The Universal Harmonic Ladder: Hydrogen-Anchored Quantization of Energy-Density Gradients Across All Scales

This paper introduces a unifying physical framework based on the Mass–Energy Gradient (MEG) model, demonstrating that all stable structures in the universe—from electrons and phase transitions to amino-acid side-chains (the chemical building blocks of life), stars, neutron stars, and galaxy clusters—occupy discrete rungs on a single harmonic ladder anchored by hydrogen.Each rung corresponds to a quantized energy-density gradient (EDG) whose spacing is fixed by a purely geometric constant. Using only this ladder:Quantum-scale anomalies such as helium’s missing solid phase and the CHNO → S → Se hierarchy in amino acids emerge as skipped or completed rungs.Astrophysical phenomena—including the 2.5–5 M☉ compact-object mass gap, quantized white-dwarf and neutron-star plateaus, and flat galaxy rotation curves—follow from the same spacing without invoking dark matter.The theory terminates the lepton family naturally, predicts quantized mass thresholds for compact objects, and reproduces key gravitational observations while remaining fully <b>metric-free</b> (no spacetime curvature is invoked).All derivations depend only on EDG steepness; general relativity and standard quantum mechanics appear as long-wavelength or shallow-gradient limits. The paper closes with a set of falsifiable predictions and an observational roadmap—covering DESI, LIGO, NICER, Gaia, and precision molecular spectroscopy—that can validate or refute the ladder structure with current or near-future data.For any inquiries contact: [email protected]