an afterlife.
Some people have long tried to find a way to live forever using science or even magic. Others believe that death is a natural part of life. They feel it helps define what it means to be alive.
The color amaranth often represents immortality in Western cultures. In Chinese civilization, the color peach symbolizes eternal life.
Contents
What is Immortality?
Immortality means never dying. It's the idea of living forever. For most living things, life has a beginning and an end. But for some, the end never comes.
Types of Immortality
There are different ways to think about immortality:
- Biological Immortality: This is when a living thing does not age. It can live forever unless something else kills it, like an accident or disease. Some very simple creatures, like certain bacteria, are thought to be biologically immortal.
- Spiritual Immortality: Many religions believe that a person's soul or spirit lives on after their body dies. This is often linked to an afterlife.
- Fictional Immortality: In books, movies, and myths, characters often have special powers that make them immortal. This is not real, but it makes for exciting stories!
Immortality in Nature
While true immortality is rare, some creatures come close.
- Certain types of jellyfish, like Turritopsis dohrnii, can actually reverse their aging process. If they get sick or injured, they can turn back into a younger form. This allows them to potentially live forever.
- Some bacteria and other single-celled organisms reproduce by simply splitting into two new cells. In a way, the original cell never truly "dies." It just becomes part of the new cells.
Immortality in Stories and Beliefs
The idea of living forever has fascinated humans for a long time.
- In mythology, gods and goddesses are often immortal. They cannot die and live forever in their divine realms.
- Many ancient cultures had stories about a "Fountain of Youth" or a "Philosopher's Stone". These magical items were believed to grant eternal life to anyone who found them.
- In modern fiction, you might find immortal vampires, elfs, or superheroes. These characters often face unique challenges because they live so long.
Related pages
Images for kids
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The Fountain of Eternal Life in Cleveland, Ohio. It symbolizes "Man rising above death, reaching upward to God and toward Peace."
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Human chromosomes (grey) capped by telomeres (white). Telomeres protect chromosomes.
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A drawing showing a soul undergoing punarjanma. This illustration is from Hinduism Today, 2004.
See also
In Spanish: Inmortalidad para niños
