Design in Cosmology and Physics

Material from Mike Kent Material from Mike Kent Adapted by Mike EdenburnAdapted by Mike Edenburn

Sept. 2014Sept. 2014

Parameters in The Parameters in The Cosmos are Finely Cosmos are Finely Tuned to Allow LifeTuned to Allow Life

Origin of the Universe: Three Possibilities

1. It always existed. (Thermodynamic problems)

2. It came into existence by itself. (Violates conservation principles of science)

3. It was created by an external agent.

Some Responses

there was a beginning (creation event)

“Philosophically, the notion of a beginning of the present order of nature is repugnant to me”

Arthur Eddington Nature 450, 127, (1931)

“I would like to reject it”Phillip Morrison, God and the Astronomers, 1992, p 104

“Distasteful to the scientific mind”Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers, 1992, p 105

10-43 to 10-6 sec - The “Big Bang”

Forces separate: gravity, strong, weak, EM Rapid inflation Quarks & electrons form

20 min to 240k years - Cooling and Expansion

10-6 sec to 3 min - Protons & Neutrons Form 3 min to 20 min –

Protons & Neutrons Fuse into Deuterium and Helium

240k to 380k years - Plasma Condenses to Atoms (3000K) Universe transparent to light Cosmic Background Radiation

380k to 500M years - Cooling, Expansion, Condensation

Big Bang: Development of the Universe

500M to Present –

Stars & Galaxies Form

Fuse H & He into Heavier Elements

Fine Tuning is Required for Galaxy and Star Formation

Too High Too Low Required Accuracy

References

Energy Density

(Cos. Constant)

Dispersion Collapse 1/10120 Weinberg

Krauss

Mass at time of inflation

Fast burn-up

Collapse

Dispersion 1/1060

1/1050

Krauss

Overmann

Gravity(G)

Fast burn-up

Collapse

Dispersion 1/1040 Davies

1984

Expansion Rate Dispersion Collapse 1/1055 Overmann

Proton/Electron Balance

Dispersion Dispersion 1/1037 Ross

Uniformity & Clumpiness

Dispersion Large Stars

Black Holes

1/105 Singh(COBE)

Proton

Neutron

Electron

Four Forces

Gravity

Strong Force

Weak Force

Electromagnetic Force

A Little Physics

Elements Heavier than Hydrogen and Helium are Formed by Nuclear Fusion in Stars

The electromagnetic (EM, Coulomb) force acts over a long distance and causes positively charged nuclei to repel each other.

Fusion requires kinetic energy (temperature) high enough to overcome the electromagnetic force so that nuclei can get close enough for the strong force to bind them, but not so high that the strong force is overcome.

+

V1

EM

+

V2

EM

+

Strong Force

+

H1 + H1 → H2 + β+ + υ

H1 + H2 → He3 + γ

He3 + He3 → He4 + 2H1

10M K

He4 + He4 → Be8

He4 + Be8 → C12

200M K

Nuclear Fusion is the Energy Source in Stars

1. Gravity compresses colliding H and He.

2. Compression heats the H and He to high temperatures sufficient to overcome electromagnetic repulsion, but not high enough to overcome the strong force.

3. The strong force fuses H and He into heavier elements producing energy.

4. Stars go through cycles as they fuse progressively heavier elements.

5. Supernovae produce elements heaver than iron.

All this requires a delicate balance among the four forces.

Many elements are needed for life

Fine Tuning is Required for Element Fusion

Elements require the proper quantum electronic structure to produce molecules with the right properties for life

Too High Too Low Required Accuracy

References

Strong/EM No H All H +2%-5%

Ward & Brownlee

Strong No O or C No O or C ±0.5% Oberhummer

EM No O or C No O or C ±4% Oberhummer

Weak(β decay)

Heavy Elements

Light Elements

Ross

mp/me No Chemistry No Chemistry Hawking 1988

Gravity Temp too high for fusion

Temp too low for fusion

1/1040 Carter/Davies

1984

Quotes from world-renowned scientists

"A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature.  The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question."

Fred Hoyle,  "The Universe:  Past and Present Reflections", Annual Reviews of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 20 (1982), 16.

Quotes from world-renowned scientists

"Astronomy leads us to an unique event, a universe which was created out of nothing and delicately balanced to provide exactly the conditions required to support life.  In the absence of an absurdly-improbable accident, the observations of modern science seem to suggest an underlying, one might say, supernatural plan."

Arno Penzias,  quoted by Walter Bradley in "The Designed 'Just-so' Universe", 1999.

Quotes from world-renowned scientists

“The laws of science, as we know them at present, contain many fundamental numbers, like the size of the electric charge of the electron and the ratio of the masses of the proton and electron. … The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life.”

S. Hawking, A Brief History of Time,1988.

Quotes from world-renowned scientists

"For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream.  He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries."

R. Jastrow, God and the Astronomers,1992, pg 107.

Jastro’s Dilemma

The anthropic coincidences

Scientists Respond to Fine Tuning According to Paul Davies

A. The Absurd Universe: Probably the majority position among scientists.It just is.There is no design, no purpose, no point, no destiny.There is no God, no designer, no teleological principle.

B. The Unique Universe:There is a deep underlying unity in physics.An as yet undiscovered mathematical theory will unify everything.The universe is as it must be.

Scientists Respond to Fine Tuning According to Paul Davies

C. The Multiverse: Position of a growing minority of scientists.Based on quantum gravity; the balance among matter, energy, and gravity; and string/M theory.Cannot be observed.No known mechanism.Avoids the improbability of fine tuning.

D. Intelligent Design:The traditional monotheistic religious view.Davies sees it as a conversation stopper.Who designed the designer?

Response to the Multiverse Response

"Extreme multiverse explanations are . . . reminiscent of theological discussions.  Indeed, invoking an infinity of unseen universes to explain the unusual features of the one we do see is just as ad hoc as invoking an unseen Creator. The multiverse theory may be dressed up in scientific language, but in essence it requires the same leap of faith."

Paul Davies, Op-Ed in the New York Times, "A Brief History of the Mulitverse", Apr. 12,  2003.

Who Created God?

1. If God created the universe and the laws of physics, and if He is outside his creation, there is no reason to expect him to be subject to the laws of physics, which He created. We cannot use our laws of physics and logic to constrain him to be created. In philosophy, He could be the first or prime cause.

2. According to the cosmological theory, time and space came into existence at the “Big Bang.” If this is true, God exists outside time and has no need to have been created.

Scientists Respond to Fine Tuning According to Paul Davies

E. The Life Principle: There is an overarching principle that constrains the universe to evolve toward life and mind.Purpose is built into the cosmos at a fundamental level without the need for a purpose giving agent.Life, mind, and purpose are unexplained.

F. The Self Explaining Universe:Perhaps there are closed explanatory causal loops or backwards in time causation.Davies likes E and F.Requires a universe to have the potential for life and mind.

Scientists Respond to Fine Tuning According to Paul Davies

G. The Fake Universe: We are living in a simulation. Everything is virtual reality.

H. None of the Above:Davies concedes that the universe at least appears to be designed with a high level of ingenuity.He cannot accept that it happened without reason.He is equally uneasy about dumping it in the lap of an arbitrary god or abandoning thought and declaring it to be a mystery.

My Observation

Many scientists, like most people, are prone to wild speculation that is unconstrained by evidence.

The evidence says that the universe was designed for a purpose by an agent who had an amazing ability to put everything together to achieve that purpose.

Colossians 1

15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

He who created the heavens, he is God.

He who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it.

He did not create it to be empty,but formed it to be inhabited.

Isaiah 45:18

References

Hoyle, Fred;  The Universe:  Past and Present Reflections; Annual Reviews of Astonomy and Astrophysics, 20, 1982, 16.

Krauss; The Astrophysical Journal, 1998, 501: p 465.

Oberhummer, Csoto, Schlattl; Science 289, 2000, p 88.

Overman; A Case Against Accident and Self-Organization, Rowman & Littlefield, 1997, p 130-132.

Penzias, Arno, quoted by Walter Bradley; The Designed 'Just-so' Universe; 1999.

Ross, Hugh; The Creator and the Cosmos; Navpress, 1995.

Singh, Simon; Big Bang; Fourth Estate, Harper Collins, 2004, p459.

Ward and Brownlee; Rare Earth; Copernicus, 2000.

Weinberg; Skeptical Inquirer Sept./Oct. 2001, p 67; and Nature of Nature Conference at Baylor University, April 2000.