The Physics and Chemistry of Love

Love, like all things bound to the universe, is non existent without some amount of physics and chemistry attached to it. As a scientist cynically pointed out, cupid’s arrows would never have been effective if they had not been first dipped in one unromantically named chemical- phenylethylamine.
Comments on article "The Physics and Chemistry of Love"
Name Views and CommentsDate
Jonny Sures Kumar, you may hear from me. Although my interests lie more within the domain of geophysics, I am moved by human behavior as it applies to patterns of addiction.

Based on my novice understanding of all this, simply ingesting PEA doesn't work to trigger attraction because most of it is first-pass metabolized by MAO enzymes before it reaches the brain. MAO-B is the enzyme that metabolizes PEA that is in the brain and thus what I would assume causes the infatuation to end.

It would be useful to come-up with a way to catalyze this metabolism to help people get over infatuation. To get on with their lives and be free from any snares and hooks. I find nothing funny or good about infatuation at all and I liken it to drug abuse.
11/12/2009
Jonny I will mobilize all my MAO-B proteins and metabolize the crap out of you nasty phenylethylamines!

Leave me alone cupid, I've got goals to fulfill. Let all the rest of humanity be addicted to that damned molecule, certainly not me.
11/12/2009
abel i may comment that let us leave the natural love to take its place without the use of the additional chemicals, but sometime i would advice to be sensitive in looking for mate before we real get inn. 8/27/2009
Amelia and also, theLotusJewel, your comment made me think aswell... Although I am not religious.

Hmm... I feel that the love for another person is different to that of love for animals, the arts, or god etc.

No one has mentioned lust. Is it not lust what the original article explains?
7/30/2009
Amelia Wow, this is so interesting, thankyou for sharing your knowledge with us. This has made me think. I'm inspired. :) 7/30/2009
David Great reseach work i must say 7/24/2009
Lina This explains quite a lot 7/13/2009
theLotusJewel this is a very dry and unwitty way to describe the issue of love among individuals, and i think the author did not quite grasp the meaning of what love is. love is a bit more than just chemicals, otherwise how could one be in love with things like flowers, animals, the arts, god, oneself? does god shoot endomprhin arrows? i think love is more than just chemistry: a vibration of one's inner being resonating with the vibration of the whole of creation... 4/28/2009
WilliEverLearn Very nice article indeed... I'm coming out of a marriage myself, relocated, starting to 'find myself again'. Summer has come and gone, friends have visited and left, and I swore high and low that I will enjoy my time. Focus on work, do the things that I have missed, get back in shape...
Until... I've met this girl, a beautiful, talented (acting), refreshing aspect on life, and dang, I'm on Google searching 'what chemical reactions are causing love', no, I'm not saying I'm in love, but slightly infatuated? yep... Thanks god I've had some experience behind me where I now recognize the red flags... But it feels so good!
9/7/2008
a traveler if u really want to get deep into chemicals of love try a match head sized hit of salvia 10x wait 5 min do it again and then see how deep the feelings of unbridaled sex turn into passion for your mate 5/9/2008
SANJ NICE U TINK U DEEPLY VERY GOOD
4/4/2008
melissa m. ha! who would have guess so!...that is so, right, so logic! now i will have to inform my boyfriend that, he gives me nothing more than what a chocolate would give me!...
i loved it!
4/3/2008
marty tyree our true identity is hidden from us so that we may use this existance as a learning tool or for recreation whatever we need at the moment---for this life is but a moment -a blink of an eye- to our true selves--i know this because i have experienced true life 3/11/2008
Chelsea im in love with Stacys mom 2/22/2008
June rickard Can you recommend any really helpful books/papers on how to cope longterm with infatuation ?
11/25/2007
Liz King I agree with the article that states how chemicals and love go hand in hand and thus, affect those feelings of love. However, the mystery still remains, why some people are attracted to a specific individual that get these so called love chemicals activated and how they play a role in attraction. 6/30/2007
t-skee i think that was something good to say . 5/30/2007
Jennifer Galler Eduardo: there is no one girl, there should be many people out their who you can find chemisty with, you just need to find someone who finds your chemistry attractive and who you also find attractive in terms of chemistry. 3/1/2007
Jennifer Galler Hi, I do not believe you could make someone fall in love with you by giving them PEA, as the trigger for the chemicals release naturally is seeing/meeting a person they have chemistry with. If you gave someone a PEA pill with whom you did not have chemistry, then they were not stimulated by you, but by the pill. The next time they see you they would not be releasing the chemical, hence they would feel nothing towards you. You would have to permeate your hair, clothes and skin with the chemical and forcibly rub against the person to get them addicted to the chemical, and even then there would be a delay between application [rubbing] and absorption into the bloodstream, so you would have to hold the person next to you and convince them not to run away each time until the chemical took effect. It would probably be more useful to find out what pheremones attracted your desired mate and wear a pheremone perfume of the correct composition so that the PEA could be released naturally in the other person. 3/1/2007
eduardo will i find the one gurl?and when? 1/29/2007
shahana your article is good but try to update your articles with the latest discoveries. 12/18/2006
me yeah i love love 11/24/2006
Sures Kumar I am a neuro biologist. All my life I have worried that we are addicted to emotions rather than the actual reality outside. I would prefer you to add one more line "You are in love only with your emotions and neuro peptides not with the person really" For further discussions I will be available in techtrackindia at gmail dot com 7/29/2006
Loren For some one to know a lot about love... are you in a relationship?? I find that the more people talk about the subject "love" they are usually the ones that are not even in a realtionship or have never been in true love with one person for long amounts of time! Just wondering but all in all the article was very good. 5/12/2006
katie that was an interesting and fun article 2/7/2006
john its sad to believe we arent ment to be monogmous. why should i even get married. sad. 2/2/2006
Christina I think that this article is great! This is why women have their periods the same time, because of chemicals like this. 10/4/2005
Joseph Its nice seeing this page,i like it. 9/12/2005
john grisham joke
4/29/2005
Janee My friend Trinna wants if miguel will go bake out with her.Or what shuold she do. 6/6/2004
Use the feedback form below to submit your comments.
Your Comments:
Your Name:
Use the form below to email this article to your friends.
Recipient Email Address:
 Separate multiple email addresses by ;
Your Name:
Your Email Address: