My suggestions on how to read this book quoted from page 12 in the PREFACE :- " Before I start off on this long and arduous intellectual journey, I would like to suggest five ways of reading this book. First, the conventional way which is to start from page one and then all the way through to the last. Second, if you are pressed for time or are really afraid of the scientific pudding you can skip all the first seven chapters on the relevant scientific theories and start with chapter (viii) on the philosophical issues after, of course, reading the lengthy prologue only to refer to the the first seven chapters as references are made to each in connection with the relevant issues and arguments on human behaviour. Third, if you feel that you are reasonably well informed about a particular scientific theory, you can skip that particular chapter and follow the conventional way in all other respects. But as I point out in the prologue, it should be interesting just to browse through section ( C ) The Eccentric Ideas in every chapter to get a feel of my screwball whims. The fourth way to read this book is just to single out the particular chapters that arouse your interest. So long as you read the prologue and the last two chapters together with the epilogue, you will still get some ideas of what I am talking about – LIFE. The fifth and last way to read my the book is simply to pick out topics that interest you from the table of contents and read them. Most topics are relatively self-contained but with specific references to the related chapters and sections. I have tried my very best to make my the book as versatile as I can to suit the busy modern reader. As regards the lengthy prologue ( the smart reader must have guessed it ), I purposely summarise all my basic themes and ideas at an early stage for the benefit of those who do not have enough time to finish the whole book. Depending on the temperament of the reader, let us fasten our seat belts or boil the coffee in preparation for the take off. "
This book is dedicated to my wife, Brenda and
my children, Josephine & Eugene
1
( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 )
( 4 ) ( 5 )
( 6 ) ( 7 ) ( 8 )
( 9 )
Conditions of Browsing / Reading this Book
This book will be uploaded to the internet for FREE browsing by all. The author is the sole holder of the copy right to this text.
Any quotation from this book consisting of more than 500 words on any single occasion or publication must be approved by the author from whom written permission should be sought at e-mail address :- jkhcheng@hotmail.com.
Any comments or opinion on this book will be most welcome.
The author requests that any reader who finds this book useful to recommend it to at least two other persons of the reader's choice. ( An honest system applies to this condition ). This is the consideration deemed to have been exchanged between the author and the reader to validate the present arrangement.
This book must not be used by any reader for any commercial purposes or to make any profit.
The author reserves the right to withdraw this book from the internet for whatever reason and without prior notice to any party.
Due to the fact that there is no consideration exchanged for the present arrangement relating to the book and in order to make the present arrangement binding upon the author and the readers, both parties hereby agree that by browsing / reading this book, condition ( 5 ) above shall be deemed to be the consideration exchanged for the purposes of making the present arrangement binding.
The act of reading / browsing is deemed to have taken place once the reader accesses the website on which this book is posted. Any person who is not willing to be abide by these conditions after accessing the relevant website must hit the “ unwilling “ icon and exit the site immediately.
( 10 ) The author's main aim in writing this book is for educational purposes. Therefore, any request from educators for permission to use this book for education and non-profit making purposes will be favourably considered.
The contract herein is deemed to be SIGNED, SEALED and DELIVERED by the reader upon browsing / reading this book.
2
The above conditions are hereby SIGNED, SEALED and DELIVERED by the author of this book, Joseph Cheng on 9/9/2006
in the presence of his son, Eugene Cheng.
Table of Contents
Preface 11 Prologue 12 Chapter ( i ) - In the Beginning
( A ) The Theory Scientific Theories in General 26
The Big Bang Theory 28 ( B ) The Inspirations 34 ( C ) The Eccentric Ideas 36
Chapter ( ii ) - The Origin of Life
( A ) The Theory Stardust 37
The Primodial Soup Panspermia 40 Made of Clay 41
( B ) The Inspirations 42
39
( C ) The Eccentric Ideas 43 Chapter ( iii ) - Quantum Theory 45
( A ) The Theory The Double Slit Experiment
Macrocosm, Men, Microcosm 3
47
48
Particle Physics vs. Strings Theory The Standard Model in Particle Physics 49
Strings Theory and M-Theory 50 Spinor and Twistor Theory 52
The Uncertainty Principle 54 Complimentarity 55 Superposition and Schrodinger's Cat 56
( B ) The Inspirations
Interpretations of Quantum Theory The Copenhagen Interpretation 57
Many Worlds Interpretation 59
The Hidden Variables Interpretation 60
Pilot Wave Interpretation 61
The Transactional Interpretation 61
Explaining the Enigma of Double Slit Experiment 62
More Quantum Magic Polarizing a Beam of Light 63
The EPR Paradox 64
Observing Billions of Years Old Light 65 ( C ) The Eccentric Ideas
The Universe as a Hologram 66
Evidence for a Holographic Universe 68 Quantum Eccentricity 70
Chapter ( iv ) - Einstein's Relativity
4
( A ) The Theory Special Relativity 73
General Relativity 77 ( B ) The Inspirations 85
( C ) The Eccentric Ideas The Twins Paradox 81
The Time Travel Paradox 82 My Own Space-Time Eccentricity 84
Chapter ( v ) - Chaos and Complexity
( A ) The Theory Lorenz and the Butterfly Effect 85
The Lorenz Attractor 87 Forerunners of Chaos 88 Mandelbrot and Complexity 89 Ilya Prigogine and His Dissipative System 90
( B ) The Inspirations Mathematics of Chaos and Complexity Complexity and the Emergence of Life 92
( C ) The Eccentric Ideas 94 Chapter ( vi ) - The Science of Networks 97
( A ) The Theory A Small World 97
The Weak ties 98 5
91
Synchronized State 99 Network Dynamics 100 Information Cascades and Externalities 101
( B ) The inspirations A Network View of History 103 Network Tolerance 105 Erratic Investor Behaviour 105
( C ) The Eccentric Ideas Fair Treatment for All 108
A Manual for Everyone 109 Chapter ( vii ) - The New Science of Fuzzy Logic 111
( A )
The Theory Universal, Empty and Fuzzy Sets 112
Fuzzy Systems and Fuzzy Terminology 114 Fuzzy Approximation Theorem 114 Data - In , Rules – Out 115 Fuzzy Associative Memory 115
( B ) The Inspirations Fuzzy Cognative Map 116
Adaptive Fuzzy Systems 117 ( C ) The Eccentric Ideas
Our Brain as an Adaptive Fuzzy System 119
6
Near Death Experience and the Brain 120 Chapter ( viii ) - The Reality 121
( A ) The Theory 122 Types of Realities 123
Objective Reality ( OR ) 123 Subjective Reality ( SR ) 124 Hybrid Reality ( HR ) 125 Perceived Reality (PR ) 126
( B ) The Inspirations 127 Penrose's Road to Reality 127
Deutsch's Fabric of Reality 129 Criteria for Reality 129 The Four Strands to Reality 130
( C ) The Eccentric Ideas 131 Chapter ( ix ) - Consciousness 132
( A ) The Theory Monoism or Dualism
133
Behaviourism 134 Instrumentalism 135 Logical Positivism 136
( B ) The Inspirations Artificial Intelligence ( A. I. ) 138
Structural Features of Consciousness 140
7
The Chinese Room Experiment 142 Common sense , Love and Sacrifice 142 Free Will 143
( C ) The Eccentric ideas 145 Chapter ( x ) - What I Believe 147
( A ) The Theory Of Money and Men 147
Of Power and the People 153 Of Education and Educators 158 Of Youth and Youngsters 162 Of Heroes and Housewives 168 Of Love and Living 171
Of Death and Destruction 176 Of Destiny and Destination 181 Of God and Ghosts 185
( B ) The Inspirations 197
( C ) The Eccentric Ideas 198 Chapter ( xi ) - Towards a Theory of Everything in Life ( TOEL ) 199
( A ) The Theory The Goal 199
The Descriptive Contents The Physical World 200
Human Nature 202
8
The Nature of Society 204 The Reality Revisited 205 Connection Between the Realities 206 Natural Laws as Objective Standards 208 The Minimum Standards 210 Humanism as the Basis of TOEL 211 The Required Standards 212 A Question of Perspectives in TOEL 215 The Universal Principles of Human
Behaviour 217 Setting the Goals in Life 219
Current World Issues and TOEL 222 Environmental Protection 222 Globalization 224
Extremism and Terrorism 227
Information Technology Explosion
The Predictive Contents Predicting Human Behaviour 233
231
Predicting Events in the Short Term 235 ( B ) The Inspirations 236
( C ) The Eccentric Ideas 237 Chapter ( xii ) - The Tentative Theory of Everything in Life 238
( A ) The Theory The Three Basic Skills 241
9
The Finer Structure of TOEL 242
TOEL in Action 245 (1) Solving Personal Economic Problems 245 (2) Solving Personal Emotional Problems 247
(3) Solving Personal Physical Problems 248 (4) Solving Family Economic Problems 249 (5) Solving Family Emotional Problems 250 (6) Solving Family Physical Problems 251 (7) Solving Social Economic Problems 252 (8) Solving Social Interaction Problems 254 (9) Solving Social Health problems 255
( B ) The Inspirations TOEL in Summarized Form 256 Practical Hints in Support of TOEL 257 Daily SHOP SCHEDULES 257 Spiritual SHOP SCHEDULES 259
( C ) The Eccentric Ideas 261 Theory and Reality 261
Connection and Sensitivity Revisited 262
Epilogue 264 10
PREFACE
One has to take numerous journeys in life. In fact, life itself is one hack of a journey. It can be pretty lengthy and yet seems fleeting. On the contrary, it can be very brief and yet seems tedious. It depends completely on your point of view. More precisely, it hinges on your frame of mind. Regardless of your feelings towards life, it would be
11
generally true to say that some time during one's journey along this river of time questions will be asked of yourself about its meaning and purpose. You may come to the conclusion that it is totally pointless. Even the cream of the crop such as some much revered Nobel Prize laureates do hold such a view. So, do not feel stupid and ignorant if you hold a similar view of life. Or you may be more positive and feel that everyone must have a mission in life. After all, there is a beautiful though mysterious universe out there that invariably begs the WHY question.
This book is about my journey to reach an understanding of this journey in life - an attempt to make some personal sense out of all the seeming complexities that catch my eyes in this universe. In the process, I shall take the reader along with me on this intellectual journey that will lead to the beginning of the universe which is the largest macrocosm and then into the realm of the fuzzy entities of the basic building blocks of matter, the subatomic particles and miraculous strings which represent the smallest microcosm. It is a journey to find out what we know and, more importantly, what we do not know about the universe and ourselves. Along the way, I have formed certain opinions and acquired certain attitudes regarding many of the big questions in life based on currently available scientific facts. Most of these are merely personal convictions that seem to me to be helpful in guiding our daily actions which I have attempted to organize into a reasonably coherent theory on life. I must admit that it is an enormous and ambitious attempt. However, I would rather fail in the attempt than to fail in trying. I would never forgive myself if at the end of my life's journey I do not have some sort of answer for the WHY question. I feel like that if someone asks me the question of who I am and I can only come up with the answer of “ I don't know “, I would be unable to hold my head up high to face the world and, more importantly, myself.
Why do people risk life and limb to climb Mount Everest ? I think the simple answer is that curiosity and love of a challenge are inherent in human nature. After all, the emergence of life is the success story of survival against all impossible odds. This is true for both believers in God and non-believers alike. I hope the reader will be convinced of the validity of this statement after reading my book. Furthermore, the exhilaration of achieving the supreme perspective on top of the world is tempting, indeed, notwithstanding the blood, sweat and tears that accompany the journey. To be able to say I have been there is the crowning laurel.
To drive an ultra extravagant sports car such as a Lamborghini, one need not know the finer points of mechanical engineering but if you do you will surely appreciate this pinnacle of motor engineering much more than just its captivating appearance and do it the justice it so rightly deserves. It is the same with life. You can live your whole life without understanding its essence and enigma but if you do, you will then really begin to look at life in a very different light. You will be at peace with yourself and the universe despite the hardship and hazards of the journey of discovery. It would be worth the enormous pecuniary value paid for the Lamborghini or the grave emotional and sentimental values tendered for life in its ups and downs.
Enough said about life and its perils, I must give thanks to those to whom thanks are due before I get lost in my own philosophizing. First and foremost, I feel most grateful and privileged to have the constant tender loving care of my wife from whom I derive all my inspirations, however mediocre they may be. Then, I have my children to thank for providing me with a pressing motive to write this book. Finally and crucially, I have to most respectfully salute all the great scientists, past and present, whose enormous contributions to the human race through their profound theories and laws have
12
enabled me to have a piercing glimpse into the mysterious and miraculous nature of this universe. As the great Sir Isaac Newton once said : “ If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants “ ( referring to the forefathers of modern science ). There are, in fact, so many giants whose shoulders I have stood on to complete my own journey of discovery of the universe that I could have become an acrobat in a circus. They have all held me so high as to see the ends of the universe. To all of the forefathers of modern science and all the talented science writers whose books I have relied on to chart my personal course in time's river flowing through the the universe, I must again raise my hat in your honour !
Before I start off on this long and arduous intellectual journey, I would like to suggest five ways of reading this book. First, the conventional way which is to start from page one and then all the way through to the last. Second, if you are pressed for time or are really afraid of the scientific pudding you can skip all the first seven chapters on the relevant scientific theories and start with chapter (viii) on the philosophical issues after, of course, reading the lengthy prologue only to refer to the the first seven chapters as references are made to each in connection with the relevant issues and arguments on human behaviour. Third, if you feel that you are reasonably well informed about a particular scientific theory, you can skip that particular chapter and follow the conventional way in all other respects. But as I point out in the prologue, it should be interesting just to browse through section ( C ) The Eccentric Ideas in every chapter to get a feel of my screwball whims. The fourth way to read this book is just to single out the particular chapters that arouse your interest. So long as you read the prologue and the last two chapters together with the epilogue, you will still get some ideas of what I am talking about – LIFE. The fifth and last way to read my the book is simply to pick out topics that interest you from the table of contents and read them. Most topics are relatively self-contained but with specific references to the related chapters and sections. I have tried my very best to make my the book as versatile as I can to suit the busy modern reader. As regards the lengthy prologue ( the smart reader must have guessed it ), I purposely summarize all my basic themes and ideas at an early stage for the benefit of those who do not have enough time to finish the whole book. Depending on the temperament of the reader, let us fasten our seat belts or boil the coffee in preparation for the take off.
PROLOGUE
I have always admired authors ever since I learn how to read and write. To me, they are bestowed with the magical power of creating words out of thin air. During the final year of my primary education, students in my school were required to make up sentences of no fewer than ten words using some common nouns such as circus and amusement parks as the subjects of description. Even then, I found it very difficult to compose meaningful sentences using such words as subject matters mainly because my family was not well off enough to provide me with such gratifying experiences. This is also the primary reason for my great admiration for authors. I always feel that they are superior beings who know everything and, therefore, have a lot of important things to say. Besides, they can always express themselves in such beautiful and effective words of great elegance.
13
As I grew older, I was lucky enough to be educated in a school run by the Christian Brothers who are Catholic monks devoting their whole life both in heart and soul to educating the young. Under their meticulous guidance, I very quickly learnt to coherently express myself both in verbal and writing skills. These have been a big help to my career later on. At this juncture, I would like to express my deep appreciation for their endless efforts in providing me with such a valuable education. In our school song, there are the following inspiring words:-”Boys of courage, boys of daring, full of manliness and will, spirit not for danger caring, hearts to conquer every ill !” These words have always been an inspiration in the better times and encouragement in the trying times of my life. Now that I have just started my retirement, I have had time to reflect on my past and future with regard to my GOAL IN LIFE which is one of the main themes in this book. I am glad to say that I have only a few regrets in life thus far and fortunately none detrimental to my life's goals set by me when I first became “ enlightened” or in my own terminology, “ CONNECTED “ in 1966 after reading E.M. Forster's novel- Howards End during my matriculation course in preparation for entry to university. Incidentally, it was the first time I had ever encountered a serious literary creation. The reason for this late intellectual intercourse with literature was the fact that I had always been a science student up to that point in my life.
To briefly clarify the situation, it may be helpful to mention that I grew up in the former British Colony of Hong Kong which has been described as a “borrowed place with borrwed time.” This is true to the extent that part of the territory, namely, Kowloon and the New Territories, were acquired by the British from the Chinese Qing Dynasty in 1899 under a 99 years lease after the Second Opium War under the so-called Unequal Treaties. Subsequently, Hong Kong had reverted back to Chinese sovereignty on 1st July,1997.
According to the traditional way of thinking in Hong Kong , it was considered that the only respectable and advantageous way to prepare for a career for a boy is to study science. Studying Art subjects which called for lower entry requirements was meant for students with low intelligence leading to less prospects of attaining a professional career like that of a doctor or an engineer. As my family expected me to shoulder some of the financial burden as soon as possible, I had to work extra hard to be enrolled as a science student especially when I was not so good at mathematics which I now realize to be indispensable in life.
Owing to my weakness in mathematics, I did not attain the high standards required for enrolment in science courses for Matriculation class leading to admission into university. In retrospect, I seriously doubt that I could have successfully gained entry into university had I been admitted to the science courses in Matriculation class because the successful admission rate into university in the 1960s in Hong Kong was less than 5% of the passing Matriculation students of some 15,000. It was an elite education system in the British tradition. As it was, I could only accept a compromise by gaining admission to the Art courses in Matriculation class which only required less stringent conditions. I was devastated. I felt I had let my family down badly. My career prospects had been hopelessly reduced. The best I could have hoped for was to become a graduate teacher with monthly salary of some HKD 1500 as opposed to the remuneration of HKD 5000 per month for professionals. Little did I know that this was one of the important turning points of my life.
As a science student in the whole of my secondary school life, I had been trained to be exact and uncompromising in my attitude towards truth which must be
14
subject to stringent testing and supported by objectively verifiable evidence. I have always equated fact with truth. Anything that cannot be quantified is treated with scepticism. There is only right and wrong, or black and white. Grey areas are not tolerated. How naïve could I be? I would be ill-prepared for life because in real life there is no pure black and white only different shades of grey. I do not mean it in a philosophical way. In his book Fuzzy Thinking, Bart Kosko sets out his new type of logic which he calls Fuzzy Logic in this manner:- “ Hold an apple in your hand. Is it an apple? Yes. The object in your hand belongs to the clumps of time-space we call the set of apples- all apples anywhere ever. Now take a bite, chew it, swallow it. Let your digestive tract take apart the apple's molecules. Is the object in your hand still an apple? Yes or no? Take another bite. Is the new object still an apple? Take another bite, and so on down to void. ..... The apple changes from thing to non-thing, to nothing. But where does it cross the line from apple to non-apple? When you hold half an apple in your hand, the apple is as much there as not. The half apple foils all-or-none descriptions. The half apple is a FUZZY apple, the gray between the black and the white. FUZZINESS is GRAYNESS.” and it is everywhere in real life. Therefore, it is not purely a philosophical concept. Similarly, there is no perfect circle, or perfect straight line, or perfect pair of parallel lines in real life. We must be prepared to accept compromises or imperfections in Life. This is inherent in nature, the Natural Law. How is fuzzy logic relevant in practice? You will learn it later in this book. To me, grayness is the basis for compassion. Had our DNA been perfect from generation to generation, there would have been no mutation, no evolution of life and no such colourful varieties in life. Similarly, had there been a perfect symmetry or exact equality in the amount of matters and anti-matters in the beginning of creation, there would have been no creation to start with. Matters and anti-matters would have simply annihilated each other in a huge flash of lightning and nothingness would have prevailed.
The subjects I took in my Arts courses in matriculation were literature, history and geography.There are a number of specified authors we had to study, among them classical writers like Shakespeare, Milton and Chaucer and modern writers like E.M. Forster, D.H. Lawrence and George Bernard Shaw. I love Lawrence's beautiful prose and Shaw's strew political wits but I was intrigued by Forster's gentle and universal insights into human values which are surprisingly close to the oriental philosophical touch I was brought up in, my mother being a teacher all her life.
As I wandered through the first year of my Matriculation course, I was enjoying life because there was no public examination to be sat, no intellectual battle to be fought as one year earlier in the fifth year of our secondary school at the end of which we had to sit for the School Certificate Examination as it was called in the Hong Kong academic arena. I had plenty of time to ponder on life and my future. Furthermore, the political situation in Hong Kong in 1967 was becoming very volatile. The Cultural Revolution in China was at its height with the red guards who were mostly students mobilized by Chairman Mao Tse Tung and the so-called Gang of Four were demanding that Britain should hand Hong Kong back to China. The British and Hong Kong British Colonial Government were branded as imperialists who had taken over Hong Kong illegally in 1841 under the Unequal Treaties forced upon a weak imperial China by means of gun-boat policy. The Communist workers' union in Hong Kong was organizing strikes in the transportation and public utility industries. Schools could only open intermittently because public transports were not providing a reliable service. In fact, actual gun battles were erupting between elite units of the British Gurkhas infantry and Chinese local militia units along the boundary line overlooking China across the area known as Sha Tau Kok in
15
the New Territories of Hong Kong leased to the British for 99 years in 1899. A number of fatalities were reported on both sides. Within the city limits, home-made bombs were exploding at the rate of two to three times a week not unlike the situation in Northern Ireland claiming a few civilian as well as police lives.
In the meantime, some of my classmates like myself, had to walk to and from school if we lived near to the school grounds. Once back at school, classes might not be conducted because some teachers were unable to attend classes due to their residence being located far away from the school. We were left to our own supervision and were allowed to do some private reading or recreational activities though some of us preferred to gamble on a few hands of poker instead. As mentioned earlier, I could not afford the luxury of losing a few hands. Therefore, I had to be content to confine myself to the role of an observer. I got bored for want of action and after a while I was forced to do some reading on my own. As it may happen sometimes, a little good can come out of a bad situation. I started to read all of E.M. Forster's five novels published at that time although we were required to study only one, namely, Howards End for examination purposes. Forster published a total of six novels during his life time but another one called Maurice was published posthumously in 1971 with a homosexual story-line which I read later. So, regardless of your own strong personal convictions sometimes one, nevertheless, has to conform to prevailing moral standards or risk isolation from mainstream society.
The unstable situation in Hong Kong lasted until early 1968 when it was stablized mainly at the intercession of a moderate Chinese Communist leader, Chou En Lai who persuaded the red guards to adopt a less violent approach known as “ paper confrontation “ whereby British imperialism should be denounced in writing instead of by force. The rationale behind a softer approach was to minimize the backlash on trade relations between Britain and China. This turbulent period of nine to ten months in 1967 in Hong Kong's history provided me with the crucial time for my soul-searching. Inspired by Forster's Liberal Individualism, I realize that the key to a meaningful and satisfying life to me can be summed up in two little words;- “ONLY CONNECT “.
Briefly, liberal Individualism is akin to liberal humanism. The latter is a non- religious movement with its roots back in the Renaissance Period which stresses that human beings are intelligent and responsible creatures capable of solving their own problems and deciding on their own moral behaviour. The individual is considered more important than the state so that only minimum power should be given to it for the purpose of governing the people. Priority must be given to individual freedom whenever possible if there is a conflict of interest between the individual and the state. An individualist is a person who believes in the sanctity of an individual's inborn rights to uphold one's own principles and beliefs to the utmost subject to the limits allowed by all just laws. It is not unlike the modern concept of democracy only the individual's rights and values are even more highly respected. It is based on the rationale that if everybody is allowed to strive for their own goals without let or hindrance subject to the just laws needed to keep society operating normally according to generally accepted moral standards, then society and the human race as a whole can achieve a higher level of happiness and justice. Just as you treasure your own rights and beliefs so you should and you will respect your neighbour's rights and beliefs if you are a true humanist. Individualism does not mean selfishness in the slightest. On the contrary, it dictates mutual respect for one another based on the highest regard it places on the individual's honourable inborn rights. It also highlights the individual's obligations towards one's
16
neighbours and by inference towards society. Therefore, the path to a better world is to strive to achieve your own happiness and goals subject to all just laws and the prevailing moral standards of society. I would not hesitate to add that we must subject ourselves to the overriding supremacy of the LAWS OF NATURE.
Having brought up all these high ideas, I must be more down to earth by reminding myself that humanism necessarily implies human weaknesses which must be accepted as a reality and accomodated subject to the above principles. This is the basis for tolerance which is of utmost importance and a corner stone for a civilized society. Because we realize that each of us must have our own weaknesses so we must tolerate as far as possible the weaknesses in our neighbours subject to all just laws and prevailing moral standards.
The reason people are willing to stay together as members of society at the expense of some of their own liberties is the benefits they can gain through mutual help which can only be achieved by living as a large mutually respecting and supporting group. To organize and run society, we have to employ a hideous tool called politics which really amounts to achieving one's objective by hook or by crook no matter what. We also need some chaotic machines generally known as human beings to run society. In the scientific sense, chaotic systems are those that are extremely sensitive to their own initial conditions and minute changes to such conditions can result in unpredictable consequences. The human being with a brain that can be described as the most complicated structure in the known universe fits the definition of a chaotic system perfectly. Politics and human beings are the most dangerous and explosive mix one can concoct. As Aristotle said :- “ Man is by nature a political animal. “ His statement together with the above description of politics make man the most dangerous animal in the universe. To tame the beast, we need laws and moral standards to guide our behaviour so as to make living as a society worthwhile and tolerable. Like it or not, we have left the making of laws to politicians but for the grey areas as defined by Fuzzy Logic each of us contributes consciously or unconsciously to building the moral code in society which renders calling the police unnecessary every time we feel aggrieved by small little things done by our neighbours. I think liberal humanism is a good foundation to start building a moral code for the world. It is like asking one to do good for one's own goodness sake. So there is really a very deep piece of philosophy in the everyday expression:- “ Be good for goodness sake.”
So I have explained in brief how E.M. Forster's thinking opened up my mind and kick-started my intellect. 1968 came and went. With such extra effort like reading all five instead of one of Forster's novels from which I could make quotations in my university entrance examination to the examiners' delight, I passed the entrance examination with flying colours. Do not think for one minute that I was obsessed with philosophy. I was still a youngster with a strictly logical mind trained up in science classes during the five years prior to studying Arts. Besides, I had yet to fulfil my duties as a financial bearer of my family. As a result, I chose Economics, Accounting and Business Management as my majors in university and was also given an annual government grant of three thousand Hong Kong Dollars every year to complete my university education. I was so grateful to society for being more fair to me than I can imagine in my wildest dreams that I swore there and then that I would repay this great favour to society in future to the best of my abilities. To materialize part of my promise, a number of very good friends and I started in 2002 to undertake an education project in Quangdong Province in China where we are organizing volunteers from Hong Kong to teach young students
17
English to improve their chances of getting a job when they finish school. The good news is that there are other volunteer groups including university students and graduates from Canton (the capital of Quangdong Province ) setting up similar services in their own way and own areas. So there are healthy signs that this project is making a little difference in China. However, I must confess that I am not spending as much time as I would like in the project to my own disappointment although I have always provided a little financial support as all my friends have done.
We accountants have generally been stereotyped as misers because we are supposed to be very cautious about money matters. In my view, a good accountant should not only be good at taking care of financial affairs but should also have a healthy sense of value. Money is nothing but a piece of paper or more precisely an I.O.U. issued by the note issuing bank when it is not being spent by the owner. It's value is manifested only when it is used. If the bank goes bankrupt, the money it issues will be worthless. Furthermore, you cannot take a single cent with you when you leave this world no matter how much money you own before you go. Therefore, theoretically the most optimum thing to do for you is to spend every cent you have before you leave this world. Money should be wisely used and not simply kept for counting by it's owner. According to the economic theory of Marginal Utility which drops as the amount of a product being consumed is increased, the less you have the more you will value it. Of course, I must qualify this statement to the extent that money is not a simple product by itself because it is also a medium of exchange for other values. It's marginal utility does not fall as sharply as in other goods. Nevertheless, the extravagant life styles of some of the super rich do testify to the fact that money can and does lose its marginal utility when the owners possess too much of it. I had once seen a movie depicting a kind hearted prostitute who used to give away her hard earned dollars to people who asked her for help if they could come up with a moving reason. With such a generous nature, she was cheated many times. When asked why she continued to do the same thing, she replied that what if for once the reason given by the person asking for help turned out to be true. Then she would have saved a life or done some good deed. I think with such great sense of value, she could have made a good accountant.
My graduation came quickly in 1971 because time flies ( or is there such a thing as time?- please be patient and read on just a little more and you will learn of my eccentric idea ) when you are happy. This is also the philosophy but not the scientific reasoning behind Einstein's Special Relativity. According to him :- “ When you are with a pretty girl an hour seems like a minute but when you are holding a red hot iron a minute feels like an eternity. That's relativity. “ I graduated with honours and in due course was first appointed as an executive officer in the Civil Service and a while later as an officer of the Inland Revenue Department in the Hong Kong British Government as most graduates from The Hong Kong University were. So, I was well on my way to becoming one big bureaucrat. Unfortunately, I found it very boring to be a small part of a huge bureaucracy so I applied for work with an international CPA firm and was accepted. It was during this period that I learnt all my commercial skills and picked up a lot of Chinese clients which enabled me to set up a professional practice on my own later on. I operated my own business for over twenty years until my retirement in 2004.
Since the year 2000, I had been reading popular science books starting with Professor Stephen Hawking's “ A Brief History of Time “ which I picked up from my son's desk one summer day. It was part of his holiday reading assignment while he was studying in Connecticut USA. He found it very difficult and quite incomprehensible. So I
18
took up the challenge and spent approximately three months to finish reading the whole of the one hundred and eighty-five pages in the book. When I said finished reading I meant just that. Reading did not mean understanding. In the small little booklet called “100 things to do before you die “ with contributions to the various topics in the book from prominent scientists like Ian stewart, Paul Davies, Lawrence Krauss and Susan Greenfield, reading “A Brief History of Time “ is among the 100 things one should do before one dies. I was really at a loss as to why this book was included in such a special list at that moment. I only realize after five years and some 200 books that Professor Hawking's best-seller is really mind opening. I was converted or more accurately reconverted to science on account of his book. When my son was supposed to write a book reading report by the end of his summer vacation I had to try my very best to explain the book's contents to him. Obviously I was embarrassed for my failure to make any sense out of the subject matters. I did not give up trying mainly because I had to defend my pride and dignity as a father. Thus, I started my personal quest to discover the basic scientific and philosophical issues such as :- the origin and destiny of the universe; the origin of life ; does God exist ? What is reality and consciousness? Do human beings have a soul? What is space-time? And so on. I decided that it is worthwhile to spend a few years of my life to find my own answers to these various issues. The result is my personal views of the universe as expressed in this book. Therefore, I consider Professor Hawking as another intellectual mentor of mine, in the spiritual sense that is, after E.M. Forster and a scientific one at that.
To give some ideas of the enormity of the task before me, I have read some 200 popular science books to date in order to understand various scientific theories and concepts such as the Big Bang Theory, Quantum Theory, Relativity, Evolution, Chaos and Complexity, Fuzzy Logic, Science of Networking, etc. Each unfamiliar scientific term in Professor Hawking's book became an assignment to read one or a few extra books. Luckily, the human brain works on a geometrical rather than arithmetical progression basis. The sum can be more than the total of its parts. While I spent some three months to read “A Brief History of Time “, now I can finish a book of say three hundred pages ( which is the average length of a normal popular science book ) in just three days. The reason for this seemingly impossible feat is simple. Many references mentioned in any new book is likely to be among some of those I have already come across earlier in my reading assignments ( self-assignment, that is ). This is the reason why I have come to the conclusion that there is no simple one-to-one relationship in this world. Everything is inter-related in some subtle way not just at the quantum level but also on the classical front as well only if we care to look closely. Again my message is :-” ONLY CONNECT ! “Having boasted on my hard-working attitude in reading popular science books, I must hasten to add that my understanding of the various scientific theories is only at a superficial and elementary level just enough for me to gain some insights into the profound philosophical implications of such theories and their relevance to our daily lives. Even though I am not an expert in science, I would not hesitate to recommend such an intellectual journey to any adult of a mature age especially the retirees. You will no doubt have a very meaningful retirement.
My personal experience is that the more you learn about Nature the more you come to understanding your own self. The more you understand yourself the more you will understand and appreciate others. Then you will start to connect with yourself, Nature, your neighbours and ultimately everybody and everything to your complete satisfaction. As a result, you will feel more confident about yourself and achieve a state of
19
peace and serenity which are important keys to attaining the state of nirvana. I am not a Buddhist but a state of peace and tranquility with oneself and Nature is the highest state of mind a person of any religion and belief can attain. Once this state is achieved, nothing will bother you any more. You will be able to take all big issues such as life, ageing, sickness and even death in their strides as part of an unending cycle of LIFE and NATURE. As E.M. Forster wrote in his book, Howards End :- “ Death destroys a man, the idea of death saves him.” For those who believe in God of any religion, the same thing applies. You will find in chapter ( viii ) about reality that in my classification, there is such a thing as Subjective Reality. What you perceive to be true IS your subjective reality and it will be true if you so believe. Such is the power of faith. For religious people, the above cycle may become life, living ( through learning, sickness, health, happiness and ageing ), death, heaven or hell ( which may be a state of mind ), and for some, then rebirth. I know what you are thinking :- “ Look who is talking ! Have you been there? “ You will ask. This is my response. I think I have just started my journey. Why am I so confident it will work ? Because this Theory of Everything in Life is based on the sacred value of the individual like you and me and the supremacy of the greatest law of all- the LAW OF NATURE. It is also mainly based on prevailing scientific facts and theories. Furthermore, It can accommodate everyone regardless of religion, race, and belief and everything in this world is covered, too. Like everything that exists in the universe all things and all human beings are stardust ( please refer to chapter ( ii ) about origins of life ), therefore, everyone and everything is a beneficiary of this theory. One of my important goals in life is my earnest hope that I can make a bit of difference and make this world a better place when I pass on to a different dimension at my life-journey's end. I want to put my money where my mouth is. I may not achieve my goal completely ( there is no such thing as a perfect job – by courtesy of Fuzzy Logic ) but no one can stop me from trying. So I do have a bit of the Olympic spirit after all because I am definitely an athlete of Life not a bystander in any sense of the word.
Besides wanting to make a difference in this world, I must confess that I have other more selfish motives in writing this book. First and foremost, I intend to leave some lasting legacy for the world at large. In particular, this will also be a spiritual legacy for my children. At this point in their life, they are still groping in the dark to find out who they are and to build their own identity so to speak. It would be asking too much on my part to expect them to find out what kind of person I am. My most optimistic estimation is that they may begin to understand the various issues raised in this book when they are forty or fifty years of age and if they are in the happier times of their lives then. Therefore, my selfish motive in writing this book is to let my children know the kind of person their father has been. I should be dead and gone or in another dimension when they are forty or fifty years old. When they are ready to undertake this task, hopefully, I can motivate them to find their own goals in life or touch them in some way that makes them a more compassionate and humane person. This is really the ultimate purpose in my writing this book. In short, I want to let them know who I am and to find their own meaning of life. Life without a goal is like a ship at sea without a destination. Soren Kierkegaard writes about life thus :- “ The irony of life is that it is lived forward but understood backwards. “ I hope this book can lessen my children's inconvenience caused by this particular property and characteristic of life.
Before I proceed further, I wish to get the reader psychologically prepared for the rest of this prologue. If you find the next few pages heavy going, that is normal. Do not feel discouraged in any way. In fact, you may skip them and go directly to page 23.
20
However, I highly recommend that you revert to them after finishing the whole book if you decide that the exercise is worth your while. The next few pages have embodied most if not all of the important outstanding issues in theoretical physics today. Therefore, they had to be difficult and intellectually challenging to say the least. That is the reason why I recommend a pass at this stage for readers without any previous experience in reading popular science books and theories. Until you have a feel of the basic ideas in theoretical physics set out in chapters ( i ) to ( vii ) you will definitely find it tough going. Nevertheless, I feel appropriate to depict them at this early stage for the benefit of the more seasoned popular science readers who may find it more convenient to their hectic schedule to bypass those chapters. Furthermore, for readers who feel that they may be absolutely bored by pure scientific theories ( which basic understanding is necessary to make a satisfying intellectual journey recommended in this book ), they may go directly to chapter ( viii ) but I have the feeling that you would ultimately be tempted to take up the challenge to read the scientific theories set out in chapters ( i ) to ( vii ) as well.
The most powerful law in science is the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This law states categorically that everything must become more disorderly as time passes never the other way round. This also means that time's arrow is always pointing forward. This is one of the greatest mysteries in science and our lives for that matter. According to the CPT PARITIES ( equalities ) LAWS in science all physical laws work in the same way and are not affected by whether or not the electric charge is positive or negative. This is the C parity. They should equally not be affected by the left or right position. This is the P parity which is also called the mirror image equality. Scientific laws are not supposed to have any preference for the left hand side or the right hand side and should work the same way in both directions. However, Chinese American scientists Lee Tsang Dao and Yang Chen Ning discovered that elementary particles created during weak nuclear reactions prefer to go to the left hand side over the right side. Therefore, the mirror image parity is violated and they were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1957. The universe is actually left-handed. You will see later that the DNA molecule which is the most important bio- chemical molecule is also left-handed. Scientific laws are also supposed to work in the same way regardless of the direction in TIME. This is called the T parity. They should not make any distinction between going forward or backward in time. That is TIME'S ARROW should not be only pointing forward. According to the T parity, events can theoretically be run backwards like a movie but this is clearly not the case in real life, why ?
My eccentric idea is that TIME, or what I called the feeling of time is created by EVENTS by which we measure time. Events or things are the building blocks of time. To put it in another way, time is not a separate entity and cannot exist independently of space which is occupied by things and events ( a string of continuous things “ happening “ ). That is why Einstein created the new concept of an entity called space-time as an indivisible unit. Events are made up of snapshots of so called moments which in turn are little things themselves that are in their own turn images generated through interaction of various processes as explained in chapters ( viii ) and ( ix ) later in the book. We subconsciously use these EVENTS or snapshots to measure time. Snapshots are still images or stock concepts but when these are viewed in the proper sequence like a movie they give rise to the illusion of a flow concept of TIME. For accountants , the more familiar examples are the balance sheet ( position statement ) for the stock concept and the profit or loss account ( a moving summary of transactions for a given period or a short movie of relevant transactions ) for the flow concept. These properties of EVENTS together with the memory function of our brain ( see chapter ( ix ) )
21
which is the result of the fact that memory cells are never replaced so they act as photo film negatives cause the illusion of time to be created. You will understand the above argument better if you have seen the movie 50 First Dates in which the leading actress only has a short memory of 24 hours due to a malfunction of her brain. The leading actor who is courting her has to introduce himself to her anew everyday. Therefore , he has to live their love life as if each day were their last and he treasures each of their days together so intensely that it will make you feel like crying. Based on the above argument, I hereby ABOLISH TIME altogether !
More importantly, things and, hence events occupy space and are part and parcel of the whole illusion of reality. Things cannot exist independently of space and without things there is no space to be defined. Likewise, there can be nothing without space because things cannot exist in any dimension that is already full ( no more space ). all these lead me to my conclusion that everything is inter-connected. Therefore, ONLY CONNECT !
Now, let me go back to SIXTY-FOUR MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION. Why does TIME'S ARROW always points forward ? The short answer is, I guess you may have got it by now if you have followed my logic closely, TIME'S ARROW just like TIME itself is an illusion ! If TIME does not exist so TIME'S ARROW can only be likewise an illusion !
There is one further crazy notion of mine. Since e=mc2, things and hence, events should be interchangeable with energy. Therefore, if Einstein's theories are anything to go by, it is very probable that everything can be traced back to primodial energy. Everything including space which I prefer to call the Parity Counterpart of things ( as in the P parity law ) must have originated from some form of energy.
Stranger still, since energy has no detectable mass, there can only be two conclusions to be drawn ( since Einstein has called mass frozen energy ). Firstly, may be our current technology does not enable us to measure the negligible amount of mass in energy. Secondly, there may be some mystical conversion at some stage of the process when energy crosses over to become mass or things as we know them in our daily lives.
I have yet another imaginary model for the space-time mystery. I have imagined that each person's life is made up of a pile of snapshot photographs arranged in a circular carousel with the person's own consciousness located at the centre. The person lives his or her life by turning in one direction we call “ forward “. Each person experiences life by detecting information or images through absorption of photons entering the eyes. These processes give rise to sensations and personal experiences and most important of all memories due to the fact that the memory brain cells are never replaced. This fact also gives rise to the illusion of a flow of TIME. Life could have been lived backward had our consciousness been turning in the opposite direction but then that backward direction could have been treated as forward and “ normal “ if everybody is subject to the same thing. Individual piles of snapshots or lives can interact and build up various stories both fairy tales and tragedies according to random and chaotic rules as predicted by Theories of Chaos and Complexity. However, this is not to say that one has no control over one's own life. Every time a person is faced with a choice, he or she can always call the shot but after a decision has been made the individual will be subject to any feed back or external reactions to that decision( again based on random rules) and most importantly he or she will be subject to consequences of choices and reactions made by other individual or things( in which case no choice can be made ) the individual
22
is interacting with. Take the example of a person faced with a very difficult or painful choice in life. That person can work the problem out in the hard but sensible way or the person can end it all by committing suicide. It is all up to the person to decide but then very different outcomes will ensue as a result of a particular decision made by the individual. We are all subject to objective and powerful physical laws but the final choice of whether or not to move in harmony with them or to work against them rests with the individual in question. We are still the master of our own destiny so to speak. So, may be this world is really a stage as propounded by Shakespeare and we are all actors of our own lives !
Special Relativity sets an ultimate speed limit for things moving in this universe at about 300,000km/second. This is the speed of light travelling in a vacuum. It also proves that time runs slower for that observer who is travelling at a greater speed. However, one can never attain the speed of light which will always speed past you at a constant speed of 300,000 km/second no matter how fast you are travelling, the reason being that it takes an infinite amount of energy to attain the speed of light. The logical inference is that at the speed of light TIME STOPS ! Therefore, if you are a photon, you can travel forward and backward in time in NO TIME at all ! Everything and everywhere and everyWHEN, if I may coin a word, is practically next door. You can see the building of the pyramids in progress. You can even see the beginning or end of the universe if you so choose but do not think for a moment that you can change history or your future because you would only be a casual observer. My educated guess is that if you were able to part take in history that means you would have to be involved in everyday affairs in that particular section of history. Therefore, you would be moving at less than the speed of light which in turns means that you would not be “ timeless “ as a photon of light. This would translate into your impossibility to reach that particular section of history in the first place. I personally think that this may be one of the the real rationales behind the principle known as the “chronology protection hypothesis” proposed by Stephen Hawking. It states that nature will always find a way to prevent time travel into the past. This hypothesis has so far been unproved. Such is the wonder and mystery of this universe and life and consciousness ! But don't take my word for it. Just read on to see if I am joking or talking nonsense. I have very boldly abolished time based on the above- mentioned reasons but I am not foolish enough to hope that my claim is so easily acceptable to the current top scientific brains. However, I do ask them to spare a little bit of their precious TIME to work through my ideas. If they can achieve a breakthrough in TIME ( sometimes referred to as the most elusive puzzle in science ) they will surely win the Nobel Prize for physics but then don't forget to mention that it is small little yours truly who dreamt out this crazy idea to ABOLISH TIME altogether. 2005 ( when I started to write the book ) is the centenary of Special Relativity. Let us hope and pray that more brilliant ideas will emerge to solve the ever mysterious problems such as space and time and higher dimensions.
Personally, I have also dwelled on the difficult problem of the nature of time and higher dimensions for the past five years. My idea is that Einstien's space- time continuum concept has already given us some clues to the existence of higher dimensions. This is because the known fourth dimension of time is already an intangible and elusive issue unlike the other three dimensions of length, width and height which are touchable and observable. If we add time as the fourth dimension, then all worldly events can be represented by a ball ( the basic three dimensions ) moving along time as represented by a so called “ world-line “. If we combine the three dimensions into two as
23
a theoretical simplification, then all worldly events can be represented by a three dimensional graph in the shape of a circular pillar with each cross-section representing the location of a physical object at each particular point in time. The circular cross- section is symbolic of the fact that this universe is finite but boundless as theorized by Stephen Hawking in his famous No Boundary Model of the universe. A possible inference or speculation from this elusive characteristic of time, the fourth known dimension is that higher dimensions can also exist in even more subtle manner which can neither be touched nor observed by us. This is because all the physical and bio-chemical reactions on which our body is run operate in three and possibly four dimensions which include time. Since time is an extension of space under Einstein's concept higher dimensions can also be treated as further extensions or distortions in space caused by the presence of mass and energy under General Relativity. The distortion may be so great that these higher dimensions are likely to be curled up even more or deeply hidden and more elusive than time itself. Under the currently very popular Strings or M-Theory which is the latest scientific theory on the fundamental building blocks of matter the universe we live in is supposed to have ten dimensions !
According to David Bohm of University of London, a physicist , there is a lot of evidence to suggest that our world and all earthly objects in it are mere images or projections from another level of reality beyond space and time. In other words, our world including ourselves are images in the nature of a giant hologram. It sounds like science fiction but scientists all over the world are taking notice of this idea because David Bohm is a prote'ge' and student of the greatest scientist of the Twentieth Century, namely, Albert Einstein. Further description of this concept of a holographic universe will come later in the book.
While concepts like time and space are traditionally considered to be the most elementary ideas which do not call for any definition, questions are now being asked regarding their very nature. Heither to, these are taken for granted as the natural and fixed background or theatre in which events or physical and chemical processes are taking place. In other words, almost all current scientific theories attempting to describe the general working of the universe are background dependent. Time-space is presumed to be a separate and fixed arena for other processes to be played out according to some set laws. This is the legacy of the reductionist method traditionally employed by scientists as championed by Descartes since the seventeenth century. All complicated phenomena are broken down into smaller but more manageable parts for easier understanding. Once each part is understood, then each part or different treatments of each part are aggregated to form a complete theory to explain the working of the whole phenomenon. The implicit or underlying assumption with this reductionist approach is that the total of the parts must be equal to the whole, nothing more and nothing less. This only holds true if and only if there are no feed-back loops between the various parts of that whole thing. The interaction of the different parts may give rise to a situation where the total sum of the parts may be greater than the whole. This is, in fact, the usual case with systems like the human society where interactions between individual members or “ parts “ give rise to more complicated by-products. These may react further with each other through more feed-back-loops thus making the sum of its parts greater than the whole. As a result, the reductionist method is generally less successful in arriving at theories that can make reliable predictions ( which a successful scientific theory is supposed to do ) in social sciences involving elements with feed-back loops or interaction among themselves. Such systems are sometimes referred to as Chaotic Systems which are less predictable than
24
purely physical systems with only mechanical parts without any feed-back loops. This weakness of the reductionist approach may be considered to be one of the greatest weaknesses in the traditional scientific method. Put it less scientifically, the traditional thinking by most people that one plus one always equal two is not true with systems with feed-back loops. It only applies to simple physical and mechanical systems without interactive processes taking place among the parts. In real life, especially in human behaviour there is simlpy no one-to-one relationships period. When you marry your wife, your marriage life necessarily involves her parents and the in-laws. Later on the relationship will include your own children. All these individuals ( parts ) interact with one another, not just on a one-to-one basis, but multi-laterally making any initial interaction quickly snow-balling into situations which may be complicated beyond your wildest imagination. This is actually a very common story line with situation comedies. Have you seen Meet the Parents ? So, the lesson to be learnt in human relationships ( or any systems with feed-back loops ), is not to start anything without thinking through the possible consequences first although you can never think of all the possible results anyway. Therefore, be very careful about multi-lateral or chaotic systems. This is the least science has taught us.
In their unfaltering belief that the highest order in the universe must be simple and symmetrical which is equivalent to beauty in the scientific jargon, scientists have been engaged in the feverish hunt for the so called the Theory of Everything for the past two to three decades. In short, such a theory is an attempt to describe all physical, chemical and biological processes in the whole universe with only a few laws and equations. That is to understand all matters and processes in this universe in terms of a few elementary laws and equations. Remember simplicity, symmetry and harmony are equated with beauty in the eyes of most if not all scientists.
I think there is also a Theory of Everything in our Life ( TOEL ). This is another objective of this book to convince you that such a theory or my so called Manual for Life does exist and is tenable and practical. Scientists tend to think that at highest level of temperature that existed in the beginning of the universe all four forces of nature (i.e. Electro-magnetic, strong nuclear, weak nuclear and gravity ) are one. This symmetry or harmony was broken into four separate parts of different types of forces with different properties when the temperature in the early universe cools down. That is to say, at a higher level of energy the four different forces of nature are in complete harmony with one another. Therefore, HARMONY is in the nature of NATURE. So should we, human beings, with NATURE and one another ! This is the most important lesson to be learnt from NATURE. The attempt to unify all the four forces of nature is also known as the Grand Unification Theory. It is part of the overall Theory of Everything which is supposed to explain everything in nature and the physical world. The grand unification is still one step short of its goal, namely the unification of gravity into the other three forces of nature. Quantum gravity is currently the best shot at the grand unification target. It is my earnest hope that one day a grand unification can also be achieved in the field of human behaviour. It is also my humble wish that this book could be part of the badly needed catalyst in this process. As simplicity, symmetry and harmony mean beauty, it would likewise be a noble and beautiful goal to achieve a Grand Unification in human behaviour which should be even more useful and practical as it concerns our daily lives twenty-four seven. In my terminology, Unification is CONNECTION !
Before going further, I wish to clarify one issue about my Theory of Everything in Life. It may appear at first sight that the attempt to formulate a theory of
25
everything in life is to find a golden rule for human behaviour. This is absolutely untrue. To me the Golden Rule Is :- There Is No Golden Rule. Truths are not facts. Facts are there to be interpreted while truths are the results of the interpretation of the facts by each individual observer. Since each person is brought up differently and has experienced different physical and cultural events in one's life there are bound to be differences in the interpretation of the same set of facts. This is further complicated by the fact that people may be viewing the same set of facts from different physical and mental perspectives. Being a chaotic system the human machine necessarily responds unpredictably to the same information signals collected from the environment according to random and chaotic rules. Therefore, do not be surprised to find very different truths coming from different observers of the same set of facts. A corollary is that there cannot be any Golden Rule for human behaviour. Truth like beauty is purely in the eye of the beholder just as time can be different for observers travelling at different speeds and, therefore, they are located in different frames of reference. All of their standards are true and correct in their own frame of reference or PERSPECTIVE. Never insist that your own perspective is the only absolute truth. It may be your subjective truth but it can NEVER be the ONLY objective truth which in fact does not exist in the first place.Therefore, we must always AGREE to DISAGREE ! We must CONNECT with all different points of view to obtain the TRUE picture in life.
Having learned the golden rule, one may very easily fall into the opposite trap that there appears to be no real truth whatsoever in this universe and anarchy seems to be the order of the day. This view is again a grave error. Like my classification of reality, there are likewise three kinds of truths, namely, subjective, objective and a hybrid between the two kinds. Some objective truths such as the laws of nature are indisputable. However, these laws may manifest themselves in different ways and these manifestations may look very differently from the laws themselves if viewed from different frames of reference. For example, water can exist in the forms of solid ( ice- below 0 degree Celsius in temperature ), liquid ( between 0 and 100 degrees Celsius in temperature ) and gas ( steam- over 100 degrees Celsius in temperature ). In appearance, they may be different but, in fact, they are the same substance chemically. There are also some man-made ( hybrid ) truths which must be adhered to by everyone in the same system. For example, it is alright for the traffic to keep either to the left or to the right. Once this has been agreed upon by the majority through the enactment of the relevant traffic laws everyone within the same political boundary must abide by these traffic laws
or accidents will occur which may lead to death or injuries and loss of property. Therefore, truths do exist but the interpretations of these truths may vary widely depending on the individual observer and their respective frames of reference. One man's meat may be another man's poison. I am a diabetic. For me the direct intake of sugar is a detriment to my health and well being but to the non-diabetic life would be miserable without sugar. So you can easily see that the truth varies considerably from person to person. Again, we must agree to disagree and peace and harmony will prevail.
I think it's about time we dwell a little bit on the structure or layout of this book to maximize the utility of the reader's time in reading this book which I consider to be a big favour to me. The various chapters in this book need not be read in the order as they appear. Each chapter may be read in isolation without getting astray from the main theme of the book as long as you read the prologue and the last two chapters. In the final chapter on The Theory of Everything in Life I will show you the connection between everything in life and the universe or the multi-verse as this may be a more popular
26
scientific term nowadays. I hope this layout will cater for the busy and even hectic life style of the modern reader. If you feel that you are already familiar with a particular subject, feel free to skip the chapter in question. However, I would be much happier if you would just glance through even those topics in which you think you are already very knowlegable. You may still pick up some eccentric ideas of mine.
The structure of each chapter is divided into three sections. The first one describes a particular scientific theory in brief which I think is of relevance to our life. The second section will explain the lesson or moral which can be learned from that particular theory and its practical application to our daily life, if any. The third section will provide some eccentric ideas as regards the inferences that can be drawn from the theory in question. I must emphasize that these ideas can at best only be viewed as scientific speculations. At worst, they can be considered as pure speculations or my daydreams only. Nevertheless, I hope that such eccentric ideas as I called them may provide food for thought to the more sophisticated scientific brains in the prevailing theoretical physics theatre. Who knows ? Even Einstein's brilliant and ground breaking theories of Special and General Relativity, ideas which completely changed our perception of space and time originated from his crazy idea of asking himself what would happen if he runs along-side a beam of light. The rest as they say is history !
To give the readers some idea what this book is all about so as to enable them to decide whether or not to continue reading, I must dispel the illusion that this is a science book although it is based on scientific facts. This is not a book of philosophy either although it purports to answer some questions about LIFE. I am always deterred by high sounding terms. Reflecting on my life thus far, I have always loved to dwell upon big and abstract questions such as life and death, purpose in life. Does God exist ? Are there higher levels of existence for human beings or what you see is what you get ? Is everything destined or do we have a free choice in life ? I had my conclusions then but they were based on abstract thinking or intuition as they were. After reading some 200 popular science books some of my conclusions may have been changed slightly or modified but all of them remain basically intact and certainly more solidly grounded in scientific facts. I undoubtedly feel that it has been worth my while to have spent the past five years of my life on and off to try to understand the universe, life's meaning and purpose to me. At least, I was able to make myself a chart to navigate through TIME's river. If it has not made me a better human being, at the very least it has made me a different one than before and a more mature soul capable of deeper thoughts and observations from a variety of perspectives. Life is a long learning process. If you look back and see a naive you, then you can know for sure that you have matured. My earnest wish is that this book will touch you in some way that will inspire you to take a real hard look at this mysterious and yet beautiful universe, this miraculous thing called life and find your own chart to navigate through it. Having introduced myself and this book and explaining my motives in writing it, I must now set out in unambiguous terms the main theme of this book. It is my strongest conviction that there is no law greater than the NATURAL LAW or laws of nature as most people would like to call it. All problems in this world whether they be environmental, social, political or economical arise because someone has violated some natural rhythms knowingly for selfish reasons or worse still out of total ignorance. It is a resounding message in this book that ALL PROBLEMS CAN BE SOLVED if we are willing to hold our peace with mother nature or better still in constant harmony with HER. Whether or not I have successfully put this message through
to the reader it is for you to pass judgment.
27
Chapter ( i ) - In the Beginning
( A ) The Theory
Scientific Theories in general
Let us begin at the beginning. How did the world come into existence ? This is a question that everyone must have asked oneself during some point or stage in one's life. Most of us give up finding an answer because it is such a big and complicated issue. Many of us find the answer in God and religion. Before I tell you my own answer, let me set out in brief the various scientific theories relating to the origin of the universe. In these theories you will find the most brilliant contemporary scientific brains at work. The ideas they put forward are nothing less than sheer genius.
While I have mentioned the reductionist method in the prologue which is so often used in the formulation of scientific theories, I should also give the readers some ideas about the different categories or classes of formulations in scientific ideas. The highest order in the formulation of scientific ideas is called a law. Familiar examples are the laws of gravity and motion formulated by Newton. As in the usual sense of the word law, these formulations usually expressed in mathematical equations should not be broken. They are the results of numerous scientific experiments carried out to prove the validity of their predictions. Therefore, it is most unlikely that these laws will be broken under normal circumstances. However, it is not impossible to overturn a well established or accepted law upon subsequent discovery of fresh evidence to the contrary. In fact, this is how scientific progress is made. The most famous example of such a case is Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity which shows that Newton's law of gravity is just a special case included in General Relativity. The reader should take note that Einstein's General Relativity is only called a Theory and not a Law because the number of scientific observations proving its validity is not numerous enough to render General Relativity the status of a Law but the certainty of the result of the relevant observations confirming its
validity has found almost uanimous support among scientists worldwide. This leads us to the second classification of scientific formulation
called Theory. The main difference between a law and a theory is the amount of scientific evidence in support of the formulation. That is there is abundant confirmed evidence collected in actual observations in support of a law while there are not so numerous experiments or observations in support of a Theory. The reason for the latter case may be the result of greater physical difficulty in carrying out experiments or observations. In the case of General Relativity the first experimental evidence to prove its validity only came in observing a solar eclipse in 1919 whereas the theory was first formulated by Einstein in 1915. Greater details of this theory and its supporting evidence will be described later in this book. The main difficulty in finding experimental evidence in support of General Relativity is its prediction that mass distorts space. It took a gigantic mass like the sun to generate enough distortion of space around its vicinity to make the distortion measurable. This measurement of the predicted distortion can only take place during a solar eclipse by a comparison of the actual and apparent positions of stars observable near the sun when its light is blocked or darkened by the moon's shadow. Therefore, empirical evidence in support of General Relativity is precious and few.
Even before a theory can be formulated, there needs to be more basic concepts and ideas called axioms ( assumptions ) and fundamental postulates ( basic propositions ). As examples of axioms and fundamental postulates, the principle of causality ( i.e. causes precede effects ) belongs to the former while the assumption that scientific laws work in the same way throughout the universe represents the latter. These
are sometimes referred to as basic scientific principles. When there are sufficient ideas about a certain topic to be arranged in
a logical and coherent formulation a hypothesis is set out. Further refinements of different
28
hypotheses concerning the same topic will lead to the formulation of a theory or model which is capable of being put to vigorous testing. If it passes a lot of testing and is found to be useful in predicting outcomes of events or phenomena in the prescribed field it becomes a good theory like Relativity or a good model like the Big Bang Model in astronomy or the Standard Model in particle physics.
To enable the reader to assess the extent to which the various theories of the origin of the universe have successfully achieved their purposes, I would suggest some criteria for gauging the success of any scientific theory. First of all, a good scientific theory must be capable of being put to the test. Testability is the hallmark of the scientific method. You can invent any theory without running the risk of being refuted if your theory is not testable. It would, in fact, not be a scientific theory at all if it is not testable. For example, you can theorize that you will become a musical genius like Mozart in your next life. This theory is nothing more than daydreaming since it cannot be put to
the test.
Secondly, a good theory must make specific predictions which are applicable to a wide range of circumstances. If the predictions are vague or have only a very narrow field of application it will not be of much use. For example, you have a theory that on a rainy day the pet chickens which you are keeping in your backyard will stay inside the hen house and will not search the top soil in your garden for worms. This will lead to the proliferation of earthworms in your backyard. Although this theory is testable and there is a specific prediction the application of the theory is so narrow that it will not be of much use to anybody else but you.
Thirdly, a good theory should be logical and as simple as the subject matter of the theory will allow. Take Einstein's Special relativity as an example, it can be expressed logically and simply in a few equations including the most famous equation of all- e=mc2. This simple equation hightlights the equivalence of mass and energy. As mentioned above, simplicity is synonymous with beauty. Therefore, ladies beware, do not wear too much make-up or ornaments. Complexity spoils your simple natural beauty!
Having clarified the differences between a scientific law, theory and principle and setting out the general criteria for gauging the relative effectiveness of different theories, let us now go into the various theories of the origin of the universe in some detail to acquaint ourselves with the current scientific theories of how our universe came into existence. Over the course of written human history of some five thousand years, our perception of the universe has changed radically from thinking that the earth is the centre of the universe to treating the sun as the centre and most recently being able to observe a vast celestial array of billions upon billions of galaxies astronomers call island universes. To put it simply, the position of our mother earth has shrunken tremendously into insignificance. Let me put you into the proper perspective about the size of the “visible” universe. Our own Milky Way Galaxy is a spiral disc of over 100 billion stars like our sun. The distances are so vast that astronomers use the unit of a light year (l.y.) to measure the galactic distances. Light travels in a vacuum at a constant speed of approximately 300,000 km per second. One l.y. Is therefore approximately 9,500,000,000,000 km in distance. How large is the Galaxy ( the Milky Way Galaxy is simply called the Galaxy with a capital G to distinguish it from all other galaxies ) ? It is about 100,000 l.y. across. Our mother earth is a planet within the solar system with the sun as the centre of the system situated about one-third from the outer edge of one of the spiral arms towards the galactic centre of the Galaxy. From outer space our Galaxy looks like a saucer with a bulging centre both on the top and bottom where most of the stars are concentrated. The next closest galaxy to our Milky Way Galaxy is the M 31 Andromeda Galaxy towards the Andromeda Constellation of stars some 200 l.y. away. Now, let us see how vast the visible universe is. It is about 145 to 150 billion years old. In other words, it will take light 150 billion ( 150,000,000,000 ) earth years to travel across the visible universe from the far side to reach us. I must remind the reader that this is just the visible part of the universe. There may be a lot more of space or void out there from which the light from stars and galaxies has not yet had the time to come into our view. In astronomical jargon, these unobserved regions are not yet in casual contact with us. You may wonder why I said 150 billions years old instead of how many km towards which direction. First of all, there is no direction in the everyday sense. There is no up and down
29
or forwards and backwards in space. Everywhere may be taken as the centre depending on your vantage point ( in our case it is earth but it may be different for ET ). This view is, in fact, known as the Cosmological Principle which assumes that the cosmos looks alike from any vantage point. Secondly, space-time is part and parcel of the same concept as discovered by Einstein. You can describe the location of you residence as 10 km east of the city centre or you can say it is 10 minutes' drive east of the city centre at the speed of 60 km per hour. How do you feel about your own importance or significance or about anybody for that matter now ? With such information about the universe, does it not change your view about human greatness ? Does it not fill you with awe ? As Plato wrote in his book “The Republic “, :- “ Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another. “ Just to put you on notice, scientific experiments in the field of Quantum Mechanics have revealed the very likely possiblilty that there could be other parallel universes existing in other dimensions. Hence, there is a new scientific term called the Multiverse coined by scientists to describe such possible or better still probable universes. Would you be interested to know more about the beautiful mysteries of this miraculous world you and I are born into and in which we are living our lives and will eventually die ? If so, please read on.
The Big Bang Theory
At the early part of the 20th centuary, there were two conflicting theories about the universe. The earlier theory is called the Steady State Theory advanced mainly by Sir Fred Hoyle and his scientific team. Roughly, this theory says that the universe has been and always will remain in existence in more or less the same condition. The rival theory is called the Big Bang Theory which hypothesizes that the universe started in a catastrophic explosion from a infinitely dense point known as a singularity. This theory was put forward by various scientists such as Lemaitre, a Belgian Catholic monk (who called his model of the beginning of universe a primeval atom ), Aleksander Friedmann and George Gamow ( who is the most outspoken promoter of the theory ). Ironically , it is Fred Hoyle who sacarstically called the theorized explosion that started the universe the big bang in ridicule that caused the name Big Bang to become so popular. In the absence of evidence in support of either theory, the rivalry persisted from the 1920s right up to 1960s when definitive observational evidence was discovered in overwhelming
favour of the Big Bang Theory. Even in 1915 when Einstein first proposed his General Relativity Theory
on gravity, the whole scientific community was not aware that there were such large scale structures as galaxies. The solar system is considered to be the whole universe. This view changed dramatically when Edwin Hubble of the Hubble Telescope fame discovered in 1929 that the universe was expanding. This astronomical discovery can be considered to be the most important astronomical find of the whole of the 20th century. This discovery was so significant that it merits a little explanation of the details of how Hubble arrived at the conclusion that the universe is expanding.
Hubble was making numerous observations on stars at Mount Wilson Observatory in California with the 100-inch telescope when he suddenly realized that all stars in the sky were receding from earth in all directions and at increasing speed proportional to their increasing distance from earth. In other words, the farther away the star the faster was the speed at which it was receding from earth. This is the famous Hubble's Law in astronomy. We can use it to estimate stellar and galactic distances in astronomy. He came to this conclusion because he detected higher redshift values in the spectrum lines of light rays collected from more distant stars. Our eyes detect colour by the different frequencies emitted by different chemical elements in an object. Within the visible spectrum the frequency of different colours is increasing from red, orange, yellow, green, blue to violet. Lower frequency means longer wavelength. Red is in the lower frequency range of the visible spectrum and therefore has a longer wavelength. The human eye can only detect a narrow range in the whole of the electromagnetic radiation
30
spectrum which covers radio waves with the longest wave length of over 0.1 metre to the gamma rays with the shortest wavelength of less than 1 nano-metre ( one billionth of a metre ). The reason is that the sun's light produces radiation within the visible range. Since human beings are day animals we have adapted ourselves through evolution to detect this range of electromagnetic waves. All electromagnetic waves travel exactly like water waves with peaks and troughs. Redshift is the result of a particular electromagnetic wave being stretched into a longer wavelength so that it appears more reddish in colour. This is due to the working of the Doppler Effect.
As the star emitting the light ray is running away from the earth the wavelength of starlight is stretched because the light source, namely, the star has moved to a further position after emitting a particular ray of light. This causes the redshift as one light wave takes a little bit longer time to reach the observer. Longer wavelengths mean lower frequency which in turn means more reddish in colour. The opposite condition applies if the light source is moving towards the observer. The wavelength is compressed as the source has moved to a position closer to the observer after emitting a particular ray of light. You may visualize this as one water wave pressing against the one in front of it when a motor boat is moving forward. More compressed wavelengths mean shorter wavelengths and shorter wavelengths mean higher frenquencies which translate into more bluish in colour. This is called blueshift. The Doppler Effect was discovered by the dutch meteorologist Christian Johann Doppler who proved it in 1845 by using trumpeters standing in a moving open air railway car. To recapitulate the principle, the Doppler Effect states that any source of sound or light moving away from an observer changes frequency with reference to the observer. You can experience the effect quite easily when the pitch of the siren from a fire engine approaching you increases while it decreases when the fire engine is moving away from you. This is the Doppler Effect in action in our everyday life. At first glance, the changes of the pitch of the siren from a fire engine moving towards and away from you do not appear to be of any significance. It turns out that this principle has ,in fact, opened up a whole infinite universe for us. The clear lesson to be learnt here is to take notice of small details and always ask why? Be curious in the constructive way. A further corollary is that there should not be any restrictions on acquiring knowledge or learning because we can never be sure whether or not a particular branch of knowledge is useful until it has been put to the test. One thing can lead to another just as in the case of Doppler Effect. Unfortunately, this ideal situation does not exist in human society. Opinions or even constructive suggestions are very often suppressed for political or economic
reasons. We , the human race as a whole really has a lot to learn from mother Nature. Before going on to The Big Bang proper, I must explain something about the big bang expansion itself. When we say that all the stars are receding from us in all directions this does not imply that our earth is in the centre of the universe. This scenario is actually being played out at every point in the universe. A parallel may be drawn with an inflating balloon. If there are dots printed on the surface, then each dot will be seen to recede from every other dot in all directions. From the view point of each dot every other dot is receding from it in all directions but this does not mean that each dot itself is the centre of the expansion. Sometimes common sense cannot be applied directly to uncommom situations. Take the following question for example. If I ask you what is outside the universe ? What would your answer be ? According to Lee Smolin, a Professor in the Centre for Gravitational Physics and Geometry at Penn State University in the U.S.A. the correct answer should be nothing. This is because the universe is by definition everything that is all around us. Whatever you find will therefore be part of this universe. The universal set contains everything. Thus you will appreciate that for unusual situations our
common sense may not be able to help us. Returning to the Big Bang model, Hubble's discovery of an
expanding universe gave tangible evidence in support of the theory. If the universe is expanding today, then extrapolating the expansion backwards would lead to a definite beginning at a singularity. At such close quarters, the effects of quantum mechanics would be very strong. Newtonian mechanics would not be applicable. If you know the inverse square rule of gravitation which states that the the pull between two bodies is inversely proportional to the square of the distances between them. In equation form, it looks like this :-F =GmM/r2, where F is force, m and M are the masses of the two bodies, r is the
31
distance between them and G is the gravitational constant. You will see from this equation that when the distance between the two bodies is close to zero or is, in fact, zero as in the case of a singularity the force F will be infinity. Therefore, quantum mechanics is an indispensable tool in the study of astronomy especially at the birth of the universe. That is how the study of the very large ( the study of the universe is called cosmology ) leads us back to the study of the very small ( quantum physics ). Furthermore, if there had been an explosion of sorts then there should be evidence in the form of some residual heat radiation however small the amount may be. In fact, scientists like Gamow and his team theorized that 15 billion years after the initial explosion as calculated from Hubble's redshift estimation the residual radiation should have settled down to a mere few degrees Celsius above the Absolute Zero of -273 Celsius or zero degree Kelvin ( K ). This evidence of cosmological background radiation was finally discovered by accident by Penzias and Wilson in 1965 and they were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for their momentous discovery in 1978. They were testing a horn-shaped antenna in their Bell Laboratory in New Jersey to improve wireless communications between the east and west coasts of U.S.A. Upon final testing of their equipment they could not eliminate some hissing sounds produced by an unknown radiation source. Furthermore, it was smooth and even from all directions. They checked and rechecked their equipment and ruled out all artificial sources for such disturbance. They even climbed into the huge antenna itself to see if there were any bird droppings inside but found none. Then it suddenly dawned on them that this was the long sought after evidence scientists dubbed the echoes of the Big Bang. The rest is history. This remnant of the primeval explosion is extremely evenly permeating the whole universe at a temperature of about 3.5 degrees Celsius above Absolute Zero or just 3.5 degrees Kelvin as predicted correctly by Gamov and his team. The discovery of the echoes of the Big Bang put the final nail in the coffin of the Steady State Theory and settled the few decades old rivalry in overwhelming favour of the Big Bang Theory of the origin of the universe. You can shared in this cosmological symphony with the scientists by switching on your radio tuner to some unoccupied frequencies. The hissing noise you hear is this eternal cosmological symphony reminding everyone of the turbulent beginning of our universe.
At this point you may think that the Big Bang would reign supreme but, in fact, there are many unsolved problems that the theory cannot explain. First, how and why did the primeval explosion come about ? What was there before the bang ? The most popular explanation accepted by the scientific community is that time was born with the Big Bang. Before that there was nothing. The word “ nothing “ has a special meaning in science. Even in the void of space there is supposed to be 0.2 atom ( probably hydrogen or helium ) per cubic metre. There are also various energy fields like the Higgs Field permeating the quantum vaccum with a multitude of virtual particles popping in and out of existence all the time. The most likely explanation for the bang was some random fluctuation in the quantum foam which is a vague reference to the possible existence of a quantum energy field that has existed since time immemorial ( are scientists going back to the Steady State concept ? ). At this point the reader will simply have to accept the term quantum energy field at its face value. The quantum concept should be a little bit clearer to you after you have read the chapter on Quantum Theory but the most important thing to bear in mind about such ideas is that they are purely scientific speculations at this stage or educated guesses at this point subject to further formulation of testable theories for ultimate verification. There is also another speculation under the inspiration of the latest M- Theory that the bang occurred as a result of the collision between two enormous membranes of primordial energy of 11 dimensions ( why 11 dimensions ? This will be explained in the chapter ( iii ) in connection with Strings Theory. It has a lot to do with mathematical consistency and the concept of symmetry in nature ) resulting in the disintegration of the 11 dimensions into our present 4 but it does not mean that the higher dimensions have simply vanished. In Quantum Theory, any elementary particles having had interaction with one another will be forever bound by some sort of interconnectedness. You will see this wonderous phenomenon later in some quantum experiments. Therefore, the whole universe is connected in some mysterious way which Einstein called “ spooky action at a distance “ in his Hidden Variables interpretation of Quantum Theory. So, the first problem with the Big Bang is that it does not explain how and why the bang occurred
32
in the first place.
The second problem with the Big Bang is called the Horizon problem. You will recall that the background radiation discovered by Penzias and Wilson in 1965 was uniform from all directions. This is a mystery because if the universe really started with the big bang explosion there would not have been enough time for the heat radiation to settle down to the same temperature in the whole of the available space created by the Big Bang although this might be very small in the beginning. Even today, our universe is expanding at the speed of some 71 km/second as calculated by the observed redshift factor. This estimation is accurate to 95% confidence. You will appreciate this mystery if you pour some hot water into a cup and stir it. Before the stirring, the temperature in different parts of the cup will be different until there is enough time for the water to mix thoroughly. In the case of an explosion, there is just not enough time for the resultant heat radiation to permeate evenly in all the available space however small it may be. Once the heat starts to spread the explosion would have created more new space to make it impossible for the existing heat to fill both the old and new space to the same degree. If you pour some hot water into two different cups and put them in two different parts of the room with different temperature, the hot water in both cups will not be able to mix with each other. Then, it would be most surprising to find that the water in the two cups with no casual contact with each other has the same temperature. The cups are situated in different horizons so to speak and, hence, the smoothness in the cosmic background radiation is known as the Horizon Problem.
The third problem which the Big Bang Theory cannot explain is called the Flatness Problem. According to Einstein's General Relativity, the shape of the universe is determined by gravity which is in turn based on the amount of mass in it. By measuring the number of stars in the visible universe through the light they give out astronomers can only account for 5% of the mass needed for the critical density of a flat universe. By various techniques astronomers have been able to acertain the mean density of the universe to be very close to 1. In physical terms, the mean density or Omega as it is known in Cosmology with a value of 1 means the universe is flat . In other words, it will not close in on itself like a sphere ( which requires Omega to be larger than 1 ) or bends itself outwards like a saddle ( which requires Omega to be less than 1 ). In a flat universe two parallel lines never meet. Take our earth for example, two parallel longtitude lines at the equator will eventually meet at the North or South Pole because our earth is a sphere. Furthermore, a flat universe also means it will go on expanding forever. To give you some more characteristics of a flat universe, any triangle formed by three straight lines will always add up to 180 degrees internally. In the case of a spherical or saddle-shaped universe the sum of the internal angles of a triangle will be more than 180 and less than 180 degrees respectively. The Flatness Problem has also become the missing mass problem because the visible mass of the universe is only 5% of the total mass required to make the measured mean density ( Omega ) of being close to 1. Currently, scientists are predicting the presence of dark matters of up to 20% of the critical mass. These dark matters which cannot be seen but can be detected by the gravitational pull they exert on nearby stars and galaxies are most likely black holes, weakly interacting massive particles ( WIMPs ) and massive astrophysical compact halo objects ( MACHOs ). The other 75% of
the crtical mass of the universe are expected to be dark energy. As the critical mass of the universe is the determining factor of its fate,
we should know something about these constituents of our universe. Black holes are regions of our universe where the concentrated mass is so great that even light cannot escape its gravitational pull. These monsters were first predicted by General Relativity. According to Einstein, energy and mass distort the shape of space much like a heavy lead ball can create depressions in a sheet of rubber. If the lead ball is heavy enough it will eventually stretch the rubber sheet into a region engulfing itself and connecting to the rest of the rubber sheet only through a narrow funnel like a votex of a whirlpool. This vortex is defined by a boundary called the Event Horizon through which anything and everything will be sucked irretrievably into the black hole by the enormous gravitational pull if they come too close to the black hole. The light emitted by any object that is situated inside the black hole will only be travelling in circles inside the black hole and, therefore, cannot be detected by any observer outside the black hole because of the gravitational pull and the
33
extreme curvature of space inside the black hole. Another way of looking at the situation is from the infinite escape velocity required by any object attempting to leave the black hole. The escape velocity required to get away from the gravitational pull of a planet or any object for that matter depends on the mass of the planet. Again to take our earth as an example, the escape velocity required by an object such as a satellite launching rocket to free itself from the earth's gravitational pull is 7.6 km per second or some 16,990 miles per hour. In the case of a black hole, the escape velocity is infinity. The reason is that the mass of a black hole is so great that it has bent space which is elastic into a region of its own. Therefore, anything inside it can only travel in circles so that regardless of how fast that escaping object is travelling it can never return to the region of space outside the black hole. Judging from the speed of rotation of the stars in our own Milky Way Galaxy, it is almost certain that it harbours a very large black hole in its galactic centre. Astronomers have reached this conclusion because at the speed at which the stars are rotating around our galactic centre, our galaxy should have flown apart long time ago if not for the almost certain presence of a gigantic black hole in its galactic centre which is exerting the extra gravitational pull needed to keep all the stars in our Galaxy in orbit. The same situation applies to many other galaxies.
As for the other candidates of dark matters, WIMPs refer to particles ( heavy by atomic standards- hence the name weakly interacting massive particles ) present in cosmic rays which are produced by various nuclear reactions constantly going on in stars and other astronomical events such as explosions of stars at the end of their lives called supernovae and so on. Another most publisized particle is the neutrino originally predicted to exist by Woolfgang Pauli. It has neither mass nor electrical charge and travels at the speed of light although Japanese scientists have subsequently discovered a particular variety with a neglgible mass. It does not react with any other objects or atoms or elements so that its presence cannot be detected easily. A lot of expensive and sophisticated experiments have been designed to detect its existence to solve the dark matter mystery. MACHOs on the other hand are not that elusive. Many of these are Jupiter size planets which do not give out light on their own. Recently, it has become a very popular sport in the astronomy circle to detect such planets in other solar systems. With the advance in sky gazing technology, there have been a lot of successful sightings in recent months. They are called massive astronomical compact halo objects because these massive planets in other solar systems betray their own presence when they pass in front of bright stars causing the image of the star behind them to be magnified just like using a magnifying glass to observe the star behind these solid or compact objects. The light rays from the star will be bent on both sides of the MACHO to give a halo as well as a magnifying effect. Due to magnifying effect, the background star will appear to be shining brighter than normal when a MACHO is passing in front of it. This lensing ( like using a magnifyiny lens ) effect is also predicted by Einstein in his General Relativity. The other 75% of the universe's missing mass are predicted to be dark energy arising from the vaccum created by the continuous expansion of the universe and quantum activities such as quantum fluctuations in the mysterious quantum fields hypothesized to be existing in the vaccum of space. These are only predictions still awaiting verification through empirical evidence so that they should be viewed as scientific hypotheses only.
The fourth problem of the Big Bang Theory is called the Galaxy Formation Problem. You will recall that the cosmic background radiation is very smooth as confirmed by numerous astronomical observations. If everything in the primeval universe is so smooth, how did the stars and galaxies come into existence? Smoothness is a problem for galaxy formation because if all matters in the early universe are perfectly evenly distributed each particle of matter will exert equal gravitational pull on every other particle so that no clumps of matter can be formed. Stars were born because of the clumping of matters together under gravity until they are compact and dense enough to start the chain reaction under nuclear fusion to produce their first nuclear glow and ultimately to become a full blown nuclear fusion burning star. If there is no initial uneveness in the distribution of matter in the early universe there will be no stars and galaxies and consequently no living organisms like us. If there are no solutions or explanation for these problems the Big Bang Theory will not pass the test of being a good and viable scientific theory.
34
Luckily, some possible explanations for the above problems were forthcoming when in 1979 a post graduate student called Alan Guth advanced a concept known as Inflation which has since developed into a whole branch of astronomy called Inflationary Cosmology to explain the Horizon and Flatness Problems. Guth suggested that at the very early stages of the Big Bang expansion the universe had undergone a phase of tremendous inflation doubling in size at the rate of 10 to the power of 34 times a second. This inflation is hypothesized to have occurred due to the creation of a false vaccum by various quantum energy fields ( including the Higgs Field which is an energy field existing throughout space ) were somehow disturbed by some quantum fluctuations the causes of which are still to be determined. It is called a false vacuum because it is devoid of matter or mass and yet it is full of energy which can manifest itself in the form of virtual particles or anti-matter particles popping in and out of existence all the time at random. While mass exerts positive gravitational force a false vacuum without any mass or matter but a lot of anti-matter potential and no mass to produce positive attraction to hold it together has negative gravitational force or anti-gravity. This is the suggested cause of Guth's hypothesized Theory of Inflation or the super accelerating force that drove the Big Bang expansion in the very early stages of the universe's creation. This is the dark energy or the Quintessence ( the fifth element after the four ancient Greek elements of earth, air , water and fire ) as it has come to be known that is behind the expansion of the cosmos. The logic goes like this. The amount of positive energy can increase indefinitely as long as it is counter balanced by an equal amount of negative energy arising from the space created by the expansion making the total energy zero. Alan Guth has put it this way :- “ It's often said there is no such thing as a free lunch. But the universe itself is a free lunch. “ So, the universe itself is actually theorized to be the ultimate free lunch. If inflation did occur it would solve the Horizon as well as the Flatness Problems. This is because everything in our universe would have been in close contact before the Inflation so ,therefore, it is reasonable and logical to find uniform background radiation from all directions. Furthermore, the ultra speed of the Inflation of doubling in size at the rate of 10 to the power of 34 per second will automatically strectch the universe to complete or almost complete flatness just like a balloon being blown up to such a large size that at any vantage point a person will not be able to see the outside curves. So, Inflation Theory can
explain away these two cosmological problems. As regards the Galaxy Formation Problem, you will recall that it arises
because of the smoothness of the background radiation which implies that there was no evidence of the initial uneveness that will cause matters to clump together to set the gravitational force in motion for the formation of stars and galaxies. There is now observed evidence that the initial distribution of primodial background radiation did, in fact, display just enough uneveness to allow the formation of stars and galaxies. Astrornomers are able to match this pattern of uneveness in the initial distribution of primodial background radiation with the present pattern of stars and galaxies distribution in our universe today. This process of discovery is so important that it warrants a more detailed description because the images of distribution of primodial background radiation which confirm the necessary uneveness in the first few moments of the creation of our universe have been dubbed by the scientific world as :- “ seeing the mind of God.” These images are profoundly inspirational because they reveal the primeval appearance of our cosmic habitat and the true face of the origin of everything.
In 1991, the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite or COBE had completed a two years all-sky survey of the distribution of primodial cosmic background radiation and had found a preliminary match of the ancient pattern with the present day distribution of stars and galaxies in our cosmos. However, the data was not fine and
accurate enough to put it beyond all reasonable doubt regarding the match. On 23rd April, 1992, astrophysicist George Smoot who headed the COBE team announced that they had found the “ ripples in the fabric of space-time “ or the so called wrinkles in time that spelled the whole blueprint of our universe as it appears today. To reconfirm the results of COBE, the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe or WMAP was launched in the summer of 2001 to chart out the distribution of the original cosmic background radiation to thirty-five times the accuracy of the COBE data using microwave techniques not available at the time of the COBE project. As microwaves have the shortest wave length in the
35
electromagnetic spectrum they can probe into finer details and, hence, more accurate in giving images with higher definitions. The final data collected from the WMAP project was published in 2004 which showed the universe as it was 380,000 years after the first moment of the Big Bang. This all-sky survey image can be seen at the NASA website-
Astronomy Picture of the Day ( APOD )- archive of 5th september, 2005. I strongly recommend that everyone should have a look at this imprint of creation if one really wants to find one's roots. This is a 35 times finer resolution of the COBE image dubbed“ the Mind of God”. WMAP reconfirmed beyond all reasonable doubt that the original slight uneveness in the distribution of cosmic background radiation matched the pattern of distribution of stars and galaxies as they exist today. So there you have it ! This is the scientists' version of the creation of the universe.
What about the final destiny of our universe, are there any predictions prescribed by the cosmologists and astronomers ? Generally, there are three major predictions. Firstly, if the mean density of the universe or Omega is greater than 1, then the present expansion of the universe will stop at some stage in the future and contract on a reverse cycle known as the Big Crunch until back to the original Singularity and everything is heading for a fiery end. In this situation, our universe is called a closed universe. Secondly, if Omega is less than 1, then the universe will keep on expanding at an ever increasing rate and all the stars and galaxies will recede from one another faster and faster until all eternity. This is called an open universe. Thirdly, if Omega is equal to 1, then the universe will keep on expanding at the present rate forever. We will observe all stars and galaxies receding from us and each other slowly forever until they all disappear from our sight. This is called a flat universe. The present observed evidence seems to point to an Omega very close to 1 so that our universe is supposedly heading towards emptiness as well as loneliness from our earthly point of view. It began with a bang and uncharacteristically heading for a whimper. This is only a prediction based on our present understanding of the universe. Future discoveries may lead us to modify our present predictions. We just have to wait and see.
( B ) The Inspirations
Based on observed scientific evidence, it is reasonably certain that there had been an explosion of some sort that started the physical universe. Once the expansion process had begun it took slight variations in the densities of a homogeneous background radiation of energy to coalesce into physical mass which in turn gives rise to the stars and galaxies. The catch is that there must be sufficient but not more than necessary amount of uneveness in the distribution of cosmic background radiation to produce a viable universe. The fine tuning is so meticuluos that it is mind-boggling. If it is too smooth no mass can be formed because gravitational pull is equal in all directions. If the uneveness is too great everything will be clumped together in one gigantic mass with such enormous gravitational pull that would probably lead to the creation of a ultra-super black hole with no chance for life to develop. Nature treads a fine line between perfection and imperfection. Life is the product of slight imperfections but not grave imperfections. A lesson nature has taught us in the physical process of creation is tolerance towards imperfection. In fact, the perfection that we can detect in nature is very often born out of imperfection like a beautiful butterfly breaking free from its ungainly pupa. That is perfection in imperfection and visa versa. According to estimation by scientists there is only a 1/10 to the power of 40 chance that the relative strengths of gravity and electromagnetism of being fixed in the correct ratio needed for stable suns or stars to be formed. Similarly, any changes in the strong nuclear force would make the formation of protons impossible. Even if they did form, it would lead to the stars burning out very much faster than they do leaving insufficient time for life to develop in planets like our earth. These are just a few out of numerous examples of remarkable and fine tuning in the cosmos.
All these ultra-fine tuning clearly points to a subtle connection between
36
all aspects of nature within a grand design and interdependence among every part in the whole. There is also a resounding message that LIFE is most precious and Compassion and Tolerance are the true paths to peace and harmony with Nature and among all living things. With her 150 billion years of experience, Nature is the most learned of all teachers. It will certainly be to our advantage to heed Her advice and follow Her example and timeless laws.
Whereas the scientists have tried to rationalize the physical world in terms of invariable laws and symmetries through the scientific method of logic and experiments without resorting to pure religious faith they have, nevertheless, relied heavily on their own particular form of faith. They believe in the ultimate faith that the universe is comprehensible to the human mind and that Nature always tends to be simple and symmetrical at the highest level. But why must this be so ? If scientists do not hold onto such faith or axioms or assumptions as they call them, there would be no scientific exploration into the unknown areas of Nature. It is a very similar situation to the courts and judges in the legal or judiciary arena. The judges always insist that they never create any laws which is the responsibility of the legislature under the accepted democratic concept of check and balance between different functions of a democratic govement system but, in fact, every court case on which they pass judgment will form a precedent and so will change the interpretation of a particular law. They have invariably created new precedents and modified the interpretation of existing laws whether they care to admit it or not. Likewise, the scientists have their own form of faith which they are not willing to admit for fear of being labelled unscientific. Every unproven theory such as Alan Guth's Inflation survives on faith. The scientific world accepts Inflation because it is necessary for them to explain problems in the Big Bang Theory on the origin of the universe. Of course, Inflation will most probably be proven one day and may be pretty soon but till then it rides on faith for all its worth. Without faith there is no hope ( because no progress can be made if everything has to be proven first before any step forward is taken ) and without hope there will be no future and there may not be any need for charity either because if there is no future for the human race through progress ( both technologically and spiritually ) we will have all perished. Faith leads to hope and hope inevitably leads to dreams and dreams to progress. Hopes and dreams are the essence of LIFE. To deny faith is to deny LIFE itself. Every scientific law starts as an act of faith, the faith that Nature is comprehensible to us and that it is good to learn about the truth in Nature for the purpose of guiding our actions in life. With every achievement whether big or small in our quest for knowledge our faith in the above beliefs are reinforced. That is why many people believe that science is, in fact, a religion in its own right.
When we ask ourselves why we have various inborn rights such as to achieve the greatest happiness ( which may mean different things to different people ) for ourselves subject to all just laws our usual response is that it is bestowed upon us by nature. How can we set about to prove this belief ? We most probably cannot. Does this right not exist if we cannot prove it scientifically ? Most certainly not ! Therefore, we can safely conclude that certain things cannot survive without faith, sometimes even blind faith as some might call it. For married men like myself, I put a lot of faith in my loving relationship with my wife when we decided to get marry. I am sure that I can say the same for her. At the time of our marriage there was no absolute guarantee that our relationship could last for life although both of us vowed to keep our marriage bonds till death do us part. It was a pure act of faith based on true love and we are so very glad to say after 28 years that the flame of faith and love is still burning strong. Had we followed the scientific method of logic and experiment there would not have been 28 years of happy marriage and we could still be dragging our feet in indecision. Despite this shot at the scientific method, I have, neverthless, scientifically divided issues on which decisions must be made into two major categories. There are matters for the head and matters for the heart. The former should be subject to scrutiny by the intellectual faculty of our brain ( i. e. the scientific method is applicable ) while the latter by the emotional part of our neural function ( i. e. by feeling and intuition ). There should not be any conflict between either cognative functions if they are appropriately applied.
The scientists explained away the necessity for a creator by saying that everything can evolve automatically according to a set of rules they called the Laws
37
of Nature ( which I think have God-like qualities ). Under such circumstances, the universe does not need a creator but who or what created the Laws of Nature, one might ask ? The general scientific consensus seems to be that these laws are given or self-existent similar to the nature of God. Moreover, time did not exist before the Big Bang. Before the beginning there was nothing. There is no need to explain what happened before the Big Bang. As Roger Penrose put it, you cannot ask the question :- “ what is north of the North Pole ? “ because the North Pole is the northern most spot on earth. Logically, this argument is correct but it does not solve the problem because it evades the real issue of who or what started the creation process. So, you may ask how the scientists speculate about the real cause of the Big Bang. The current popular view is that it occurred as a result of some random quantum fluctuation in the quantum energy field permeating space since time immemorial. This hypothesis is not unlike the Buddhist view of the universe which states that the universe is eternal and everything is an illusion or an image arising from the interactions between various processes. There is nothing permanent or solid. When the conditions are right the visible universe which is, in fact, a grand illusion for reasons stated in the previous sentence will arise and become detectable by the human consciousness because human nature has the inherent weakness of clinging onto beautiful and attractive illusions as if they were real and permanent. At a deeper level, the Buddhist view on God 's existence is also in the negative because it is a cardinal principle in the Buddhist philosophy that everything must have a cause. That is the all important argument for doing good because evil begets evil and that everything is interconnected through causation which is the basis for showing compassion towards all forms of life. By definition, God is self existent or causeless. Therefore, the Buddhist view cannot accept the concept of an all good and all mighty self existent deity. When we explore Quantum Theory in greater detail later in the book we shall learn the important role of the observer. Nothing seems to be definite without an observer and then you may realize that the whole world will take on certain characteristics of an illusion. This is really a mystical and fascinating aspect of life that calls for close scrutiny in order that its true purpose may be known.
I have two objections against this speculative scientific view of the cause of the Big Bang. Firstly, random quantum fluctuation means it happened for no casual reason, the word casual here means cause and effect relationships. Of course, there may not be a one-to-one relationship in the occurrence of an event . This is especially true in human relationships as most of us would agree. However, there may be a whole chain of interrelated and interacting factors contributing to the occurrence of a particular event. The fact that you cannot find a direct one-to-one relationship does not mean that there is absolutely no reason for the occurrence of an event. It is possible that the failure to find the sole or multiple causes is the result of technical difficulty or improper
use of existing techniques. Secondly, the presumption of various quantum fields permeating
space since time immemorial has two major flaws. Under Einstein's energy and mass equivalence principle the eternal existence of energy fields is tantamount to admitting the eternal existence of mass and, hence, the acceptance of the Steady State Theory which the Big Bang Theory is supposed to overthrow. Moreover, the space-time continuum is said to have been born at the Big Bang so it could not have co-existed with the quantum energy fields since time immemorial. In my opinion, these two thorny issues are detrimental to this hypothetical cause of the Big Bang.
All in all, I do not think that the scientists have successfully convinced me that the creation of the universe did not require the assistance of an external force be it God or some other life force. Of course, it is an inborn hazard in cosmology that an observer cannot have an external view ( the cosmic habitat is all we have ) or a control experiment to test out one's theory like other branches of science. I am not a man of traditional religion but I find the scientists' version of creation only an incomplete story. In fact, their version with its many unproven scientific speculations is even harder to swallow than the divine version which is relatively easy once you have found the faith through the Holy Bible or by spiritual contemplation. Nevertheless, one may be accused of being unscientific if one accepts the divine version but is being scientific the only concern in life? How can you scientifically analyze something like love or
38
friendship, for example ? Just as religious beliefs are based on faith the scientific method is also based on two very important acts of faith, namely, the basic belief that the Laws of Nature are self existent and the implied belief or assumption that the universe is comprehensible to the human mind or consciousness. As Einstein had put it so eloquently :- “ The most incomprehensible thing about Nature is that it is comprehensible. “
( C ) The Eccentric Ideas
My own speculations are these:- Firstly, the problem between the scientists and the theologians about the existence of God can be resolved in this manner. If the scientists are prepared to give up their reductionist approach and adopt a holistic view of the universe and the theologians are prepared to compromise by modifying their dogma of the creationist process with verbatim interpretation of the Bible then I think they can both accept my own improvised theory which is this. God does exist ( please refer to chapter (x) for discussions on the existence of God ) and He created the world not directly but through the creation of the various laws of nature from which the world evolved according to these set of laws. The description in the Book of Genesis in the Bible of the creation of the world in seven days can be interpreted metaphorically as no one insisted on the literal interpretation of the creation process being done in seven earth days. As for the scientists, they basically say that the universe 'can' come into existence under its own set of laws but they can never hope to prove that the Big Bang Theory is the only true picture of the creation process beyond all doubts. On the contrary, the theory can be proven to be wrong if further unfavourable evidence should come to light in future. This is as explained above the normal path of scientific progress. As it is, there are still considerable amount of unexplained phenomena such as the cause of the Big Bang itself and the fine tuning of the various constants of nature together with the miraculous setting of the relative values of these vital statistics. That is why the Big Bang Theory is still a theory and not a law. Likewise, the scientists cannot prove that God does not exist . It is always an impossible task to prove a negative. Even the famous Godel Theorem in mathematics shows that some propositions can never be proven right or wrong in a definite way. If God really created the laws of nature from which the world evolved then this new theory of mine may be a rainbow bridge that will connect “ the prose ( theology ) and the passion ( science ) “ in this world and becomes a breakthrough in formulating a Theory of Everything in Life. Then the philosophy of E.M. Forster will again triumph by
forging a CONNECTION between science and religion. Secondly, I would even venture to speculate on the revival of the Steady
State Theory as an explanation of the origin of the universe. This is because of my view about the non-existence of TIME. The frozen snapshots model of all the events happening in the universe imply that they have been there always. Only through our consciousness and the memory function of our brain that the illusion of TIME arises. In other words, the universe has always existed and will always exist. This universe together with God and the laws of nature which I call the LIFE force are one and harmony and serenity will always prevail if human beings do not abuse or violate the laws of nature.
Chapter ( ii ) - The Origin of Life
( A ) The Theory
Star Dust
39
The origin of life is still one of the four biggest unsolved mysteries in science to date. The other three are :- how gravity works, the nature of space-time ( including the arrow of time ), and the correct interpretation of quantum theory. Scientists have been stero-typed as cold, logical and down to earth. They are almost never associated with romance and soft human touch. As far as the general opinion on human sentiments goes, emotions are being equated with the lack of logic. However, I hold a different view. Science can be the most romantic of all the subjects in our quest for knowledge. How about looking towards the heavens for our origin ? Don't you find statements like :- “ We are all star dust ! “ and “ Look for a star in search of our ultimate beginning “ romantic. To me, they invoke a profound sense of beauty and eternity. Why are we star dust ? You'll be surprised to learn that we have come from such humble and lifeless origin but it is beyond doubt.
I am not contradicting myself when I say we came from the stars on the one hand and that the origin of life is still a mystery on the other. Chemically, we are carbon based and carbon can only be manufactured in the stars in heaven. You should recall in your secondary school Chemistry lessons that the special properties of carbon have given rise to a whole unique branch of study called organic chemistry. To this extent, we are made in heaven. However, the process by which such lifeless element came to life in conjunction with other elements like hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and so on is still a very
deep mystery.
Before going into the various theories about the origin of life, let us learn the connection between life and the stars. In the beginning, there was nothing. Then there was the Big Bang. In the heat of the explosion, hydrogen and helium, the two simplest elements were created. These have one and two protons in their atomic nucleus respectively. Different elements have different numbers of protons ( and some also have neutrons which is formed by the fusion of a proton having a positive electric charge with an electron having a negative electric charge ) in their atomic nuclei whose positive electric charge is balanced by the negative electric charge in the same numbers of electrons orbiting around the nucleus to make a stable element. However, I must qualify this picture when we are dealing with the Quantum Theory or Quantum Mechanics which theorizes that the atom is actually a fuzzy blob of minute mass togther with its associated energy field having an indefinite postion and velocity by virtue of the Uncertainty Principle. The heat radiation created in the Big Bang dissipated pretty quickly thanks to Inflation and was not hot or long enough to create other elements by nuclear fusion. Other heavier elements have to be cooked over millions of years in the fiery core of burning stars through atomic nuclear fusion. The foremost expert in this astronomical alchemy is none other than Sir Fred Hoyle of the Steady State Theory fame. Another brilliant astro-physicist whose life long research has revealed a lot of profound insights into the life cycles of stars was the late Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his life-time
achievements in astro-physics in 1983. The higher the element on the Periodic Table the longer it will take for it
to be created in the nuclear fussion process. In fact, even the ultra high temperatures in a normal star cannot cook up elements beyond iron ( Fe ) with the most stable of all atomic nucleus and an atomic number of 26 ( meaning there are 26 protons in its nucleus ). This is the reason why the heavier the element the more scarce it is. All elements above iron in the periodic table are created in a more catastropic event of a supernova expolsion at the end of a star's life when it has exhausted all its fuel in its nuclear fusion enterprise. These supernovae expolsions are the most spectacular cosmic sights. Their brightness is equvalent to 100 million suns or sometimes more. They can shine like a small galaxy for days or sometimes weeks. The most famous supernova occurred in the Milky Way Galaxy in 1045 and was recorded in Chinese history books. Its remnant is the famous still expanding cloud of gas called the Crab Nebula or designated as M 1 ( Charles Messier 's astronomical catalogue object # 1 ). In 1987, there was another supernova occurring in our galaxy dubbed SN1987A which is a Type IA supernova with a constant or standard candle brightness most useful for gauging cosmic distances. Nowadays, it is a serious undertaking in astronomy to hunt for supernovae because of their unique characteristics,
With the really ultra high temperatures, a supernova expolsion can cook up the heaviest of element like gold, platinum and uranium. Besides the creation of the
40
heavier elements, supernova explosions also carry out the most important function of cosmic recycling. After they have used up all their nuclear fuel the dying star produces the debris dispersed by supernova explosions which will form the building blocks of another generation of stars. These cosmic debris will coalesce into clumps under gravity. When the cosmic materials are compressed by their own weight through gravity to the tipping point they heat up and will start the nuclear fusion process and the clump begins to shine in its nuclear glow. At this stage, a new star will be born. By estimating its chemical contents through the spectrum of light collected from a particular star through telescopes astro- physcists are able to work out whether the star is a first, second or third generation star like our own sun. Furthermore, by estimating its size and the brightness ( different brightness correspond to different colours and, hence, the age of a star ) scientists can also work out the remaining life span of a star. To recapitulate, our sun is an average size, middle-aged and third generation star that can burn for 10 billion years. The bad news is that it will die out one day but the good news is it will not perish in a supernova until 5 billion years from now. As it usually happens, things are not really what they appear to be. Don't assume for a moment that the bigger stars have all the advantages in terms of age or duration of existence. On the contrary, the bigger the star the faster the rate of dissipation of its nuclear fuel. The largest stars burn out their fuel in only a matter of may be a few million years. So, never take things at their face value. Didn't you enjoy the Tom and Jerry cartoon - the big cat and the small mouse while you were a kid ? We enjoyed it because the small guy always came out on top despite all odds against him. Life is the same. It has perpetuated despite all unfavourable odds. The fighting spirit in life makes it precious beyond all physical and quantifiable measurements.
Given sufficient time, a star like our sun will develop its own solar system but whether or not the system contains a bio-friendly planet like the earth is purely a matter of random chance. So far, scientists have not discovered any extra-terrestrial life. This will be discussed later in the book. First of all, we have to define what life is. In Erwin Schrodinger's book “ What is life ? “ written in 1944, the then prevailing view seemed to be a mechanical one. Life seemed to be defined as an elaborate set of micro machines ( the small little cells working independently and yet in unison to produce a complex organic machine ) mysteriously working in harmony to carry out functions such as respiration, nutrition, irritability, locomotion, rejuvenation ( repairs to itself ), growth and reproduction. In short, it is a metabolic machine capable of perpetuating itself through reproduction. Later on , more sophistication is introduced after the discovery of the DNA molecule in 1953, the most important bio-chemical molecule of all. The added details icluded complexity in organisation, passing on of genetic information and the entanglement of hardware ( the body parts ) and software ( the genetic code embodied in our genome ). You may also recall from your secondary school Biology class that there are some conditions that must be present before life can thrive. These were :- oxygen, water, warmth, light and gravity. Howerver, such conditions are no longer considered absloutely essential for life. The discovery of oganisms around submerged active volcanoes in Hawaiian waters which thrive on sulphur and carry out anaerobic metabolism eliminated the need of oxygen for life to exist. The boiling temperature of over 100 degree Celsius around these volcanoes have also extended the heat tolerance limit of life considerably. As more scientific evidence comes to light, each additional piece of evidence has become a testimony to the great tenacity of life to survive against all impossible odds. Our own dear Professor Stephen Hawking is himself a living testimony to the incredible human ability to survive against all impossible odds. No sufferer of ALS or motor neuron disease is expected to survive beyond 30 years of age but look at him. He is over 60 years old having been born in 1942 and has survived despite all medical statistics against him. He has also expressed his conviction that his medical conditions have, in fact, strengthened his sense of purpose in life and have provided him with endless inspirations for his scientific endeavours. Just imagine how much you would value your life if you had only one more day to live. This is the ideal attitude towards time. Live as if today were the last. Then you will surely appreciate the true meaning of life. Am I talking nonsense ? Well, simply ask yourself this question. Can you be 100% sure that you will be alive tomorrow ? You may be 99.9999.......% sure but never 100% by virtue of the Uncertainty Principle. Nothing is absolutely certain, period !
41
The Primodial Soup
One of the earliest ideas on the origin of life was proposed by Charles Darwin but he did not elaborate on it mainly due to the then prevailing strong religious beliefs and their powerful influence on society generally. In a letter he sent to his fellow research scientists he wrote thus :- “You expressed quite correctly my views where you said I had intentionally left the question of the Origin of Life uncanvassed as being altogether ultra vires in the present state of knowledge. “ Despite his intentional omission of the explanation for the origin of life Darwin did make a passing comment on the possibility that life might have started in warm little ponds at the beginning of earth's formation. The earliest form of life, microbes, started on earth as evidenced by rock fossils as early as 3.6 billion years ago ( the earth is about 4.6 billion years old ). The relatively rapid appearance of life on earth put very strict time limits on any theory which purports to explain the origin of life on earth.
The first classic theory about the origin of life was proposed separately
by Alexander Oparin and J.S.B. Haldane at the beginning of the 20th Centuary. It is , therefore, known as the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis. It proposes that the rich hydrogen, water vapour and methane contents of the earth's atmosphere were subject to various energy sources like solar radiation, volcanic heating and lightning strikes to form simple chemical compounds. One may recall from horror films like Frankinstein that the application of electricity through lightning is very often suggested as the energy source giving rise to the life force that turned Frankinstein alive. Such simple chemical compounds were washed into the ocean by the rain and were subsequently cooked by nature through millions of years to form the ancient primeval molecule which ultimately became the primodial replicator capable of self-reproduction. Then through mutation and natural selection as explained by Charles Darwin this self-replicator eventually became the proto-cell.
In 1953, Stanley Miller of the University of Chicago succeeded in producing amino-acid, the building blocks of life from inorganic molecules. He passed electrical currents through a mixture of methane, ammonia, hydrogen and water vapour in a flask to simulate the natural conditions of lightning striking through inorganic chemicals that existed in the primodial atmosphere. After about a week, some amino-acids were observed in the experimental mixture. It must, however, be emphasized that the formation of amino-acid is a long, long way from the spawning of life. Furthermore, later experiments carried out as follow-ups to Miller's ground breaking demonstration never yielded any further advancements towards the actual creation of life and his venture seemed to have led to a blind alley.
Panspermia
It will be recalled that Stanley Miller's creation of amino-acid in the laboratory was hailed as a ground breaking experiment back in 1953 as a hopeful path towards the search for the origin of life. You may appreciate the excitement if you realize that the amino-acid is the basic ingridient for the formation of protein, the fundamental substance of which all living things are made. However, proteins are not made of just any amino-acids they are composed of very specific chains of peptides and still longer chains of polypeptides that are in turn built up of the correct sequence of amino-acids. Typically, the simplest of proteins contain some 100 amino-acids of 20 varieties. So the odds of getting the amino-acids to combine in the correct sequence by random chance is 10 to the power of 130. Compare this with the total number of atoms in the whole visible universe which is only 10 to the power of 78. On top of all these odds, you should also know that protein is only the most common bio-molecule. There must also be others such as lipids, nucleic acids, ribosomes and so on to make up a properly functioning living organism.
42
Therefore, the most conservative estimates of getting everything right by random chance is calculated to be some 10 to the power of 40,000 which is like more difficult than winning the first prize of all the lotteries held in past human history and all the coming lotteries to be held until our sun burns out its nuclear fuel in 5 billion years time. If concepts from Quantum Theory are introduced the odds may be considerably reduced but the minimum odds are still pretty staggering.
To top up all these overwhelming odds, there is also the problem of the time frame. As mentioned above, the earliest form of life started on earth some 3.6 billion years ago based on carbon dating of fossils which is relatively reliable. The earth itself is only about 4.6 billion years old ( the age of our sun as you will recall is only 5 billion years old ). Thus, life had started surprisingly soon after the earth's formation. This led to the speculation that earthly life might have originated from outer space. The champion of such a 'crazy' notion is none other than our good old friend of the Steady State Theory fame, Sir Fred Hoyle. He, in fact, likened the chances of life having been created through random chance to a hurricane sweeping through a junk yard and producing a fully assembled Jumbo Boeing 747 by accident. Many have criticised him for shifting the problem of life's origin to outer space which does not provide a true answer to the problem. In my opinion, this accusation is not valid. In fact, he is implying that like his Steady State Theory life has existed for all eternity or co-existed with the universe as his theory of the origin of the universe. Let us now examine how viable this theory of Panspermia is. The theory was
originally advanced by the Swedish scientist Svante Arrihenius in early 20th Century, the term meaning “ seeds everywhere “.
In 1834, carbon compounds were discovered by a French scientist in a meteorite that fell near the town of Alais in France. This was the beginning of the speculation on the possibility of life in outer space arriving on earth through meteorites as
supported by tangible evidence. Then on 28th September, 1969, another meteorite was seen to fall near the town of Murchison in South Eastern Australia which was found to contain a mix of various amino-acids some not found on earth and others that were similar to those commonly found on our mother earth. The distinction between the two is that earthly amino-acids are left-handed meaning that the structure like the DNA molecule which is made up of proteins and, in turn, amino-acids is seen to twist clockwise while viewed in cross-section. This geometric structure is significant in that in reproduction the DNA molecule split into two halves each joining up with the other halves of the DNA of the mating partner. Therefore, the handedness of the DNA molecules must be compatible in geometric structure before life can propagate by copulation of the DNA molecules of the mating partners. Of course, there are other restrictions for DNA molecules to function properly. For example, the basic structure of the DNA (Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid ) molecule is made up of these four bases:- guanine (G), cytosine ( C ), thymine (T) and adenine (A). A can only pair with T and G with C. Apart from the reproductive function, the simulation of protein in nutrition also follows the same rules. Therefore, only left-handed molecules take part in bio-chemical reactions which sustain life. That is why I mention earlier that the universe is left-handed.
Going back to Panspermia, the most famous of all meteorites which made
the headline news is the Martian meteorite found in Antactica in 1984. On 7th August ,1996, President Bill Clinton held a press conference to announce to the world in a high profile manner that NASA had evidence of signs of life on Mars. He was referring to this piece of meteorite from Mars found earlier in the Antacrtic. He also made a remark to the effect that if this discovery was proven it could redefine mankind's relationship with the cosmos. As it turned out the final testing of this piece of extraterrestial rock did not lead to a definite conclusion and the search for extraterrestial life went on without any concrete answer. In fact, the search has shifted into higher gear with projects like SETI ( Search for Extraterrestial Intellegence ) initiated by NASA to recruit the ordinary citizens of the world to watch and listen for artificial signals from an assigned area of the cosmos using the participant's personal computer. There were also movies based on books written by science writers like Carl Sagan, the most notable being 'Contact' which is in favour of the existence of ET.
After researching all available evidence, Professor Paul Davies of the
43
Australian Centre for Astrobiology at Macquarie University, Sydney was of the opinion that :-” It occurred to me that if apparently solid rocks can have microbes living inside them, and if rocks can travel from Mars to earth ( or visa versa ) in the debris of cosmic impacts, then microbes could tag along, and so cross-contaminate the planets. With a rock as a protective shield, the journey would be far less hazardous than it would be in Arrhenius' theory. In particular, organisms might readily be conveyed between Earth and Mars that way. “ There is a popular counter argument against Panspermia. The brute force of impact when the meteorite strikes the earth surface upon landing together with the heat of combustion on the surface of the meteorite when passing through the earth's atmosphere was are enough to kill off all extraterrestrial life even if it is in dormant form of spores encasing the microbes. However, this counter argument has been proven wrong by computer models simulating the impact. The microbes are saved by their small size ( and consequently low mass ) and sheer numbers. At least some of them are predicted to survive the hazardous space ride according to such calculations.
As regards circumstantial evidence, it was noted that the first emergence of life which was a mere 150 million years after the formation of the earth ( about 4.6 billion years ago ). This relatively short period means life emerged once the conditions were suitable. There did not seem to be enough time for the complex proto cell structure of 500 genes to develop without some push from outside the earthly system. It would appear that some sort of bio-foundation had been built in to allow for the seemingly sudden outburst of life in a relatively short span of time after the earth's formation. Futhermore, there was an intense late bombardment period of several hundred million years during which the earth was showered by leftover rock fragments from space resulting from the earth's formation. The termination of this period roughly coincided with the first emergence of life on earth. These are various pieces of circumstantial evidence in support of Panspermia but they are inconclusive. The current debate is still going on and perhaps only further evidence from exploration taking place in other planets such as Mars
and the other moons of Jupiter will shed further light on the current debate.
Made of Clay
There is another theory of the origin of life which resembles the Biblical scenario to some extent. This particular theory was advanced by Graham Cairn- Smith of Glasgow University and it theorizes that life started off with mineral crystals building up in clay and replicating themselves in it. Clay is known to possess the property of absorbing organic substances onto its surface. Furthermore, the surface of the clay has electrical charge which will facilitate the formation and 'growth' of chemical crystals. As the structures of different generations of crystals may contain imperfections a selective process similar to Darwin's evolution would take place to select the most efficient replicator. Under this theory, the first life on earth should be clay-based replicators. This scenario in bio-genesis on earth sounds logical but, again, it lacks empirical evidence. The most damaging argument against this theory is that if the original ancestors of life on
earth were clay-based then why do we not find any form of clay-based organism today. Thus, it unfortunately turns out again that this theory leads to another blind alley.
( B ) The Inspirations
So far, this is all we know about life :- Life is self-sustaining autonomy involving metabolism, nutrition, reproduction, complexity, self-organisation, self repairs, growth and intriguing information content ( embodied in the DNA molecule ). There are enormous complexities in living organisms. For example, the human brain with 10 to the 11power ( 100 billion ) of neurones and 10 to the 12 power ( 1 trillion ) of non-nerve cells is the most complicated structure in the known universe. There is also individual
44
character ( or characteristics ) in each living organism. It is a common consensus that each individual person has his or her own personality and this applies to identical twins as well. Going down the line, no two individual animals such as puppies are exactly alike. Similarly, no two leaves are totally identical. The strangest of all, no scientist has so far succeeded in creating the simpliest form of life such as a single-celled amoeba despite everything that is bio-chemically known about it. There are such beauty, mysteries and varieties in life that Francis Crick the co-discoverer of the DNA molecule said :- “The origin of life appears to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have had to be satisfied to get it going.”
Let us recapitulate what we know about the origin of life up to the present moment in our human history. Life on earth is carbon base and carbon can only be manufactured in the nuclear fussion process in the stars. At the end of each cycle of their lives stars explode as supernovae and these catastrophic events help to disperse carbon ,nitrogen and oxygen atoms into space. When these astro-debris coalesce under gravity to form stars and galaxies again the star creation process is repeated once the matters are compressed dense enough for nuclear fussion to start. In solar systems like ours, bio- friendly planets may arise. Through the grouping of suitable chemicals elements like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen under favourable conditions ( which are not yet known to us ) the basic building blocks of life, namely, amino-acids are formed. These eventually link up to become longer chains of peptides and through even further more complicated processes the first self-replicator or the proto-cell is formed. Inspirations regarding how the complicated processes took place have come from another branch of scientific theory called the Theory of Complexity which states that when any systems evolve to a certain threshold of complexity a whole different set of rules will apply. Such rules may involve interactive feed-back loops among its components making the total greater than the sum of its parts. Furthermore, the system may become an automata meaning it can take on a life of its own resembling the characteristics of a living organism. Greater details will be described in the Chapter on Chaos and Complexity. Suffice it to say
at this stage that the Theory of Complexity has shed some light on the evolution of life. To give an example of Complexity at work, the boiling of water can serve as an illustration. When we start to boil some water the heated part of the water is lower in density so that individual bubbles or cells are formed at random distribution. As the boiling process progresses, these random cells become more organized and develop into convection currents which finally become two main streams. One goes clockwise and the other counter-clockwise. As more energy is fed into the system some kind of order seems to appear. At boiling point, the picture changes again. With enough energy to cause the water to vapourize into steam the water surface becomes more turbulent as each water molecule escapes from the boiling water surface at different points into the atmosphere to form steam vapour. For the eyes of the ignorant, the movements of the water molecules appear to be highly organized and under the command of an intellegent program. This is ,in fact, the characteristic of the Laws of Nature. All lifeless atoms seem to be acting in unison as if they had a life of their own and obediently following the Laws of Nature. The role played by Complexity in the development of life on earth also shows that everything and, in particular, each component part of individual life is interconnected in some delicate and multilateral manner.
Regardless of the true origin of life, at least one thing can be certain about life. It is precious. If you believe in God, then life must have a purpose to you. To such an extent, it is precious because you are God's masterpiece of creation. If you believe the scientists' version of creation you are even more pecious because the odds of having life by random chance is estimated to be 1/10 to the power of 40,000 ( the total number of atoms in the visible universe is only 10 to the power of 78 ) or comparable to finding a fully assembled Boeing 747 Jumbo jet after a hurricane has swept through a junk yard as Sir Fred Hoyle so imaginatively put it. The message from Nature is loud and clear. Cherish your own existence. Life also teaches the lesson of peaceful co-existence. During the 1970s, two scientists called Lynn Margulis and James Lovelock advanced a theory of the earth as a holistic, living and breathing eco-system tantamount to a living organism in its own right. Their environmental theory is known as the Gaia Theory originating from the Hindu concept of the goddess of mother earth, Gaia. Their theory raises the status of
45
mother earth to the level of a living being that demands the highest respect from her human inhabitants. This theory has found wide support from environmentalists such as Geen Peace members and the scientific community at large. Lynn Margulis has also advanced another theory on the origin of the nucleated cell or eukaryotic cell. It was suggested that the nucleus of such more complex cells was originally another invader cell which had since learned to live in symbiosis and harmony with its host because the destruction of the host cell would ultimately lead to the invader's own demise. It is strategically wiser to co-operate with one another and strive for survival as a team. A lot of subsequent evidence has emerged to make this theory a generally accepted one among bio-scientists. Therefore, peaceful co-existence is also inherent in Nature and so should human beings behave.
( C ) The Eccentric Ideas
The seemingly impossible odds of life happening by chance have led to an intensive search for other possible explanations of the miraculous occurrence. The latest theory on the origin of life comes from inspirations of the Quantum Theory and, hence, the term Quantum Evolution. Under this new and innovative theory put forward by Johnjoe Mcfadden, the behaviour of atoms in bio-chemical molecules such as the DNA and amino-acid molecules are hypothesized to act under the laws of Quantum Mechanics applicable to atomic activities which is not unreasonable. Owing to the fact that atoms can assume superpositions ( being different places at the same time or having different probabilities of being present at different positions ) until they decohere into definite positions upon the collapse of their related probability function ( as described by Erwin Schrodinger's equations by virtue of an observation or measurement being made on them ), the chances of the formation of the suitable kind of bio-molecules are greatly
increased.
The strange and yet abundantly proven rules of Quantum Theory may sound like science fiction at this point but I can assure you that Quantum Theory is one of the most reliable and consistent scientific theories ever formulated as borne out by the invariant predictions supported by numerous experimental results. Despite its reliability, the philosophical implications of Quantum Theory are still as controversial as ever notwithstanding its inception in 1900. The reader will learn of its detailed descriptions in the next Chapter. Meanwhile, I regret to say that the theory must be taken at its face value. It is not as academic as its name may imply. Quantum Theory has found applications in our everyday technologies such as the computer, the television and laser technology as pioneered by Albert Einstein. The word LASER is the short form for light amplification by the simulated emission of radiation. MASER is, therefore, the magnetism counter part of the same technology. The latest application of Quantum Theory is in a revolutioary concept in computer engineering called the quantum computer which will increase the processing speed of conventional computers by thousands of times and ultimately million of times. The peliminary testing of the underlying principles had been successful in recent months and hopefully the commercial quantum computer will be on the market in a matter of a decade. When the time comes look out for stocks and shares of quantum computer companies. You will surely make a few bucks if you invest in them. There is an old Chinese saying :- “ There are houses made of gold inside the books ( of
knowledge ).” Knowledge is power ! Going back to Quantum Evolution, it is argued that Quantum Theory
can theoretically reduce the astronomical probabilities of getting the atoms to form the correct sequence of bio-molecules by matching the infinite number of possible and similar arrangements of atoms ( the so-called superpositions ) through trial and error in a reasonable amount of time frame. When the correct sequence of atomic arrangement is achieved then decoherence ( or materialization in less technical terms ) would occur leading to the formation of the correct kind of bio-chemical molecules to allow the evolution of life to proceed. This is supposed to be a logical and reasonable explanation for the relatively quick pace at which life evolved as soon as the conditions on earth were bio-
46
friendly about 3.6 billion years ago ( the earth itself being estimated to be some 4.6 billion years old ). As farfetched as it may sound, this is, indeed, an ingenious way forward although it still lacks experimental evidence at this stage.
At the present time, there is no definitive explanation given by scientists regarding the origin of life. On the one hand, various scientific theories on the origins of life have not been convincingly supported by objective evidence and on the other, the delicate requirements for life and its ultra complexities in terms of structure and working have baffled most people including many scientists. To this extent, it is not surprising to find numerous supporters of the religious version of creation. Even many scientists agree that life is not only made up of physical atoms but something deeper. But while some call it the life force ( a very unscientific term I have to admit ) or soul created by God others prefer to call it a piece of missing information ( a scientific term for the unknown ) or software. In my opinion, had life been merely a physical arrangement of atoms scientists should have been able to manufacture it by now with the ever progressing computer technology.
Before leaving the mystical subject of the origin of life, I think the reader should at least be acquainted with a little bit of the philosophical theory advanced by philosophers of science. Back in 1973, Brendon Carter suggested that our own existence was sufficient to account for the creation of the universe and life on earth. His ideas had since been collectively called the Anthropic Principle. In essence, he was saying that if the universe and its laws were not the way they are we, human beings, would not be here to ask the 'why' question. There is another stronger version of this principle which states that the purpose of the creation of the universe is custom-made for us humans. Scientists who hold this stronger view is represented by famous physicists like Freeman Dyson who once said :- “The more I examine the universe and study the details of its architecture, the more evidence I find that the universe in some sense must know we were coming.” Although the Anthropic principle is logical it does not meet the criterion of a good scientific theory in that it makes no useful predictions. It is simply a statement of the facts without answering the questions of how and why. In other words, it is like saying that your parents are the people that gave birth to you. No further useful information can flow from
such a statement.
On the other hand, there are those who hold the extreme opposite view that there are no intrinsic purposes to life and this universe at all. Both the universe and human affairs are meaningless and pointless. Representatives of this school of scientific thoughts include Nobel Prize laureate Steven Weinberg and the French biologist, Jacques Monod. Weinberg once said this ;- “ The more the universe seems comphrehensible, the more it also seems pointless.” I totally disagree with such a perspective. This view implies that only the objective and physical facts are important and our subjective feelings and perceived reality are worthless. This is a completely materialistic view point devoid of human sentiments. With the power of creation and ingenuity of the human mind which matures and grows with every social interaction on a nonlinear and multilateral basis, we are fully capable of creating a meaningful and rewarding realty if we so choose. The vital importance of the intellegent human consciousness is abundantly borne out by Quantum Theory and not purely a philosophical conjecture.
As regards Jacques Monod, he was of the strong opinion that science and philosophy like oil and water cannot mix with each other. He wrote thus ;- “ Any mingling of knowledge with values is unlawful, forbidden,” To this view, my response is that “never say never again “ ( with complements of Ian Fleming of James Bond fame ). If science is to serve humanity, there is a great urgency for a Connection to be set up between science and philosophy because science tells us what we can do while philosophy what we should do. Science represents power and we are inviting tragedy if power falls into the wrong hands. What can be more tragic than nuclear power falling under the control of a mad man like Hitler ( which almost did ) who did not know the proper thing to do for want of a set of humane philosophical value? One of my humble objectives in this book is precisely an attempt to forge a Connection between these two very vital disciplines - vital to human survival that is !
To me, it requires a lot of faith both in oneself and in Nature to face an issue such as the origin of life which is, in effect, looking for one's own ultimate root. If one is pre-determined to include only one given methodology to the exclusion of all others
47
without an open mind one would only arrive at partial truths and may even fly in the face of other possibilities which are precluded by a set perspective. This is the notorious Selection Effect which leads us astray from the ultimate truth because we only select evidence that is compatible with our set perspective or the existing paradigm. That is why all great scientific discoveries or, for that matter, everything of greatness are made by overthrowing some existing generally accepted framework. We must have the courage and foresight to resist applying our common sense if we need to do that to get to the ultimate truth. Let us hope that the search for knowledge and the truth be unimpeded by any standards or disciplines.
Chapter ( iii ) - Quantum Theory
( A ) The Theory
One of the most misused words in the English language is the word QUANTUM. Most people, especially politicians love to promise their supporters that quantum leaps would be made to improve a certain aspect of their lives if the politicians were voted into power. Quantum is taken to mean unmeasurably large. This understanding is wrong on both counts. It is the smallest measurable unit. In fact, a quantum is the smallest possible unit of energy that can be given off or absorbed by an elementary particle when it moves from one orbit to the next. Politicians and other people use the word quantum probably because it sounds both sophisticated and scientifically miraculous.
The quantum concept was pioneered by the German scientist, Max Planck in 1900. Up to that particular point in time, scientists had been puzzled by a phenomenon they called the ultra-violet catastrophe in a situation known as' black body' radiation. First of all, the term black body is misleading because it is an object that need not be black. A black body object in the context of radiation simply means that it is an object that absorbs all incoming radiation so that it does not reflect any light. In this sense, it is black meaning it reflects no light which is a form of radiation. However, a black body object can emit radiation on its own if given enough energy. Common examples of black body objects are our sun and heavy metal like a bar of iron. The scientific puzzle facing the scientists is that classical theories ( as opposed to Quantum Theory ) such as Maxwell's equations predict that upon heating a bar of iron to higher and higher temperatures more ultra-violet rays will be emitted because higher temperature means higher energy level and this should in turn means more ultra-violet rays which have higher frequency on the thermo-electromagnetic spectrum. But in reality, this never occurs and the light rays emitted by the iron bar remain within the visible spectrum no matter how high the temperature the iron bar has attained as a result of the continuous heating. This is known as the ultra-violet catastrophy which had puzzled scientists since Maxwell whose equations unified the forces of heat, light, electricity and magnetism. These are collectively called the thermo-electromagnetic force because they had been proven to have the same origin- they are all different forms of electromagnetic waves ( within both the visible and invisible spectrum from the shortest microwaves to the longest radio waves ). Could Maxwell be wrong ? If so, why did his equations work perfectly in all other situations except black body radiation ?
In 1900, Max Planck invented his own set of equations which were able to predict the behaviour of black body radiation. He had discovered that if the traditional assumption of continuous and unrestricted emission of energy was scrapped and replaced by the rule that energy could only be emitted ( and absorbed ) in small but discrete ( measurable individual units ) packets, units or quanta then the puzzle of ultra-violet catastrophy in black body radiation could be explained. This was because the higher the temperature the more energy would have to be carried by the individual packets ( or quanta ) of energy carrying centres ( these should not be construed as solid entities ). The
48
higher level and more intensive energy packets are fewer in number ( these are more difficult to sustain because of the higher energy level required ) than the normal packets ( within the visible spectrum ) which carried less amount of energy per quantum so that they are more numerous in number. That is why the heated iron bar remains red hot or even white hot upon continuous heating without turning colourless as a result of emitting all heat energy in ultra-violet rays invisibe to the human eye as predicted by classical theories. The photon was proven by Albert Einstein to be the quanta, carrier or energy packet for light and all electromagnetic radiation in his research on the Photo-Electric effect for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1921. His research had also placed him among the most prominent contributors to the Quantum Theory.
At first glance, Max Planck's discovery appears to be mundane rather than revolutionary. Who cares about the ultra-violet catastrophy and black body radiation except the nutty scientists ? In fact, it turns out that the Quantum view changed the whole philosophical outlook of the role played by human beings in the entire universe and the realm we call reality. You will appreciate this mystical nature of Quantum Mechanics when you come to learn about how atoms behave in some quantum experiments later on. To summarize at this preliminary look at Quantum Theory, it teaches us that the universe is not smooth or continuous all the way down to infinity. If it were, there would be a lot of impossibilities or paradox. To take the most famous paradox of all as an example, this is called the Zeno Paradox after a Greek philosopher. Zeno was able to prove logically that there could be no possibility of any movement in this world. His argument ran like this. He used the shooting of an arrow as a demonstration. In order for the arrow to fly through the air from point A to point B, it needed to pass the mid-point between A and B at each stage of the flight. Since there were supposed to be an infinite number of points along the straight line connecting A and B according to Euclid's postulates in geometry which described the space between A and B it would take an infinite amount of time to travel over an infinite number of mid-points along the straight line connecting A and B. Therefore, the arrow could never finish the flight from A to B. Therefore, there could be no movement of any sort. Of course, space cannot be divided into an infinite number of points or units according to Quantum Theory. Thus, the arrow had to complete its flight somehow. In fact, the smallest possible units of length and time are scientifically known as Planck length ( 1/10 to the 35 power of 1 metre ) and Planck time ( 1/10 to the 43 power of 1 second ). Nothing comes in any smaller size or shorter time span.
Most important of all, Quantum Theory explained why the electrons orbiting the nucleus of an atom do not smash into it as predicted by Classical or Newtonian Mechanics. Due to the fact that energy is quantized or comes in discrete packets there is a minimum value that can be assumed or emitted by an elementary particle. The lowest possible energy level is represented by the orbit closest to the atomic nucleus. Thus, the electrons cannot take on or reduce any level of energy they like but have to follow quantum rules. This makes it impossible for electrons orbiting at the orbit closest to the atomic nucleus to smash into it and destroy the atom itself because the electrons cannot reduce any more energy beyond a quantized minimum. Therefore, the quantization of energy by Nature has saved the world from destruction and has also
revealed the intricate order in the universe.
The Double Slit Experiment
The double slit experiment or sometimes called the experiment with two slits was first performed by Thomas Young in the early nineteenth century. The original purpose of his experiment was to show that light is composed of both a wave and particles. Sometimes, these characteristics of light are referred to as the complimentary
nature of light or simply Complimentarity. Young used a piece of card board with two slits cut into it as the
apparatus and shone a beam of light on it thus casting some shadows onto a screen. At
49
the centre positions directly facing the two slits, the light beam cast bright spots whereas for positions further away from the centre spots darker shades ( umbra and penumbra ) appeared. These represent interference effects caused by light waves passing through the two slits which obstruct the continuous light waves in different ways causing them to go out of steps with one another. The rationale behind the experiment is that only waves interfere with one another. In the centre spots, particles of light do not form shades because they do not affect one another as the particles are localised and pass directly through the centre of the slits to form bright spots on the screen.
In modern times this experiment is refined to reveal the peculiar and mystical nature of light or any other form of electromagnetic waves. The two slits are modified to two holes and the beam of light is replaced by a photon or electron gun capable of shooting a single photon or electron at a time. Since there is only one photon ( or quanta of light ) being released at a time, the single photon must either pass through one hole or the other. The experiment is further refined to allow for the installation of a more sophisticated monitoring screen opposite the two holes with the photon gun behind the two holes on one side and the screen on the other side. As each photon is fired towards the holes and onto the screen we should not expect any interference patterns to appear on the screen. This is because only waves create such patterns due to their wave- lengths not being in step after passing through the holes which obstruct the waves in different ways. To our surprise, the same interference patterns still appear on the screen even though photons are fired singly towards the two holes. How can this be ? As mentioned above, the single photon can, according to common sense, only pass through one or the other hole but not both. There cannot be the situation where half a photon passes through each hole and interfere with each other because the photon is the smallest possible unit ( or quanta ) of light. There also cannot be the situation of the single photon interfering with itself because it takes two to tango. So what is happening at the atomic or quantum level ? Is there such a thing as a ghost photon interfering with the real photon ?
These inteference patterns with single photons are puzzling enough. But wait till you cover up one of the holes to continue the experiment. To your even greater surprise, the interference patterns disappear and clear little individual dots or images of particles ( cast by single photons ) prominently appear on the screen. It was as if the photons knew that one of the holes was covered when they started their journey. Advanced technology has made it possible to refine the experiment even further by delaying the choice of the experimenter after each photon has left the photon gun. One of the holes is covered only after each photon has started its journey. The same results are seen. It seems that each photon can foretell future events. That is whether one or both holes are opened. The unmistakable conclusion to be drawn from such surprising experimental results is this. When given a chioce of two holes a single photon ( or for that matter any elementary particle from the electromagnetic wave spectrum ) will take all possible routes to reach the destination ( in this case the screen ) so that there are interferences among these numerous POSSIBLE routes or POSSIBILITIES of a SINGLE photon. Whereas if it is being watched ( or given only one option, or measured, or observed , or monitored ) such as in the case of being 'forced ' to take only one path to that destination with only one hole opened it will oblige and 'materialise' or localise and give up all other choices or possiblities. Now, you can try again and open up both holes. Sure enough, the interference patterns show up on the screen as before. It would appear, then, that atoms and elementary particles can assume indefinite or uncertain positions ( or technically called superpositions ) until they are observed or measured. They can be ANYWHERE when unobserved ! It would appear that they can foretell the future, too!
The philosophical implications of the quantum behaviour of elementary particles are both enormous and profound. There had been a lot of debate on how to interpret Qantum Theory since its inception in 1900 with no definitive answers. Even an important pioneer and contributor to the theory like Albert Einstein could not accept its philosophical implications. So far, there had been three major versions on the interpretation of the theory. First, there was the formal version in 1928 known as the Copenhagen Interpretation. Then, Einstein had his own Hidden Variables Interpretation which actually meant that the theory was as yet incomplete. The third and more modern version was the Many Worlds Interpretation advanced by Hugh Everett in 1957. Each will
50
be described in more detail later in this Chapter. Before going into the philosophical implications of Quantum Theory, we need to know some basic facts about what is scientifically known about atoms and other elementary particles - a separate branch of physics called Particle Physics.
Macrocosm, Man and Microcosm
We have learned about the origin of the universe ( the largest macrocosm ). Because of the Big Bang theory, we have been led to the study of the very small worlds of atoms, elementary particles, and singularities ( the tiniest of microcosm ). Where does man stand ? Actually, we are in the middle to complete the balanced and
symmetrical picture that is so typical of this beautiful and wonderous universe.
Let us begin with sizes. How large is an atom ? It is 1/10 to the 10 power of 1 cm. As mentioned before, the traditional image of an atom ( the Rutherford atom ) such as the huge model built as an observation tower in Brussels, Belgium has a compact nucleus with electrons orbiting it. The nucleus is again many times smaller than the whole atom. It is 1/10 to the power of 15 of 1 cm. To give you some relative scale of things, if the atomic nucleus were the size of a pin head, the electron in the orbit nearest to it would be the size of a football stadium. Therefore, there is still a lot of empty inner space comparable to the empty outer space between the stars and galaxies. Again, if the atom were the size of an apple, the whole apple would be as big as the whole of the earth itself.
To complete the picture as to where human beings stand, it would be helpful to picture men in the middle of a diagram with the microworld to the left and the cosmos to the right. On the left, a living cell is 1/10 to the power of 5 of 1 cm. An atom is to the power of 10 ( as stated previously ). The atomic nucleus is to the power of 15. The quarks ( the constituents of the nucleus ) is to the power of 20. Then, on the right, a large mountain range is 10 to the power of 5 cm wide. The earth is to the power of 10. The Solar System is to the power of 15. Our Milky Way Galaxy is to the 20 power and, finally, the visible universe is 10 to the power of 25 cm in size. With regard to the number of atoms, each human being is made up of some 10 to the power of 29 atoms. There are a total of 10 to the power of 78 number of atoms in the entire visible universe. Our Galaxy has some 100 billion stars like our sun and there are at least the same number of galaxies in the visible universe. According to Martin Rees, It is actually no coincidence that the complex human machine has attained its optimum efficiency in terms of complexity and structural organization in the middle of the macrocosm and the microcosm because anything larger would be vulnerable to crushing by gravity. Even the various constants of nature are nicely and delicately placed. Paul Dirac who predicted antimatter and later proved it noted that the gravitational and electric forces both obey the inverse square law. The relative strengths of the two are extremmely large. The latter is 10 to the power of 39 more powerful than the former. If the differences were not that large the gravitational force would overwhelm and crush everything leaving no room for the electric force to work in all physical and bio-chemical reactions. The universe would have been a dead place. He was surprised to find out that the size of the visible universe also exceeds the size of a proton by the same factor. Even more surprising is the number of atoms in the universe which is 10 to the power of 78, the square of 10 to the power of 39. There is clearly an ultra-fine connection between all the vital constants of nature and a meticulously defined blueprint.
As previously mentioned, there are a number of different versions or models of the atom theorized by the scientists, there is the pioneering Joseph John Thomson's model proposed by him in 1897 which mainly consisted of a sphere of protons embedded with electrons. He was the teacher of Rutherford. In 1913, the Danish physicist Nielsl Bohr proposed the structure of his atom under Quantum Theory which is still the most widely accepted model. Under his theory the atom has no definite velocity or location. It is a fuzzy entity with a more confined centre called the atomic nucleus and its related electrons cloud orbiting the nucleus without any defined momentum and position. It can only be described by a set of wave-like probabilities and patterns in equations
51
invented by Erwin Schrodinger in 1926. It is governed by the Uncertainty Principle put forward by Werner Heisenberg in 1927 which states that it is impossible to determine exactly both the position and momentum of an elementary particle ( such as a photon or electron ) simultaneously.
Particle Physics vs Strings Theory
The Standard Model in Particle Physics
The scientists' views of the microworld can be divided into two camps. Those who hold the opinion that the smallest unit of mass in the universe is a point-like particle and, hence, the branch of science called Particle Physics. The other camp are the Strings Theorists who think that the most fundamental unit of matter in the universe is an ultra-small piece of spinning and vibrating string of 1 in 10 to the power of 13 cm long . We shall go into the basic features of both theories to enable ourselves to understand the implications of Quantum Theory and the fascinating and mysterious ways
of the universe.
Particle Physics originated way back in the Fifth Century B.C. It was the Greek natural philosopher ( or an ancient name for a scientist ) Democritus who proposed the idea of atomos or atoms. The theory states that matter is made up of empty space and an infinite number of tiny invisible particles called atomos or atoms. Of course, this predicted infinity of particles has now been proven wrong by Quantum Theory which categorically states that all matter and energy are quantized or come in discrete packets called quanta. The tradition of modern particle physicists started with John Dalton's atomic theory in 1808. His theory states that all matter is made up of atoms which cannot be created, destroyed or divided. All chemical changes are the result of combination or separation of atoms. Then in 1897, Joseph John Thomson pioneered the first model of the atom. It was supposed to be a sphere of positively charged protons in which negatively charged electrons are embedded to cancel out the positive charge. The most popular concept of the atom is the Rutherford model proposed by him in 1911. Later, Niels Bohr refined this image of the atom in 1913 to restrict the electrons circulating around the atomic nucleus to certain “ allowed orbits “ due to the quantization of energy.
Since then, more details have come to light about the internal structure of the atom. Besides the protons forming the atomic nucleus, scientists also discovered that certain elements like carbon and iodine have atoms of the same element in different weights. This apparent anomoly was later accounted for by the discovery of the neutron in 1932 by James Chadwick. The difference in weight is the result of these elements having a fixed number of protons ( its atomic number ) but with different number of neutrons in their atomic nucleus. These different variants of the same elements are known as isotopes.
Further developments in the field of particle physics in the Sixties saw deeper insights into the atomic nucleus. In 1964, Gell-Mann discovered that the protons and neutrons are further made up of indivisible particles called Quarks. All the above different types of particles are collectively called elementary particles all of which are included under one scientific theory known as the Standard Model in Particle Physics. Elementary particles are the most fundamental entities of matter. The Standard Model divides all elementary particles into three groups :- six types of leptons ( electron, electron neutrino, muon, muon neutrino, tau and tau neutrino ) and six types of quarks ( up, down, charm, strange, top and bottom ) and four bosons. Quarks cannot exist independently and ordinary matter is made up of protons ( an up-up-down trio ), neutrons (an up-down-down
trio ) and electrons. scientists have been constructing huge particle accelerators powered by electromagnetic
To probe the conditions and constituents of the early universe,
52
force. These gigantic ( the circular accelerator of the European Centre for Nuclear Research- CERN in Switzerland is over 20 km in circumference ) and expensive ( billions of dollars ) research facilities are set up to accelerate elementary particles such as an alpha particle ( a helium atomic nucleus with two protons ) to enormous speed up to a fairly large proportion of the speed of light to smash it against an atom at the far end of the apparatus to cause a collision. The resultant high energy created by the collision will split the atoms into tiny pieces and the scattering process recorded on a computer generated graph called a scattering matrix to study the internal structures of an atom. This basic experimental procedure was invented by Ernest Rutherford in 1911 when he used alpha particles to bombard a piece of gold foil. As he expected, most alpha particles went right through the foil but some bounced back showing that there were solid bits of matter in the centre of the gold atoms. These experimental results led him to conclude that the internal structure of the atom resembles a mini-solar system with an atomic nucleus with electrons orbiting around it. Based on this image, he proposed his model of the atom.
Besides studying the internal structure of the atom the particle accelerators also mimic the high energy conditions at the early stages of the creation of the universe. If particle accelerators can reveal the true nature of matter, it ought to be possible to understand how the basic building blocks of matter were created at the Big Bang thereby subjecting the Big Bang Theory to experimental verification. Therefore, there is a close link between particle physics and cosmology. However, there are obvious problems with the Standard Model in particle physics. As more and more experiments are carried out in particle accelerators, more and more different types of particles are created. By the Nineties, more than two hundred different types of elementary particles have been produced in accelerator experiments. This curious collection of particles has been dubbed the “ particles zoo “. This is a most embarrassing situation for the particle physicists. If there were really more than two hundred new particles being discovered they could hardly be called elementary. Common sense will tell you that the basic laws of nature could not be that cumbersome. Moreover, there is a strange similarity between some of the particles. Quite a few are similar in properties in all respects except their mass. This raises the suspicion that they are, in fact, the same particles but produced under different levels of energy. Besides the great varieties of particles produced, there is also the enigma that quarks which form the atomic nucleus are never detected as individual entities. The particle physicists are pretty sure that quarks really exist because detailed probing of the atomic nucleus by highly technical and advanced equipments have revealed a granular structure. The third and biggest weakness of the Standard Model is its failure to meet the highest objective of the Grand Unification of all the four known forces of nature. As it is, the Standard Model describes the working of the electromagnetic force, the weak and strong nuclear forces in terms of exchanges of elementary particles. For example, the electromagnetic force operates by exchanges of electrons. However, it does not throw any
light on the working of gravity.
Strings Theory and M-Theory
During the Seventies, other scientists such as Yoichiro Nambu and later , Michael Green and John Schwarz began to come up with an alternative idea about the most elementary basic building blocks of matter. They advanced the idea of strings in place of point particles as the most elementary unit of matter. Their fundamental idea is that all elementary particles hypothesized in the Standard Model are just the manifestation of different resonances of minute one-dimensional entities in the form of strings with the length of 1/10 to the power of 13 cm according to Nambu. This will right away explain the huge varieties of elementary particles discovered in accelerator experiments. Furthermore, based on the principle of equivalence of energy and mass proposed by Einstein higher energy levels will create greater mass. This will account for the appearance of elementary particles with similar properties but different mass in accelerator experiments. According to
53
String Theory, these will be seen as resonances produced by the strings just like musical notes at successively higher octaves every time a violin string is pressed at half of the original length. With only half of the original length to vibrate all the surplus energy will contribute to the higher pitch or frequency. Because the strings are so short in length they look like point particles when observed in accelerator experiments. The strings come in two types open strings and strings with closed loops. The String Theory dealing with open strings is called Type I Theory while the one relating to strings with closed loops is known as Type II Theory.
The strings operate and interact by joining, splitting, spinning their ends ( in case of an open string ) which move at the speed of light. This must mean that they are massless to comply with Einsiein 's relativity where nothing with mass can move at the speed of light. This is because it would require an infinite amount of energy to accelerate anything with positive mass to attain the velocity of light according to the equation E=mc2. With the above characteristics and modes of interaction, String Theory can explain all of the phenomena occurring in the Standard Model. Even the most difficult problems with quarks can be understood in terms of String Theory. It will be recalled that quarks are never detected singly in accelerator experiments but always join up in groups such as an up-up-down trio in the proton. From the view point of the string theorists, cutting the end of a string will only reveal a new end point so that the splitting of an atom in accelerator experiments will not produce free quarks but just new end points which are still composed of groups of quarks. In String Theory philosophy, quarks may even be different internal vibration modes of a string instead of solid entities.
Most important of all, string theorists are speculating that strings with closed loops are responsible for the working of the gravitational force. Before a formalised theory of gravity based on String Theory can be set out and put to the test in experiments various concepts from Relativity and Quantum Theory must be incorporated in a consistent manner in such a formulation to satisfy all the basic requirements of current theoretical physics. In more technical terms, this new elementary entity of matter must be a superstring that meets all the restrictions set by the grand unified symmetries, quantization, relativistic covariance and must account for all the anomolies found in the Standard Model of particle physics including all experimental data produced in particle accelerator experiments. This is obviously no easy task but, at least, the scientists have a definite direction.
Despite all the optimism, String Theory is not without its drawbacks. For one thing, the mathematics involved in the formulation of the theory is ultra-complex because in order for the theory to be mathematically consistent it requires the existence of more than the four dimensions that are within our experience. In fact, the theory can satisfy the required mathematical conditions in a number of different dimensions. It is workable mathematically in 11, 16 and 26 dimensions. To give you some idea as to why so many dimensions are needed, there is a mathematical term in the relevant equations which goes like this :- “ 1- ( D – 2)/ 24 “ where D is the dimensionality of the space in which the strings vibrate. In order for the equation to comply with Relativity, this mathematical term must be 0. This can only happen when D is 26. Later modification and simplification of the equations make 16 and 11 workable. The current consensus is that 11 dimensions ( 10 if space-time is considered to be one continuum ) will be the most reasonable and suitable basis to proceed. It is considered possible that the extra invisible dimensions are so small that they are curled up and become undetectable under normal circumstances. The situation is similar to viewing a garden hose from high up in the air. The hose will appear to be a one-dimensional line although it is, in fact, three dimensional.
There are some recent developments in String Theory which are contributed mainly by scientists such as Ed Witten who pioneered an off shoot of the String Theory which he called M-Theory. He points out from his insights into String Theory that many sets of equations in that theory appear to be mirror images of one another but only in different dimensions. Here, the powerful concept of symmetry again plays an important role. The present case in point is the mirror image symmetry or P parity. Witten finds it more productive to extend the one-dimensional object of a string into a membrane ( hence, M-Theory ) or brane for a short form. Witten's ultimate objective is to simplify all the cumbersome mathematics in String or M-Theory and to bring in the peculiar mirror images
54
as reflected in the above various pairs of equations under one roof. This would ,hopefully, bring about the holy grail of theoretical physics - The Grand Unification Theory that will accommodate all the existing forces of nature including the odd man out - Gravity, under one consistent formulation. There is still some way to go before this ultimate goal can be accomplished. The biggest hurdle seems to be the consolidation of Quantum Theory into the classical concepts of Relativity which is still the most complete scientific theory on gravity. In more practical terms, scientists have to discover the true nature of space-time and to formulate a theory that is not background dependent insofar as space-time is treated as a seprarate entity or stage or theatre in which all the scientific processes are being played out. Such a theory must treat the emergence of space-time as a spontaneous result of the processes themselves instead. In other words, this theory must include a procedure by which space-time can be produced spontaneously from the working of the basic elements or building blocks of matter. This theory has to describe matter and space-time as if they are entities that are interwoven and inextricably merged into all the objects in our material world as a result of the multi-lateral interactions between the three elements of mass, energy and space-time. They should be like twins born at the same instant. Another way of looking at the possible candidate is that space-time is the manifestation of some deeper phenomena rather than the fundamental entity in itself.
Spinor and Twistor Theory
An attempt to formulate a background independent theory of matter and space-time was made by Roger Penrose. He was the collaborator of Stephen Hawking in their earlier theory called the Singularity Theorem in 1972 concerning the beginning of the universe. They proved mathematically that if Einstien's Theory of General Relativity is correct then the universe must have begun at a Singularity ( an infinitely small
point ). So, Penrose is well known for his ingenuity and imagination. Unlike Strings Theory which is the product of group effort, Penrose
single-handedly pioneered the Spinor and Twistor Theory. As it is in his nature to pose extraodinary questions, Penrose started off by asking what would happen if there were only one electron in the universe. How could it tell that it had negative charge ? It is just like a very famous buddhist kaon ( puzzle to tease the intellect ) of one hand clapping. In order to make this possible there must be another invisible hand that is the mirror image of the visible counterpart co-existing with it. Furthermore, for an electron to possess a spin up and a spin down in empty space, then it would seem to imply that electrons could actually create their own space to make such up and down spin meaningful.
Penrose's thinking is very much influenced by another great Nineteenth Century Austrian scientist and philosopher Ernst Mach of Mach Number fame ( Mach One means the speed of sound, Mach Two twice that speed and so on ). Mach proposed his principle on gravity called the Mach Principle which is demonstrated in the working of the Foucault Pendulum. The movement of this pendulum seems to be influenced by a centre of gravity not situated in the centre of our earth but in outer space where the average or mean centre of gravity of all matters of our universe seem to lie. The most mysterious quality of the gravitational force is its instantaneous pull and unlimited range in defiance of the principle of Relativity which sets the upper speed limit of everything in this universe at the speed of light. Mach 's Principle stated simply is that there seems to be a feedback from the entire universe on any gravtitational mass. It is a non-local or universal phenomenon which is not restricted by the ultimate universal limit of the speed of light. To form the basis of his theory, Penrose proposes the Spinor as the basic building blocks of matter and space-time. This is the most elementary mathematical term in Quantum Mechanics. It is connected to the idea of spin in elementary particles. Incidentally, Spinors also play an important part in the Theory of Relativity. That is why Penrose is instinctively attracted to this mathematical entity in his attempt to unite the two important branches in theoretical physics in the formulation of the Grand unification
Theory.
To understand the essence of Penrose's theory, we must know
55
something about the meaning of Spin in the quantum sense. Spin in Quantum Mechanics is different from spin in the classical sense such as the spin of a billard ball which does not usually have any restrictions on its direction of movement. The Spin of an elementary particle in the quantum world is its angular movement subject to the influence of various force fields so that it has only two values, up or down. The Penrose Spinor is therefore the simpliest possible quantum object with two possible values or a binary object made up of a single bit of quantum space unit.
Starting with Spinors, Penrose's mathematical model was able to create patches of space simply by adding or subtracting the mathematical relationships of the Spinors. These spin-networks of space, so to speak, had exhibited the properties of angular movements in a three dimensional space. They are just like patches of proto- space as you may wish to call them. Unfortunately , Penrose is as yet unable to logically
and consistently connect them all up to form the larger space that we experience. Due to this earlier failure to create the space-time that we experience in real life from Spinors, Penrose attributed the reason for this failure to the lack of versatility of the spinors themselves. Spinors do nothing but sit there and spin. Therefore, he created a more sophisticated quantum entity called the Twistor which is, in fact, a Spinor moving along to trace out the world line ( or movement over time ) of a Spinor. So, this time the new quantum entity has both angular and linear movements. However, this new mathematical entity involves more complicated mathematics. More specifically, it requires the application of the mathematical concept of complex numbers and imaginery time. Complex numbers are combinations of a real ( ordinary ) number and an imaginery number such as the square root of one which does not actually exist in the sense that it cannot be counted like real apples and oranges. This seems to be very complicated but, in fact, it is not so. It is just a matter of unfamiliarity that creates this impression. Suppose I ask you to count minus one. You surely cannot do it because this means that there is one unit short of the required target. But you would not find minus one that mind boggling because we have come across this concept of the negative number so often such as making a negative return on a share transaction which merely means that you have sold
your share at a loss as compared to the original cost you bought it. Using the concept of Twistors, Penrose has made tremedous progress
towards the understanding of the basic nature of matter and space. But still, not all the difficulties regarding the nature of the elementary building blocks of space-time can be solved. Penrose's achievement lies in the fact that he has reduced the importance of each reference point in space to a secondary or resultant product of the interaction of Twistors so that space is not the most fundamental entity or the independent arena in which all physical processes are acted out as traditionally thought. Behind the scene, there is the non-local interaction of the Twistors based on complicated geometry ( or distorted dimensions caused by gravity ) as opposed to the local manifestations of elementary particles envisaged by The Standard Model which are treated as the final entities themselves. Clearly, the ideas of Penrose are set at a higher conceptual level.
On the practical front, the Twistors Theory requires fewer spatial dimensions than Strings Theory and, more importantly, less complicated mathematical equations. In fact, Penrose's theory is mainly based on geometry which is more visual to allow for easier understanding. Nevertheless, the nature of space distortion resulting from gravity does call for an advanced branch of geometry known as Cohomology which must be applied to connect regions of different Topology ( multi-dimensional and complex geometric structure ). Examples of different Topology can be seen in a sphere and a doughnut (with a hole in the centre ). No matter how you twist a doughnut it will never become a sphere. On the other hand, a sphere can be twisted to form a rectangular brick and then a glass ( with the surface of the sphere dented inwards ). Similarly, a doughnut can be twisted to form a tea cup with a handle and then to a rod with a hollow centre ( both of these figures have a single hole in them which originated from the doughnut ). The sphere and the doughnut are said to be different topologically. You can never turn one into the other without tearing their surface. The concept of Topology is most useful in understanding the elementary building blocks of the universe because of the distortion
effects of gravity on space and matter. Despite the above observed advantages, the Twistors Theory cannot
56
account for the experimental results of the Standard Model in particle Physics like Strings Theory can. Moreover, none of the above three theories can satisfy the stringent requirements of the still elusive Theory of Everything. Such a theory must explain the working of all the four forces of nature in one formulation. It must also comply with the requirements set by Relativity ( relativistic covariant ), Quantum Mechanics ( quantization ) and must obey the various parities such as mirror image ( chirality ) and free from all anomolies and infinities in traditional equations. This is undoubtedly a very tall order. Recent developments in theoretical physics seem to confirm the popularity of the Strings or M-Theory where scores of researchers are labouring away to try to understand the real meaning of the complicated equations. The promising sign is that Strings or M-Theory is in the process of being raised to a higher conceptual level of background independence. A further silver lining in the clouds of theoretical physics is the trend towards a conceptual amalgamation of both Strings or M-Theory and the Twistors Theory insofar as similarities have been discovered in both theories. Hopefully, a Theory of Everything can be derived from the best of both worlds in these two theories in the not too distant future.
The Uncertainty Principle
While Quantum Theory deals with the basic working principles or mechanics of subatomic particles the Standard Model, Strings or M-Theory and Twistors Theory are attempts to describe the practical aspects of subatomic activities and to explain various observed experimental phenomena. Even after more than 80 years since the debut of Quantum Theory in 1920, its implications on the true nature of reality as we perceive it are still not fully understood. As Niels Bohr put it so aptly:- “ Anyone who is not
shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.” The reason why Quantum Theory has such profound effects on our
philosophical outlook on life is its radical departure from the traditional, or what we called the Classical, scientific world view. As mentioned earlier, the modern scientific era started roughly at the same time as the Rennaisance Period with the emergence of great scientists like Galilieo, Kepler and later Newton on the scene. So much scientific progress was made in the past three to four hundred years that it led Lord Kelvin of the British Royal Society to proclaim at the turn of the Nineteenth Century that all important things that should be known about the physical world had been understood at the time.This is the famous declaration of the end of physics. Barely one year after this declaration, Max Planck came up with his idea of the quantization of energy that ultimately led to the complete formulation of the Quantum Theory governing subatomic particles which overthrew the grand idea of determinism in classical science established mainly by Sir Issac Newton.
Up to the time of the emergence of Quantum theory, almost all scientists believe that everything can be determined or that the future can be determined once the initial conditions of any object ( vaguely implying human beings as well ) are known. The future or destiny ( meaning its momentum and position in this universe ) of an object can be theoretically worked out according to the rules on Newtonian Mechanics or Classical Mechanics. After all, even the movements of all the stars and planets including irregular orbits of comets can be precisely predicted. Classical scientific theories and laws seemed to be invincible at the time. So much so that the great French mathematician and physicist Laplace responded in this way when asked by the French king in 1869 about the place of God in the prevailing scientific theories :- “ There is no need for such a proposition in the present premises, Sire! “ Science seemed to have taken over the place of God in this universe.
With the advent of Quantum Theory in 1920, a number of very revolutionary scientific principles had been proposed in the context of Quantum Mechanics which changed the classical scientific world view of Determinism in a radical manner. The most important principle in this regard is the Uncertainty Principle discovered by Werner Heisenberg in 1927 which states that it is impossible to determine exactly both the position
57
and momentum of an elementary particle simultaneously. This principle is the corner stone of Quantum Theory. It also effectively precluded the possibility of a stationary elementary particle. The main rationale of the Uncertainty Principle in the subatomic world is that the process of determining the position and momentum necessarily involves an observation being made. In this observation process the observer will inevitably affect or interact with the observed object ( in this case an elementary particle ) in some way. For example,in order to observe a particle it is necessary to shine a light ray on it. In so doing, the particle is disturbed in some way by the inflow of energy which will speed up the particle's movement. Because the size of the elementary particle is so minute it may not be detectable using light with longer wavelength meaning lower energy level. The reason is that the particle may be smaller than a single wavelength of the observing ray of light so that it is obsecured in between one wave crest and the next. Therefore, light rays of shorter wavelength and, hence, higher energy level must be used. The huge amount of energy of such high frequency light rays will cause greater disturbance in the movement of the observed particle making it impossible to determine the momentum and the position with exact precision simultaneously. The more accurate you want to determine the particle's position the less accurately will you be able to determine its momentum because greater disturbance must result from higher frequency light being used to pin down where the particle is. The reverse situation arises when you want to measure its momentum. You must use lower frequency light to cause less disturbance in the particle's movement which imply longer wavelengths thus resulting in the inability to pin down its exact position.
Nor is this merely a matter of practical or technical difficulty because this uncertainty is inherent in nature in the sense that nothing is exactly perfect ( you will recall the concept of Fuzzy Logic-nothing is completely black or white in this world ). There are many pairs of qualities in this world that seem to work in opposite directions from each other, for example, time against energy in the working of lever systems. To save your effort in lifting a heavy load, you have to use more pullies involving more blocks and much longer ropes therefore requiring more time to move the heavy load for a given distance. These are complimentary qualities. Another more common example is time against speed. The greater the speed the less time you need to cover a given distance. The Uncertainty Principle also highlights the interactive nature of different components in the universe. In the case of scientific observation, the observer and the observed are inter- related so that action on one side inevitably affects the other. Again, the theme of Connection plays an important part in all processes. The unquestionable lesson from Mother Nature in this respect as a guide to human behaviour is clearly be considerate in all things you do and be wary of the possible effects your actions may have on others. This caution is equally applicable to actions on the environment. The costs of any adverse effects on our environment as a result of irresponsible actions will surely fall squarely on our shoulders in terms of health and even our survival as a specie.
As mentioned above, the Uncertainty Principle also implies that an elementary particles cannot be stationary or static because if the momentum is zero by virtue of its non-movement its position will also be pinned down so that the principle will be violated. A corollary is that we can never be sure up to a hundred percent where an elementary particle is at any particular moment in time. This being the case, you may ask why we do not see an apple or an orange appearing and disappearing or moving about all the time without being pushed. The short answer is that macro objects are made up of trillions of atoms and the probabilities of having atoms being here and there are all averaged out so that the apple or orange stays at a definite spot. The Uncertainty Principle is only prominently manifested at subatomic levels, hence, the special branch of physics called Quantum Physics or Quantum Mechanics. Nevertheless, this principle does remind us that NOTHING is 100% certain. This is inherent in nature.
Complementarity
There is another important principle in Quantum Theory which deals with the peculiar nature of all electromagnetic waves including light waves. It is known as the
58
Principle of Complementarity. You will recall from the Double-Slit Experiment described earlier in this chapter that light seems to mannifest itself either as a wave or a particle. This aspect of the nature of light is called its complimentary characteristic. This dual nature of light had puzzled scientists since Young's experiment in 1801. This puzzle is still unresolved up to the present moment.
In the Double-Slit Experiment described earlier, the biggest mystery is the conclusion that photons or any elememtary particle can be anywhere and have no definite positions until they are observed or monitored. Furthermore, even a single photon can create an interference effect just like a wave ( until that particular photon is observed and materializes ) as if it were interferring with itself. This gives rise to a very important philosophical issue and that is the question of what Reality really is. Does the real world exist only because there are intelligent beings like we humans here to observe it ? We shall examine such philosophical issues later in this chapter.
The fact that light waves manifest the characteristics of both a wave and a particle is called its complementary nature. Its wave aspect can result in the creation of interference patterns and a tunneling effect. This latter quality is seen when a light wave can jump a small gap if the gap is smaller than the wavelength of that particular light wave. On the other hand, when light exhibits its particle nature it can be detected at a particular spot when observed. In other words, a photon is localized when it takes on its particle nature. If its particle nature is manifested light does not have interference patterns or a tunneling ability.
To understand more about this dual nature of light, we must learn something about how light travels through space. It does this in the form of a spiral moving along a centre line. As a result, there are ,in fact, two components in a light ray. One part is left-handed while the other is right-handed. That portion of light belonging to the left side of the spiral has a left-handed polarisation while that to the right side of the spiral has a right-handed polarisation. This is the rationale behind your polaroid sunglass. This type of sunglass is made up of visual barriers in the form of fences or lattices so that either the left-handed portion or the right-handed portion of the light rays entering your eyes through the polaroid sunglass is obstructed. Therefore, if you put another pair of polaroid lenses in front of the one you are already wearing at a 90 degrees angle, the other portion of the light ray with opposite polarisation will also be blocked and total darkness will ensue.
In the event that light exhibits its particle nature, an individual photon will either be positively or negatively polarized depending on which portion of the light ray it has originated from. Positive or negative means it is either left-handed or right-handed as explained above. The fact that light exhibits complementarity indicates that it may not be a fundamental entity but is the manifestations of some deeper scientific phenomenon. The Complementarity Principle has taught us that there are always two sides to everything. This is also applicable to human nature which inevitably has a good and a bad side depending on the circumstances affecting the individual in question and his or her self- control. Never assume that a good person will always be so under all circumstances and vice versa for a supposedly bad person. With these implications of the principle in mind, let us try to go a bit further to see if we can make more sense out of this strange and mysterious nature of light.
Superposition and Schrodinger's Cat
By now, I trust you will all agree that very strange things appear to be happening at the quantum or subatomic level. Because the elementary particles do not have definite positions until they are observed they are said to be in a Superposition when unobserved. This concept leads to a very absurd situation. This famous episode is known as Schrodinger's Cat. Erwin Schrodinger is the Austrian scientist who invented the special set of equations called Wave Mechanics Equations in 1926 which can predict the probability of the momentum and positions of elementary particles. More precisely, they provide a mathematical desciption of the wave-like ( or probability ) properties of such particles. Again, I must emphasize that the solution to these equations will only lead to the
59
probabilities and not absolute certainties of the above variables. In Schrodinger's terminology, the act of observation on the elementary particles will cause a Collapse of the Wave Functions and lead to the materialisation or localization of the particles in a particular probability momentum and position instead of the infinite number of possibilities.
Schrodinger invented a thought experiment which put a cat in a sealed box together with a small container holding some radio active material which could kill the cat if released by a connecting triggering device. He purposely made the triggering device in such a way that it would release the radio active substance at random. A press of the control button can either release or withhold the toxic substance. Therefore, one cannot know whether the cat is dead or alive after activating the control until the box is opened and the condition of the cat observed. Mathematically speaking the cat has a fifty-fifty chance of being dead or alive after the control has been activated. Schrodinger argued that before the box was opened the cat is in a superposition of being 50% dead and 50% alive. He insisted that unobserved, the cat can neither be dead nor alive. In other words, the event of the cat being dead or alive cannot happen without an observation being carried out. This is an absurd proposition in relation to the macro world and an example of applying the rules of quantum mechanics beyond their boundaries of the subatomic world. As mentioned earlier, a physical object more or less stays where it is. This is because the enormous number of atoms it contains will average out the probabilities of the fuzzy locations of the atoms so that the entire object would stay in one place where the highest probabilities of all the atoms being present is concentrated. The same rationale should apply to events such as the life and death of a cat cited in Schrodinger's thought experiment that involves large physical objects such as the cat.
Despite the apparent theoretical and academic nature of the Superposition concept, it has found very important application in the field of computer engineering. As described in the section on Quantum Evolution about the Origin of Life ( Eccentric Ideas section in chapter (ii) ), the computing powers of the conventional computer can be greatly enhanced by introducing the Quantum concept of Superposition. The current system of using binary digits of 0 and 1 as on-off switches in digitizing information can be vastly expanded by adding the Superposition concept of being neither on nor off using elementary particles such as electrons as computer switches which obey subatomic quantum rules. The technical details are very complicated and far beyond the scope of this book. Suffice it to say that the greatly increased numbers of the positions of computer switches will enhance the computing capacity of Quantum Computers by possibly millions of folds. Recently, the application of this Superposition quantum rule has been successfully tested in laboratory experiments in principle. According to present estimates, the commercial quantum computer may be on the market within a decade. The main obstacle in achieving a working quantum computer seems to be the difficulty in converting the results of the quantum computation back into classical state or the macro-world format which obeys classical Newtonian rules rather than quantum rules. You may be aware by now that under quantum rules an observation made on the end results of the quantum computation will precipitate a collapse of their related wave functions and thus causes them to lose their superpositions. While this may not create a big problem with the end results it does represent a big hurdle in the input stage where data have to be treated quantum mechanically. The big challenge seems to be the problem of how to avoid a collapse of the related wave functions of the input data when handling them at the input stage so as to keep their superpositions intact .
There is still a huge cloud of mysticism surrounding the Superposition idea. Questions such as :- “ Is the superposition an infinite number of possibilities or are they an infinite number of realities ? “ What is it that causes a collapse of the wave functions that leads to the materialization of a particular reality in carrying out an observation ? If an observation is essential in the creation of reality, what did happen when the universe first came into existence before the arrival of human intellegence to make the necessary observation ? What, in fact, constitutes an observation ? These are some of the philosophical issues that we shall explore in the next section.
60
( B ) The Inspirations
Interpretations of Quantum Theory
The Copenhagen Interpretation
Due to the many philosophical questions of fundamental importance concerning the theory when it first came on the scientific scene in the 1920s, a number of attempts had been made to come to a consensus among the scientists of the period. The controversial nature of Quantum Theory can be clearly seen in the great debate between Einstein and the Copenhagen School of physicists including Niels Bohr and Heisenberg which lasted for a few decades until Einstein's death in 1955.
The most important concerted effort to come up with an official interpretation of the Quantum Theory came in 1928 at a lecture delivered by Niels Bohr in Como, Italy. It had since been known as the Copenhagen Interpretation because it represented the group efforts of a team of scientists headed by Bohr who had his home base in Copenhagen, Denmark. Briefly stated, the interpretation expressed an opinion on certain aspects of the Quantum Theory. Firstly, it reiterated the Uncertainty Principle and expanded it further to bring out the view of a participatory universe. Unlike classical or Newtonian Mechanics which treats the observer and the observed as totally separate entities with absolutely no influence on each other, Quantum Theory emphasizes the inter-relationship between the subject and object of an observation, especially in the case such as carrying out an experiment. There is absolutely no way one can be isolated from the other without any bilateral feed-back loops being established between the two parties. The act of observation inevitably affects the system as a whole. Put it in another way, the experimenter, the apparatus and the observed object are all part and parcel of the whole experimental set-up. Any action taken by one party must necessarily affect the others and ,consequently, the experimental results as well. This is even more valid at the quantum or subatomic level where the close proximity of the components of the experiment plays an important role.This is most enlightening with regard to inter-personal relationships as well as human behaviour towards the environment. One good turn deserves another. Such ideas are very sound guidelines for human behaviour. We can appreciate this deeper now that we have come to know that interconnection is inherent in the natural law. As regards the environment, the same thing applies. If we pollute mother earth, the devastating effects will eventually come full circle and each of us will feel the backlash just as in the case of the incessant use of pesticide in agriculture.
Secondly, the interpretation stressed the point that we could absolutely say nothing about the unobserved part of any experiment or, for that matter, the real world. To put it more radically, there is no reality without an observation being carried out. This is a completely opposite to the world view as we have been led to believing by our common sense. This is the most controversial part ot the interpretation. Just think for a moment that the whole universe out there is supposed to be non-existent when we are not
watching it. You must be kidding me ! Thirdly, Complimentarity was viewed as different manifestations of a
single phenomenon or two sides of the same coin. As a matter of fact, the Copenhagen Interpretation is saying that whether the wave or particle nature of light is manifested depends on what we are looking for. If our experimental set-up is designed to pick out the wave aspect, then that particular aspect of its nature will be detected. This is equivalent to that part of the Double-Slit Experiment where we keep both holes open. The interference or wave characteristic of light 's nature is seen. On the other hand, if we close one hole the particle characteristic of light's nature is manifested. This is true to a great extent even in our macro world. You can say that a zebra is a white beast with black stripes or a black
61
beast with white stripes depending on how you look at it. Another better example would be half a glass of water. You can be correct both ways if you say that the glass is half full or half empty. This well known example is sometimes quoted as a test to find out whether a person is optimistic or pessimistic. Many people also cast doubts on the way IQ tests are usually carried out on our children on a similar argument. The most common criticism on IQ tests is that they are biased towards certain aspects of human ability such as spatial or logical abilities while other more abstract quality like artistic talents are side-lined. Such tests would only discover genius of certain targeted abilities to the exclusion of other talents not considered suitable as targets of such tests. This may result in other more unusual talents being overlooked. This is the famous or infamous Selection Effect.
While the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Theory is mostly logical in its proclamations it does have some weaknesses and sticky issues. First and foremost, it is its radical view of reality that has attracted most criticism. The argument that reality cannot materialize without an intelligent observation being made is most controversial. If such an argument is strictly followed to its logical conclusion, an absurd scenario like Schrodinger's cat will inevitably develop. Secondly, it had never arrived at a conclusion as to what constitutes an observation. Must human beings be present to make intellegent observations to enable the physical world to materialize ? In the beginning , who or what made the all important observation to cause the Big Bang to materialize ? Could the intellegent being in the beginning be God ? Or could the Laws of Nature as championed by scientists be sufficiently “ intellegent “ to cause the observation to be made and resulted in the collapse of the wave functions of the universe that led to the physical emergence of the visible universe ? Since everything is infinitely close together in the very beginning quantum effects would be enormously overwhelming so that quantum rules must apply. The quantum enigma derived from the Copenhagen Interpretation remained unsolved until other alternative interpretations of Quantum Theory were forthcoming in the 1940s and 1950s but to date not all of the quantum mysteries have been completely solved. Let us now look at some alternative interpretations of this profoundly revolutionary theory which totally changed our views on the world we live in.
Many Worlds Interpretation
Not being satisfied with the radical views of the Copenhagen Interpretation, scientists in other schools of thought tried their very best to come up with some alternative explanations for Quantum Theory. In 1957, Hugh Everett, a graduate student in Princeton University studying for a Ph. D. degree under John Archibald Wheeler who invented among many other theories the famous term “ black hole “ had a bright idea that provided an alternative interpretation of Schrodinger's cat which is the standard way of interpreting Quantum theory by the Copenhagen School in connection with the Superposition concept. Everett conjectured that Schrodinger's cat did exist in both the dead and alive states but in two different worlds that had no casual contact with each
other. This became known as the Many Worlds Interpretation. Everett theorized that every time an observer was faced with a choice or
possibility of taking a particular course of action, different worlds would come into existence for each one of all the possiblities. When the choice was made by the observer, he would proceed in that version of his own world history but there would be many “shadow” him still carrying on in other shadow worlds where all other possible choices could have been made. The crucial thing to note was that none of these different worlds whether they be the real world where the actual choice had been made or other shadow worlds of other possibilities where no choice had been made were never in casual contact with one another. Therefore, the number of possibilities and shadow worlds would continue to multiply and branch out all through one's life in his real world where actual choices in life were indeed made. It would be most interesting to note that under the Many
62
Worlds Interpretation everything that could happen would actually happen. There is an inescapable sense of hope so to speak. There would be another world where you would be the winner of the super jackpot lottery. Of course, there would be numerous less fortunate scenarios. This is actually the story line adopted in the movies series Back to the Future.
Apart from its logical consistency with all the criteria of the Copenhagen Interpretation, it may very well explain why our universe is the way it is and why we occupy a uniquely favourable position in the universe without coming into conflict with the Cosmological Principle which states that no particular place or thing occupies a special position in this universe. For example, there should be no such thing as the centre of the universe. Everything and everywhere should be ordinary in every way. If all possibilities exist, then our visible universe is obviously the successful version of the infinite number of possible universes or multiverse ( which is a more up-to-date and popular term ) most of which are imperfect or incongenial and devoid of life. The Many Worlds Interpretation would also eliminate the paradoxical nature of time travel if this was ever possible which you will see later in this book.
Notwithstanding its many advantages, the Many Worlds Interpretation does suffer from the the drawback of being very cumbersome with its prediction of proliferation of an infinite number of universes which grow with every human choice having been made. Now, let us turn to Einstein's interpretation and see if this Man of the Twentieth Century had more superior ideas.
The Hidden Variables Interpretation
Einstein is one of the forefathers of Quantum Theory. He won his Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his contribution to Quantum Theory by proving that the photon is the quanta of light. In other words, light consists of particles in the form of photons. His paper on the photoelectric effect is his crowning success in Quantum Theory that won him the Nobel Prize.
Despite his contributions to Quantum Theory during its early stages, Einstein was fiercely opposed to the Copenhagen Interpretation. So much so that he was later not on speaking terms with Niels Bohr. Einstein saw the Quantum Theory as an incomplete picture of nature. He especially abhors the uncertainty predicted by the theory. This animosity can be seen in his remarks on the theory, thus :-” God does not play dice.”
He was of the opinion that there were hidden variables unknown to the scientific community at the time that could explain the non-local effects as observed in experimental results concerning Quantum Theory. Einstein had even labelled these non- local effects as “ spooky ( ghostly ) actions at a distance.” His speculations with regard to such queer effects which defy his ultimate speed limit restriction set by light in his Special Relativity were that there had to be some hidden factors unaccounted for that could explain such non-local influence. Einstein was too dedicated to his Relativity to allow the breaking of the speed limit set by light. The existence of non-local effects as proven in Bell's Experiment in principle in 1964 and later in empirical evidence provided by Alain Aspects Experiment in 1982 does confirm that our common sense world view that all effects must be local and subject to speed limits set by light according to Relativity is false.
As this concept of non-locality is still an unsolved quantum puzzle, it would be worth our while to gain some deeper insights into this phenomenon. The term casual contact has time and again appeared in this book. To recapitulate, the term means contact that is made possible by the exchange of information between two contacting parties . According to Relativity the speed of light is the ultimate speed limit in our universe because light has no mass. Based on Einstein's most famous equation, E=mc2, an infinite amount of energy would be required to achieve the speed of light. Therefore, nothing with the slightest amount of mass can attain the speed of light. Even for messages sent by massless radio wave which is another form of electromagnetic wave just like light the greatest possible speed is still the speed of light. Without the possibility of exchanging information different parties located in regions separated by vast distances beyond the
63
reach of light would not be able to contact one another. They could have nothing to do with one another even if they wanted to. In this sense, all causes and effects as we know them must be local. This is the all important principle of casuality which guarantees that our daily lives make sense.
Take for example that you could travel faster than light. This would in effect mean that, for you, time would run backwards. The reason is that everything happens in different stages. This is the essence of the principle of casuality. Suppose you ask for a cup of tea in a restaurant. This event must start with a thought in your mind. Then you communicates your intention to the waiter. The fastest you can do this is restricted to the speed of light. After a while, the waiter serves you with a cup of tea. But if you could move faster than light you could have gotten the cup of tea in your hands even before your instructions got to the waiter. To everybody else, you would have the cup of tea in your hand before anything else could happen. This would be just like seeing you suddenly appearing and drinking a cup of tea out of nowhere without a sequence of preceeding events leading up to scene. On the other hand, you would see everything else happening in a sequence of reverse actions because the light reflected from all the objects has not been able to catch up with you. The position of everyone and everything is getting farther away from you in the opposite direction. This is just like watching a mirror reflecting the reality. While everything is moving slower than the speed of light in one direction, you are moving faster and faster away from that normal point where everything is just the way it should be. In fact, this is one of the unproven predictions in Relativity that elementary particles moving faster than light called Tachyons exist. These hypothesized particles cannot slow down. Similiarly, once you have theoretically crossed the light barrier, you could not slow down but would keep going faster and faster as if you were a reflection in the mirror of reality getting faster and faster away from that normal point which is the velocity of light. While Relativity does set the maximum universal speed limit at the velocity of light travelling through a vaccum implying that nothing can break light's speed barrier, it does not rule out the existence of Tachyon on the other side of the barrier. There is one set of equations in Relativity involving a minus sign for the time variable. This gives rise to the theoretical possibility of going backwards in time
To sum up the Hidden Variables Interpretation, Einstein saw the Quantum Theory as an incomplete theory waiting to be finalized. As no further tangible scientific evidence was forthcoming in the 1920s and 1930s, Einstein's interests shifted to the goal of Grand Unification which you will recall deals with the Theory of Everything. Unfortunately, he did not achieve this noble endeavour within his life time and this goal
remains elusive to this day.
Pilot Wave Interpretation
Another contemporary of Einstein called Louis de Broglie came up with the idea of elementary particles behaving like waves to account for light's wave aspect of its dual nature . For his work in this field , he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1929. His inspiration originated from the particle nature of light. He was wondering if light can exist as particles with no definite positions until observed as proven by Einstein in his paper on photoelectric effect, it may be possible that the particles can also behave like a wave. This would explain the complimentary nature of light as having both a wave-like and
particle-like appearance at different times. Louis de Broglie 's theory was further developed in the 1950s by
David Bohm, a student of Einstein into part of the new interpretation of Quantum Theory as opposed to the Copenhagen School. Bohm's idea was that the elementary particles are guided along in their tracks by a wave of probabilities called a Pilot Wave. Any disturbance to the pilot wave such as an observation being made will cause a collapse of the wave function and the localization of the particle at a specific position. The Pilot Wave is a non- local or global phenomenon while the particle is the local manifestation of the collapse of the related wave functions of the particle. In other words, light is basically made up of particles but can under certain circumstances behaves like a wave. This is the idea behind
64
de Broglie's theory.
Although the Pilot Wave Theory is not a completely revolutionary concept it does add some dynamic elements into Schrodinger's traditional waves functions which are more like pure mathematical entities. The Pilot Wave concept is much closer to the image of a fuzzy moving bolb of matter that is so often associated with the atom. It is more like a hybrid mathematical and physical entity than the well-known Schrodinger wave function. However, the Pilot Wave Theory does retain most if not all the basic features of the Copenhagen Interpretation. Mathematics and reality will be discussed in a later
chapter.
The Transactional Interpretation
A lesser known but interesting interpretation of the Quantum Theory is called the Transactional Interpretation developed by John Cramer of the University of Washington in 1986. While retaining the essential features of the Copenhagen interpretation it offers an explanation for strange quantum effects such as the
single photon interfering with itself in the Double Slit Experiment. In Cramer's view, when both holes are open, the lone photon will
trace out all possible paths in this universe to reach the screen. Therefore, the interference pattern emerges. When one hole is open, a choice has been made and the related wave functions collapse into just one, the chosen path. Hence, a single particle image appears. The so-called transaction is done between the emitting point of the photon and the absorption point on the screen by a 'handshake' to seal the deal or the confirmed choice. Thus, Cramer hypothsizes two parts in any movements of an elementary particle. There is an Emitter Wave and an Absorber Wave which when reciprocated on each other causes the collapse of the waves to become Reality. The so-called “a handshake over space-time “ is bound neither by space nor time because the elementary particle is travelling at the speed of light making it atemporal or timeless. The time required by light or any other elementary particle on the electromagnetic spectrum to go anywhere or be “anywhen” is zero. In Cramer's own words:-”The emitter can be considered to produce an “offer” wave which travels to the absorber. The absorber then returns a “confirmation” wave to the emitter, and the transaction is completed with a “handshake” over spacetime.”
The important points to note are:- Firstly, all possibilities exist before a definite choice is made. Therefore, there would be no actual occurrence of any event without a conscious choice or observation ( which in effect is an action ) being made. Our future is in a way created by us or of our own making. This message from Quantum Theory is, to, me loud and clear. Secondly, so far as an elementary particle is concerned time is meaningless. At the speed of light, forwards and backwards in time is the same thing. But to us humans time is precious by virtue of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. So, treasure it like your own life which is miraculously valuable and for that matter everyone else's life. Thirdly, elementary particles can foretell the future in the human sense because they are timeless. Let us now turn to the interpretation of the results of the Double Slit Experiment according to different schools of interpretation of the Quantum Theory.
Explaining the Enigma of Double Slit Experiment
You may recall that in an improved and modified version of the Double Slit Experiment the choice to cover up one hole or leave both holes open can be made after the photon has left the photon gun and has started its journey to the screen. This is known as the Delayed-Choice Double Slit Experiment. Consider the following further modifications to the experiment. The same results as predicted by Quantum Theory still emerge even if the lone photon starts the journey with both holes open. Then one hole
65
is covered up after the lone photon has already passed through the two originally opened holes on its way to the screen. That is a localized particle image will appear on the screen as if that one hole were closed at the start of the lone photon's journey. This clearly represents the back tracking of the photon as if it knew that it had been tricked. As before in the original arrangement of the experiment, only this time we let the lone photo start its journey with only one hole being opened initially. Then both holes are opened after it has already passed through that one open hole. The interference pattern will appear on the screen. This situation arises as if the photon is changing history from our perspective. This is because when it started its journey only one hole is opened and it did pass through that one hole. The particle image should be seen on the screen instead of the interference pattern. The lone photon knows that both holes have been opened after it has already passed through the originally opened one hole. It knows this in retrospect because it is not bound by time. So, it obediently changes its past history by back tracking and chooses the path that is applicable to both holes being opened resulting in the interference pattern as explained by the Transactional Interpretation. Because of both holes being opened retrospectively after the lone photon has already left the originally opened single hole there would be no “ handshake over space-time “ retrospectively so that the interference pattern will appear on the screen.
The above descriptions are strange but true and they are the actual sequences of events that have taken place in many officially monitored laboratory experiments. While different interpretations of Quantum Theory give slightly different explanations for the results of the above experiment the paramount and controversial but proven phenomenon of Non-Locality remains mysterious as ever. According to the Copenhagen Interpretation, a reality can only materialize upon an intelligent observation being made. With only one hole open, this amounts to an observation being made. It will cause a collapse of the wave functions advanced by Schrodinger to become the reality of a particle manifesting itself on the screen. If both holes are open, no intelligent choice has been made and all possibilities exist or persist resulting with the fuzzy interference pattern
on the screen.
Applying the Many Worlds Interpretation, the closing of one hole again constitutes a conscious choice which differentiates it from all the other possible worlds. The particle of photon materializes on the screen. The experimenter continues his life in that materialized world while all other possible worlds go their separate ways from this materialized world and would have no casual contact whatsoever with one another. Opening both holes is tantamount to no choice having been made so that no actual world materialize for the photon and all possible worlds contiue to exist in the form of the fuzzy interference pattern being seen on the screen.
The Pilot Wave Interpretation is similar to the Copenhagen Interpretation in that it acknowledges the collapsing of the Pilot Wave guiding the photon along upon an intelligent observation having been made by opening only one hole. The resulting disturbance arising from this act will cause the photon to manifest itself in particle form on the screen. Opening both holes keep all the options open and no reality
will be precipitated and, hence, the appearance of interference patterns on the screen. With regard to the Hidden Variables Interpretation, the short answer is that there are unknown factors giving rise to this strange phenomenon indicating that Quantum
Theory is incomplete. None of the above interpretation is considered to be the final solution to
Quantum Theory so that there are plenty of chances for any one to grab a Nobel Prize in Physics in case he or she finds an acceptable theory for the existence and working of Non-Locality in Quantum Theory.
If you find the quantum magic in the Double Slit Experiment interesting there is much more to come which, I am sure, will make you so excited that you will be gasping for air. So, let us fasten our seat belts and go !
More Quantum Magic
66
Polarizing a Beam of Light
The working of the rules of Quantum Mechanics are very often totally against common sense. Take for example, the reduction of ultra-violet light by means of a polaroid lens. It was explained above that there are two portions in every beam of light ray which are moving at 90 degrees to the horizontal plane and to each other. The use of a single polaroid lens as a filter will block out one portion of the beam while allowing the remaining differently polarised portion to pass through thus reducing half of the light for the observer. Therefore, the use of a second lens placed at a right angle behind the first one will completely block out any light from passing through because the remaining portion of the light is polarised at a right angle to the initially blocked out portion. So far so good , but a strange thing now happens if we put a third polaroid lens at a 45 degrees angle in between the first two. The beam of light passes through all the the three lenses as if no polaroid filters were there. This is totally inconceivable. It is just like enclosing a flock of geese between two fences and they are held captived but putting a third fence in the centre will allow all the geese to go free. Normally, we would expect the installation of the third fence to make the enclosure even more secured. Such common sense concept does not work in Quantum Mechanics !
The EPR Paradox
In the earlier years before actual experiments can be performed on various Quantum rules, scientists including Einstein used to propose thought experiments to prove their arguments. One such thought experiment is the well known ERP Experiment jointly invented by Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen all working at Princeton University during 1934 and 1935. Although it has been called a paradox since its inception the thought experiment, in fact, described Einstein and his colleagues' arguments against the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Theory which in effect states that there is no reality except an observed or measured reality. By a
reverse argument the EPR Paradox aims to prove that Quantum Theory is incomplete. In essence, the EPR Experiment is based on the examination of the decay of an unstable elementary particle into two photons. When the radio active reaction takes place the two photons which have interacted during this particular reaction will fly apart in opposite directions with equal momenta in order to keep the total momenta conserved. These two photons will also have opposite spin to conserve the total spin of the system created at the decay process or radio active decay. By application of the Complementary Principle , the EPR Experiment was able to show that the quantum rules are contradictory to the normally accepted meaning of reality. Therefore, the Quantum Theory must be an incomplete theory or there must be hidden Variables not accounted for. More specifically, EPR argued that when the decay process occurred there is a 50/50 chance that the resultant photon had a clockwise or anti- clockwise spin according to quantum rules and conservation laws. But even if they had flown far apart to the opposite sides of the universe out of the reach of the speed of light, once we measured the spin of one of the photon pair the other partner had to spin in the opposite direction without a shadow of a doubt. It was as if the second photon in the other far end of the universe had to “know” instantaneously what the measurement of the first photon's spin would be ( or that an actual measurement of the first photon had just been made ). Since they were not in casual contact with each other due to the vast distance out of the range of the speed of light, they could have nothing to do with each other. However, the quantum rule of Complementarity and Laws of Conservation dictated that they had to have opposite spin. Therefore, Quantum Theory had to be incomplete. There had to be some hidden variables or factors that had not been accounted for because the two once interacted photons could not have communicated with each other at the time when the
measurement of the first photon was made.
67
All parties of the EPR Experiment would have been stunned were they to find out that based on Bell's Inequality proven by him in 1964 in theory, the French physicist Alain Prospect and his team actually carried out a laboratory experiment in 1982 to successfully prove that non-local effects did exist and faster than light transmission of information seemed possible. The importance of Bell's Inequality lies in the fact that if it is broken or cannot be maintained in a particular sequence of events there had to be some non-local effects playing a part in that sequence of occurrences. What happened was Prospect and his team were able to use highly technical instruments to
change the initial spin state of the photons every ten billionth of a second. Simultaneously, they could make measurements on the opposite spin states of the photon pair when they were separated by four times the distance that light could travel in the time interval since the initial spin was changed. Bell's Inequality was violated thus proving that non-locality was at work in the experimental arrangements. The predictions of Quantum Theory were confirmed in actual physical experiments against the assertions of the EPR Paradox !
Experimental evidence have undoubtedly confirmed that there are deeper factors at work behind our physical world. Therefore, we cannot take things at their face value. Intangible or invisible attributes can also play a part in the functioning of daily phenomena. There are most likely to be some hidden global effects connecting all facets of the physical world behind the scene. We must not only care about physical objects or appearances alone. Sometimes, the essence of life is embedded in the intangibles. We cannot put tangible or financial values on abstract qualities such as love, friendship, beauty and culture and yet these are the most vital elements that make life
worth living. These are the finer threads and fibres that make our life tick.
Observing Billions of Years Old Light
The above quantum magic is remarkable but the fact that elementary particles of which everything including life is made possess a timeless quality is the most inspiring of all their attributes. This timeless character can easily arouse a profound sense of yearning in our hearts to be one and the same with Nature and to immerse ourselves in Her everlasting beauty and serenity. This timelessness is nowhere seen more clearly than observing light reaching us from the distant stars and galaxies which could have started their long, long journey to earth over 13 billion years ago from
our perspective.
In the 1980s, John Wheeler suggested a cosmic version of the Double-Slit Experiment using the astronomical phenomenon of gravitational lensing ( predicted by Einstein and now confirmed ) mentioned in Chapter ( ii ). Just to refresh your memory, the phenomenon refers to the light from distant stars being distorted by intervening stars and galaxies thus resulting in a magnifying effect on the image of the distant star that gives out the light . According to General Relativity, the presence of mass bends the space around that mass. Therefore, when light from distant stars is disrupted by intervening masses of galaxies the light ray will be bent on the left and the right side of the distorted space created around these massive heavenly structures. There will be two alternative routes for such distant star light to reach our earthly telescopes. So, Wheeler's experiment can be appropriately called the Double-Route Experiment on a cosmic scale. If this distant star light behaves as waves, it will produce an interference pattern on our monitor attached to the telescopes. On the other hand, If it behaves like a particle it will localize on our monitor as a small dot. According to quantum rules, if we switch on our monitor attached to our telescopes to observe such distant star light, the light that started its journey billions of years ago will materialize as particles even though we performed our experiment billions of years after it had started its cosmic journey. If we switch off the monitor and cease to observe the distant light through the human consciousness, the interference pattern appears. These results occur consistently without fail even if we switch the monitor on and off as frequently as ten billionth of a second as in the case of the Alain Prospect Experiment. Quantum rules still work perfectly within this grand design
68
of the cosmos across billions of light years in distance involving gravitational lensing. Such experimental results imply that the ancient distant light “knows” that on a certain day in the year 2006 the exact details of our experimental arrangements and our intentions ( including all frequent changes within fleeting periods down to ten billionth of a second ) which to the distant light was in its far, far distant future billions of years after the start of its cosmic journey. The same argument applies to all future experiments of this nature not yet performed. The ancient distant light “knows” them all ! Photons are truly timeless. How strange, miraculous and mystical Quantum Mechanics can be !
The wonders of Quantum Theory do not stop here. Quantum rules also tell us that once elementary particles have interacted with one another in some way they are bonded together ( just like the pair of photons in the EPR Paradox ) for all eternity and connected non-locally as a single integrated system. Their relationship is no longer separated by time or space. Just imagine. Everything we can see and touch and within the realm of our consciousness is made up of elementary particles which were once involved in interactions with one another initially in the nuclear furnace of the stars right back to the very beginning of the Big Bang through the cosmic recycling process. It is statistically valid to say that each and every living being must have some elementary particles in its biological structure that had been involved in interaction with those of every other living being. We are really more closely connected than we have ever imagined. So, why don't we emphasize our similarities rather than our differences. If we all do that, there
would no longer be any conflict among inhabitants of our global village.
( C ) The Eccentric Ideas
The Universe as a Hologram
The great American physicist Richard Feynman once said:-” There was a time when the newspapers said that only twelve men understood relativity. I do not believe there ever was such a time. There might have been a time when only one man did ( Einstein ). ....... On the other hand, I think I can safely say that nobody understood
quantum mechanics. “
The above quotation sums up the mystical nature of Quantum Theory in a nutshell. More than a century after Max Planck first pioneered the quantum concept no definitive explanation is forthcoming on the non-locality aspect of the theory despite the seasoned accuracy of the theory's predictions and applications. In fact, Quantum Theory is the most reliable scientific theory ever formulated by the scientists. Notwithstanding the numerous unsuccessful attempts to find a solution to this grand puzzle, there are some promising though farfetched propositions. One such theory is the Holographic Model first suggested by physicist David Bohm, a former student of Einstein and neuro-physicist Karl Pribram of Standford University. Stated briefly, it asserts that the visible universe is a giant hologram ( or illusion ) just like the three dimensional images
used for communication purposes in sci-fi movies such as Star Trek and Star Wars. The Holographic Model was inspired by the study of the memory function of the brain by Pribram. Based on numerous experimental results, he discovered that memory is not localized in any specific part of the human brain. In the case of brain damage suffered by human patients, the victim very often recovered certain neural abilities originally identified with the damaged part ot the brain. It was as if the other parts of the brain can adapt themselves to take over the functions formerly carried out by the damaged portion. In case of experiments carried out on rats which can still see after losing 90% of its brain cortex supposedly relating to vision, it was found that the remaining 10% can still carry out the basic neural function relating to vision. As regards damages to the human brain, the removal of a large portion of the patient's brain does cause hazy memory but never a specific part of the patient's memory showing that memory is not confined to or stored in any specific sections of the brain. This strange phenomenon is a puzzle that has
69
troubled Pribram for some twenty years from the 1940s to the1960s. Then , he had a bright idea based on the nature of a hologram. Pribram found that there are many similarities between the characteristics of a hologram and the memory function of our brain.
A hologram is created by one beam of laser which is split into two separate components. Laser is the most condensed form of light and the purest. Therefore, it can produce images as clear and as vivid as the actual object itself. The first component beam is shone on the object to be photographed and the second component of the same beam is allowed to merge with the reflected light of the first and the resultant interference image is recorded on a photographic medium such as film. Under normal vision the interference image is just a blurred figure but when another laser beam is projected onto this interference image a vivid three-dimensional image of the original
object is clearly visible. This image is a hologram of the original object. Apart from the vivid and three-dimensional qualities of a hologram,
there are many more miraculous characteristics in the principle of Holography or the techniques of creating holograms. One such special quality is what we call the whole in the parts. Like a piece of mirror, if a piece of holographic medium such as a slide of film is broken into small pieces, each small piece will still contain all the information necessary for recreating the whole image of the original object captured on that film, albeit on a smaller scale. This applies to all small pieces of the film without any exception. Thus, a hologram has enormous storage capacity for information. The most exciting feature of this quality is that Stephen Hawking and his team has recently discovered that the degree of entropy or disorder ( scrambled information ) of a black hole is proportional to the area of its event horizon. Common sense seems to indicate that the storage capacity of any container should be related to its volume instead of its surface area. This is obviously not true with regards to information. This is sometimes referred to as the Holographic Principle in relation to the storage of information. It has very significant implications on our understanding of the visible universe because physical stars greater than 2 times the sun's mass will end their lives as black holes. Stephen Hawking's discovery seems to indicate that black holes possess the characteristics of a hologram. Can there be any connection between the conversion of mass into energy and the creation of information ( or negative information or disorder ) ? If the degree of entropy in black holes is proportional to the area of the event horizon, does this imply that this universe possesses the characteristics of a hologram as well ? That the whole universe is, in fact, an image or illusion projected from a much deeper reality ?
Then, there is the quality of the enfolded ( hidden ) order. On the surface and under normal light, a hologram appears as some interference pattern but under another laser beam, the vivid image of the hidden object emerges. This is similar to order in chaos ( the interference image ). The Nobel Prize laureate, Ilya Prigogine who is a chemist discovered that certain chemical processes can be self-perpetuating from chaotic states to ordered states in defiance of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. He called such systems “dissipative structures” and won the Nobel prize for revealing their working secrets. However, the origins of dissipative structures remains a deep mystery. It is believed that solving this puzzle may lead to the key for unraveling the secret of the origin of life. At this stage, Prigogine speculates that such structures may have originated from a hidden order at a higher level of existence or reality. The view is very close to the the Hidden Variables Interpretation of Quantum Theory by Einstein and his camp. Being true to his mentor's philosophy, David Bohm has also been perfecting the Hidden Variables Theory. His interest in the global interconnectedness of the physical world has let him to join force with Pribram to develop the Holographic Model of the universe. If they can prove that the universe is actually an image projected from some inner or higher order of things under the Holographic Principle, then Einstein would be completely vindicated.
By 1980, Bohm had fully developed his notion of a Holographic Model of the universe and he presented his complete theory in his book called “ Wholeness and the implicate Order”. He called this deeper level of reality the implicate, hidden or enfolded order and our own physical level of existence the explicit or unfolded order. In brief, he claimed that our explicit or unfolded order is actually the holographic image projected from the implicit or enfolded order through the working of the Holographic Principle. He is of the
70
opinion that our own physical world and all phenomena exhibited in it are the results of the unfolding and enfolding of these two levels of realities and their interactions with our human consciousness.
Under this interpretation of reality, the popping in and out of existence by elementary particles such as electrons and positrons ( the anti-particle of the electron ) pairs is viewed as the unfolding of the deeper reality ( in the case of electrons appearing ) and the enfolding of our reality back into the intricate order ( in the case of positrons annilhilating with electrons ). Complimentarity where light behaves both as particles and waves is also understood in terms of the folding and unfolding of the implicate and explicit order. This interpretation also explains the existence of matter and anti-matter which is the implicate order of things in our own physical reality. On top of all these, Bohm's theory also seems to imply that both levels of existence have always co-existed in the forms of various force fields permeating space and all dimensions from time immemorial ( a vague reference to the Steady State Theory ? ). It is the unfolding and enfolding of these different levels of realities that give rise to all the physical phenomena that our consciousness can experience. The Big Bang would be considered as the unfolding of the implicate order and the beginning of our own physical level of reality but not of all levels of realities.
The most striking of Bohm's assertions is the WHOLENESS of existence which is philosopically and intellectually profound. His Holographic Model of the universe is asserting that there is a continuum connecting everything and everyone. As far as the working of each and every aspect of the universe is concerned, everything and everyone is not only made of the same thing ( namely, stardust ) but they are, in fact, the SAME THING or manifestations of the same thing from a deeper level, the implicate order. There is the intricate network that connects everything to everything else. This is the prime reason for NON-LOCALITY which is the crowning mystery in Quantum Theory. We are again reminded of the grand concept of “ Only Connect ! “. Exactly how the folding and unfolding of the intricate and explicit orders take place is still a matter for conjecture. However, suffice it to say at this stage of Bohm's theory that it is the first time in the arena of scientific research that a serious proposition is put forward to link the human consciousness to the occurrence of physical phenomena since the role of consciousness was first implicated in the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Theory.
Evidence for a Holographic Universe
As mentioned above, Non-Locality as proven by Bell's Inequality in theory and Alan Aspect in actual experimentation is indicative of a deeper reality or an implicate order. Just as in the case of set patterns exhibited by island chains in oceans which are all interconnected below the waves, the fact that non-locality exists points to a
very high probability that a deeper reality is present. Secondly, the possibility of the existence of the implicate order is
also favourably supported by Ilya Prigogine's theory of Dissipative Systems or Order in Chaos. Greater details will be described later in the chapter on Chaos. At this point, perhaps an actual example would illustrate the meaning and working of the Implicate or Enfolded Order. The reader may have come across a game or scientific display in many science museum worldwide. A cylindrical jar with a handle for turning is filled with glycerine and a few drops of black ink is put in the same jar. Upon turning the jar in one direction, the ink seems to disappear as it mixes up with the glycerine but when you reverse the direction of the turn the ink reappears. This is the actual operation of the enfolding ( hidding ) and unfolding ( reappearing ) of the Intricate Order. At the first turning, Chaos ensue as the ink mixes with the glycerine while Order unfolds on the reverse turn. Many phenomena in this world work in a similar manner. Therefore, never be discouraged when you are faced with any complex problem. It can most likely be solved if you deal with it in the proper sequence. Order in Chaos and Chaos in Order seem to be inherent in Nature and we shoud take note of this law of nature.
71
Thirdly, from Pribam's case studies over a period of a few decades in psychological and psychiatric patients many mental phenomena seem to suggest that the human brain displays many characteristics of a Hologram. The most noticeable ones include Lucid Dreams ( LD ), Out-of-Body-Experiences ( OBE ), Near Death Experiences ( NDE ), Multiple Personalities Disorder ( MPD ), Extra-Sensory Perception ( ESP ) and Reincarnation Claims ( RC ). We shall briefly examine each in turn. While we venture into the mystical, I must remind the reader of the words of caution I put forward in the preface of this book. The areas into which we are advancing are most interesting but the facts may not be totally conclusive by themselves. Before further definite research results are forthcoming, we should treat the inferences from these facts as scientific speculations only. Personally, however, I tend to accept them as very favourable circumstantial
evidence in support of Bohm's Holographic Universe Theory. Going back to the various relevant mental phenomena, Lucid Dreams
( LD ) are dreams in which the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming. The details can be so vivid and clear that the dreamer can remember every detail and sensations experienced in a LD. The strangest of all is that some LD dreamer can be trained to have LD or to continue a particular LD after the dreamer has been awakened in the middle of one. Pribram is of the opinion that such dreams bear some similarities to the characteristics of a hologram. The hologram can generate a virtual image ( an optical illusion like a mirror ) behind the holographic film or medium as well as a real image resulting from the interaction of two laser light beams in front of the medium. We do not usually take notice of the real image because it is invisible most of the time unless some smoke or dust is present in the position occupied by the real image. Normal dreams are made up of virtual images of the hologram while LD is composed of real images from the hologram generated by our brain. As LD is composed of real images it is particularly vivid.
Out-of-Body Experience ( OBE ) refers to the subject encountering a mental situation of himself or herself being able to observe their physical self as an objective observer. Examples of OBE include patients undergoing surgery under general anaesthetics being able to describe the surgical procedures in exact details after waking up from the operation as if looking down on himself from above. The Holographic Theory attributes such ability to the patients' brains being able to project the consciousness hologram to the vantage point above the operation table and to observe the physical self
which is also the holographic image created by the brain. During Near Death Experiences ( NDE ), subjects invariably
report seeing bright lights shining at the far end of some sort of tunnel and the feeling of peace and tranquility. Other reported details which bear close resemblance to a hologram include the ultra fast rewinding of the subjects' whole life in reverse motion but having real feelings of each and every important moments of their lives in quick reverse succession. The reader will recall that one special quality of the hologram in relation to the storage of information is the hologram's ability to recreate the whole image from even a very small piece of a holographic film like shattered pieces of a mirror. This indicates that the human brain may possess holographic abilities. Only during NDE can any person experience such a long sequence of events in a ultra quick but orderly fashion within a few moments. Considering that brain waves are the results of elementary particles such as electrons moving at the speed of light and the fact that memory cells are also composed of timeless elementary particles, such atemporal sensations in NDE are entirely probable.
Based on actual case studies by Pribram and other practising psychiatrists, mental patients suffering from Multiple Personalities Disorder ( MPD ) very often display physical reactions which defy all known laws of physics. For example, the subject patient who is normally allergic to a certain substance in his normal frame of mind may be immune to the same substance when he assumes a different personality. If a bee sting can kill him in his nomal mental state, there are officially recorded cases where the patients are known to be immune to the same bee sting in a different personality. There are even cases of MPD patients involving more than thirty different personalities which carry with them all the different biological reactions to the same substance that the normal personality is allergic to. Under Bohm's Holographic Principle of the universe MPD has the characteriistics of a hologram insofar as the compact storage capacity of the brain is concerned. Different personalities together with all their complex qualities and abilities can
72
be entirely stored in our hologram brain. Extra-Sensory Perception ( ESP ) is the ability to know things that are not
supposed to be detectable by the ordinary human senses. This may include foretelling the future correctly or mind reading. Sometimes ESP is the demonstrated in TV shows in mind reading across huge distances such as instantly reading what is drawn in a hidden piece of paper by a guest in a TV studio in New York by a psychic in London. The holographic view on such extraordinary ability is that the psychic is able to connect the explicit and implicit order and the person with ESP ability can some how apply the brain's holographic power of atemporal projection to locate and access information unavailable to the ordinary human senses in the normal physical or unfolded reality.
Very often we have heard about claims of reincarnation and stories from a previous life. Such Reincarnation Claims ( RC ) are sometimes very mind-boggling. There are cases where it is absolutely impossible for the claimant to know the facts in the story of that alleged previous life which are subsequently proven to be accurate. There was the case of a young Indian girl that lives in the Kashmir Region in northern India who claims that she had led a former life in California, USA. She has never been out of her native province but can describe in great detail the small Californian town she has alleged to have led her former life. The details of a small post office in the town that existed in the 1890s were accurately given by the young Indian girl. The post office no longer exists. Such details are unknown even to the current residents in that Californian town but nevertheless the details have been confirmed to be accurate from drawings found in the local museum. It is really remarkable. This case is but one of numerous documented RC cases which are now being investigated in earnest by qualified professional scientific researchers. According to the Holographic Theory, the human consciousness survives far beyond the explicit order that is our physical level of existence. Such ideas are reminiscent of both Buddhist and Hindu philosophy !
Apart from the above remarkable mental phenomena, one additional psychic ability that is often cited as one of the possible causes of some reported miracles which were witnessed by so many people that the facts could not be ignored. But scientists generally brushed the claims off by assuming that such unnatural events were mass hysteria and stopped at that. Most of them simply did not have the courage to investigate further for fear of being ridiculed by their peers. This very strange and powerful psychic ability is known as Psychokinesis (or PK ). Many documented cases of stigmata where the sufferers showed the same bleeding wounds as Jesus Christ after the crucifixtion have proven to have defied the laws of nature. In particular, the direction of the flow of the blood from the sufferers' wounds always remains to be away from the genuine wounds regardless of whether or not the sufferers' body positions are upright or inverted. This is a complete defiance of the laws of gravity. Such psychic ability of the sufferers is called PK by psychologists and psychiartrists of paranormal psychology. It was David Bohm's hypothesis that PK is the result of the special ability of the human subject based on the wave/particle duality of brain waves. When the related brain impulses which are a form of electromagnetic wave are particlelike, our consciousness would appear to be localized in our brain, but in its wavelike nature, our consciousness could produce remote or distant effects like a radio wave propagating meaningful signals. Bohm conjectured that one of these remote influences is PK. Despite the deliberate rejection of such hypothesis by the conventional or conservative scientists, some serious and respected researchers like Robert G. Jahn, a professor of aerospace sciences and dean emeritus of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University was courageous enough to have founded the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) laboratory in 1979 to investigate such powerful psychic ability. Hopefully, more respected scientists would follow his footsteps to provide reliable experimental data as the basis of further research into this fascinating and mysterious aspect of our brain and consciousness. The huge potential impact of such research on our understanding of reality and our own consciousness cannot be ruled out.
Quantum Eccentricity
73
Getting acquainted with Quantum Theory is like a journey through fantasy land in Disneyworld. The trip to this miraculous microcosm of our universe has to be an eye opener. It makes one look at our reality in a different light. It begs questions such as :-” Is there actually an objective reality ? Are physical objects really there when we are not observing them ? Is there a deeper reality or an intricate order and a higher level of existence as proposed by David Bohm ? Do many worlds really run parallel to each other with us living different lives in each one of them ( Many Worlds Interpretation of Everett ) ?
Are there actually 10 dimensions in this world as alleged by Strings and M-Theory ? “ Recapitulating the whole theory, we have first learnt about various models of the atom made up of different elementary particles and ventured deeper into the atomic nucleus and individual elementary particles which are composed of even smaller entities called quarks that cannot exist individually. This is the realm of Particle Physics. Then, we have ventured further into even more bizzare territory of the world of Strings, Branes, Spinors and Twisters as alternative building blocks of matter, space and even time. Strings are supposed to exist in 10 dimensions. We have also seen how the road to the Grand Unification of all the four forces of nature and the Theory of Everything will involve the co-
operations between Quantum Theory and General Relativity. Along the way, we have learnt of the strange behaviour of elementary
particles such as electrons and photons in the Uncertainty Principle and Complimentarity. They only materialize as particles and localize in one spot when we observe them. Most remarkably, they assume a Superposition ( can be anywhere ) when unobserved. This can lead to absurd propositions such as Schrodinger's theoretically half dead and half live cat. On the practical front, we have also encountered some quantum magic such as Non- Locality in Einstein's EPR Paradox, Bell's Inequality and Alain Aspect's Experiment which has definitively proven the existence of Non-Locality in actual laboratory experiments. The workings of Non-Locality is prominently exhibited in the inextricable relationships between elementary particles which have once been involved in interactions with one another. They instantaneously know the existing states of one another even over vast distances in space and time which are seemingly not in casual contact with each other in apparent defiance of the rules of Einstein's Relativity. Non-Locality ultimately leads us to more mystical concepts of David Bohm's folding and unfolding of the explicit and intricate orders and the hidden connections at a higher level of reality. Finally, Bohm's hypothetical Holographic Theory of the universe has led us right into the realm of scientific speculation. Such magic as we have come to learn is beyond space and time when quantum rules still work even as we observe billions of years old light from galaxies across almost the entire visible universe.
Apart from these practical magic, the most profound influence of Quantum Theory is the philosophical issues it forces us to confront. The role of human consciousness is brought right up to the forefront of the world stage. The theory invariably leads us to a radically different world view of uncertainty and interactions between the subjective human consciousness and the objective physical world of atoms and matter. This revolutionary world view is in stark contrast to the determinism that has ruled the scientific community for the past 300 years since Sir Issac Newton. Nothing can be 100% certain anymore. On the surface, it sounds like a pessimistic note but on the brighter side Quantum Theory also predicts that even the seemingly impossible thing can happen. That is why people do win their lottories though sparingly. Furthermore, the important role played by human consciousness in the creation of physical reality ( by causing a collapse in the wave functions of elementary particles to force them to make up their mind as to where they stand and to appear or localize in one spot ) clearly points to the influence we have over our future destiny. All is not lost so to speak ! So important is the role of the Uncertainty Principle that it has been theoretically argued that the enormous amount of energy made available for the great Inflation stage of our universe during the first billionth of a second of the Big Bang was made possible by borrowed energy from the so called quantum foam permeating the various quantum energy fields. Such borrowed energy had subsequently reverted back to the energy fields in a split second so that the inflation process ceased to operate and the Big Bang resumed its normal rate of expansion. The shorter the duration of the borrowing and repayment process the greater the amount of
74
borrowed energy could be made available because of the lack of absolute certainty for the values of velocity and position of the energy carrying elementary particles involved in the borrowing process. Almost any amount of positive energy created by mass can be theoretically borrowed if it is for a very short duration of time and swiftly balanced by an equal amount of negative energy created by empty space which is actually full of anti- matters and, therefore, swimming with almost infinite amount of anti-particles to square out the borrowed amount of energy.
Personally, I view the world rather differently now that I have come to learn of the essence of Quantum Theory. On the one hand, I exercise caution at every step taken in life because nothing is 100% certain by nature. On the other, I am more optimistic about any sensible venture I propose to undertake because I realize that human consciousness and, hence, will power and determination can and will influence the course of my own destiny. This is the mind over matter concept on which the Principle of the Holographic Universe is based. The bottom line is that I may still succeed in other lives despite any possible failure in the existing one ( in which I am writing this book ) according to the Many Worlds Interpretation of Hugh Everett ( some consolation or Mr. Q's attitude as we Chinese would call it ! Mr. Q being a fictional character in Chinese literature renowned for his optimistic humour ). Continuing on a mystical note, if David Bohm is correct on the existence of the intricate order and the survival of the human consciousness beyond this physical world that is the explicit reality, then I may even have a second go at life through reincarnation ! Just imagine this. Elementary particles are so unbounded by space and time that it is conceivable that the human consciousness whose working is manifested through our neural functions can survive in a similar manner. All information and impulses processed in the human brain are in the form of electrons exchanges in the biological tissues which are likewise composed of elementary particles. I would not be surprised to find that numerous cases of Reicarnation Claims exist. These may be past memories of some former consciousness. You will recall from the previous paragraphs that once elementary particles have interacted with one another they are bonded together for all eternity. Therefore, even cases of telepathy being reported once in a while between people with close personal relationships such as twins or husband and wife pairs do not surprise me. If we take into account the fact that all elementary particles have originated from the stars' nuclear furnace and all stars must have gone in and out of existence numerous times over through the cosmic recycling process, then all things whether dead or alive must contain elementary particles that were once involved in some sort of interaction with one another in past aeons. Based on this fact, I do not find David Bohm's theory on the intricate order at all farfetched.
However, there are also many scientists who are of the opinion that this mysterious connection between two interacted elementary particles may be lost upon subsequent interactions with other paricles. Brian Green in his brilliant new book entitled “The Fabrics of the Cosmos” wrote:- “ Some people have interpreted this as telling us that 'everything is connected to everything else' or that 'quantum mechanics entangles us all in one universal whole.'.....While I like the sentiment, such talk is loose and overstated. The quantum connections between the two photons emerging from the calcium atom are there, certainly, but they are extremely delicate.....should they be jolted by stray particles.....the quantum connection between the photons will become monumentally more difficult to identify.....And as these particles go their ways, bumping and jolting yet other particles, the quantum entanglement would become so spread out through these interactions with the environment that it become virtually impossible to detect. For all intent and purposes, the original entanglement between the photons would have been erased.” I do not totally agree with this view because of the timeless nature of the elementary particles. It is certainly true that the original connection may be overlaid by imprints of further interactions with additional particles in the environment but the footprints must still be there somewhere like our memory. If we human beings who are bounded by time can remember very distant events in our lives it is not at all surprising that elementary particles can also “ remember “ their past which is also their present and future as well by
virtue of their timeless nature. On the broader front, I feel that Quantum Theory has forced the
scientific community to face the question of the nature of consciousness which is
75
traditionally a philosophical rather than scientific issue. Quantum Theory together with the advance in artificial intellegence made possible by rapidly developing computer technology have rendered this confrontation or, better still, co-operation between science and philosophy inevitable. Hopefully, before the first decade of the Twenty-First Century is through some cogent scientific data may be available to throw some revealing light on the true nature of human consciousness that will prove or disprove Bohm's theory on the Holographic Universe.
While consciousness implies the existence of the observer, the object of the observation represents the reality. Both sides of the fence have been profoundly affected by the implications of Quantum Theory. We are forced to accept the fact that at the subatomic level the classical reality as described by classical or Newtonian mechanics as consisting of things or solid objects dissolves into waves of probabilities accessible only through Schrodinger's wave functions which are only sets of mathematical equations. More importantly, these probabilities are not things but continuously changing and illusive processes. This mind boggling situation leads us to ask such questions as :- “ Is the Reality real ? “ or simply, “ Is there a Reality if we are not observing it ? “ It forces us to the inevitable conclusion that what we call Reality is not made up of things but Interconnections. Once again, the concept of Connections reigns supreme ! This should not surprise us because there are ample tell-tale signs all over the place. If we look at a movie or a story, single frames or isolated episodes of images do no make any sense to us. It is only through the “ proper “ sequence of images that the theme of the movie or story reveals itself to the observer. The important lesson to be learned from Quantum Theory in this respect is to enjoy the process of living and, for that matter, any new and positive experience. Life is very often compared to a journey. When we embark on a holiday trip it is the intervening experience that is most enjoyable. The starting point and the final destination viewed in isolation do not mean much. Similarly, what is worth living for in life is the process of living. Everyone's starting and ending points in life which are traditionally treated with the greatest of human emotions are merely isolated stops in the great cycle of life among a even greater cycle of our marvelous Mother Nature.
Before we leave the fascinating subject of Quantum Theory , I would like to present my own eccentric idea on Non-Locality which is one of the most important and mysterious aspects of the theory. I have this crazy idea about the phenomenon. I think it can be compatible with Relativity if this effect is the manifestation of the workings at a deeper level set at some higher dimensions. Bohm's Holographic Theory of the universe suggests that the unfolding of the intricate order may work like the projection of a hologram image from this higher reality. As there is ample evidence to suggest that these higher dimensions are most likely to be curled up, the spatial scale in these higher dimensions could likewise be compressed. Therefore, a given distance travelled by the holographic image in these compressed dimensions could be magnified to a greater scale in spatial distance in our normal three dimensional space. This would make the effect appear to be moving faster than the speed of light. If Non-Locality is, in fact, the result of the operation of such a holographic principle, then its compatibility with Relativity could be assured. Now, let us proceed to the other great scientific theory of the Twentieth Century- Albert Einstein's Special and General Relativity.
Chapter ( iv ) - Einstein 's Relativity
( A ) The Theory
Quantum Theory and Relativity have been hailed as the two great scientific theories of the Twentieth Century. We have visited the first one and I hope the reader is as intrigued by it as I am. Now, let us see what is in store for us in the even better
known theory by Einstein that has brought us the most famous of all equations:- E= mc2.
76
Most people have heard about Relativity and must have come across the famous equation that has materialized in the atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project which ended the Second World War on that fateful day of 6th August, 1945 over Hiroshima, Japan. However, the theory itself has been shrouded in great mystery because it is generally taken as incomprehensible to anyone who is less than a genius like the theory's creator himself. In fact, Einstein wrote in his book “ Relativity the Special and the General Theory “ of 1916 that his reasoning can be understood by anyone with
matriculation standards in mathematics. Let us see how.
Special Relativity
Einstein first worked on his Theory of Relativity in earnest when he was empolyed by the Swiss Patent Office. Even when he was a young boy, he already had a very inquesitive mind. He used to ask himself seemingly silly questions such as what would happen if he speeded along side a beam of light. Would he ever catch up with it ? Ordinary people would consider such questions meaningless and bordering on idiocy. However, this is how the mind of a genius works. If everyone only asks questions that agree with common sense there will be no breakthroughs to the existing intellectual paradigm ever. Remember common sense is only applicable to common situations. Even in more practical business situations like investing in stocks and shares, if you only buy when everybody does so ( when the prices are rising ) you will not make much of a profit. Only when you have the foresight and courage to buy against the tide when the prices are at their lowest point that you can make a hefty gain. This is the pioneering and
adventurous spirit that will lead to innovation both technically and intellectually. Special Relativity deals with high speed travel, a space-time continuum and the equivalence of energy and mass ( matter ). It's most revolutionary and controversial concepts are the space-time continuum claim and the abolition of a universal standard for time. Einstein had successfully proved that there is no such thing as an independent entity of time. Rather, time is inseparable from space or is the extension of the space concept. As I have mentioned previously, you can say you live 10 km east of the city centre or you can say 10 minutes' drive east of the city centre at 60 km per hour. Time is part and parcel of space. This is a simple enough example. As regards the abolition of a universal standard for time, it takes a little bit more intellectual insight but a tangible example may help. The essence of this claim is that each independent observer has his or her own subjective and different measure or standard for time depending on the observer's frame of reference. Everyone has one's own clock which will not agree with one another so to speak and all of the clocks tell the correct time to each and every moving observer. That is why Einstein's Theory of Relativity has been called the most democratic
of all scientific theories ! Returning to our example, take two different observers. The first one we
called A is travelling in a railway carriage along a railway line. Another observer we called B is standing 50 metres at right angles to the railway line on the south side of the line. The train is moving at the speed of 100 km per hour towards the east at night time. Now, A is asked to stand at the back end of the carriage and shine an electric torch towards the front end of the carriage. To A, the light from the torch has to travel double the length of the carriage of say, 30 metres to be reflected back to him. On the other hand, to B who is standing at the south side of the railway line, he saw the beam of like travel 30 metres plus the distance travelled by the moving train during that split second of the time taken by the light beam to be reflected back to A. Now comes the most crucial part of the theory. Einstein proposed that the laws of nature should be the same for all freely moving observers ( otherwise these could not be called laws of nature if they vary from place to place or at different frames of reference ). Based on this important postulate, Einstein had inferred that the velocity of light is constant to all observers and in all directions regardless of the speed at which the individual observers are moving ( also regardless of the directions of their movements ). This fact has subsequently been proven numerous times
77
in practical experiments carried out by independent scientists. Since the velocity of light is constant to all observers regardless of the speed and direction at which they are moving ( or stationary as the case may be ), the time according to their individual clocks must be different because of the differences in the distances travelled by the same beam of light as observed by A and B from their different vantage points. There you have it ! This is the crux of the whole theory of Special Relativity. Time is different for each person depending on one's frame of reference ( unless they are both at rest relative to each other in which case they are within the same frame of reference ) and, most important of all, everyone is equally correct and valid from one's own point of view. There is no such thing as absolute motion or rest. Only relative motion is important. That is why we have different time zones in this world precisely because we are located at different parts of the planet earth ( different vantage points with regard to the sun which is the main reference for our clocks ). While it is midnight in Greenwich, England, it will be 9.00a.m. in Tokyo, Japan. It is this lack of universality in the standard of time that got most people worried at the time when Einstein proposed his Theory of Special Relativity in 1905 and the general reluctance to accept his revolutionary concept of time. The general population was then very much afraid that this lack of objective and determinate standards might lead to general moral laxity which would rock the whole foundation of an orderly society. So much so that Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921 only for his contribution to theoretical physics in his paper on the“Photoelectric Effect“ which proves that light consists of particles. This was also his contribution to Quantum Theory by proving that the photon is the quanta of light. Thus, the reader can see that any revolutionary scientific theory could have ramifications though erroneously in this instant on the prevailing social philosophy bearing in mind that Classical or Newtonian determinism still ruled the scientific community in the early Twentieth Century.
While we are still on the topic of motion, we may as well be aware that we can only detect acceleration but not constant motion. Just imagine this. Our earth has a circumference of about 24000 km around the equator and it only takes 24 hours for the earth to make one complete revolution. Therefore, the earth actually spins at a constant speed of 1000km per hour around the equator which is faster than the speed of sound. Do people living along the equator feel this fast speed ? They don't or they will have motion sickness. When you are flying at twice the speed of sound in the Concord Supersonic Jetliner you don't feel it either. However, the slightest accerleration such as on take-off and deceleration on landing will cause uncomfortable feelings in your stomach. This is caused by our mass dragging along the sea of energy fields permeating space trying to get to a higher speed. Once a constant speed is reached through the injection of additional energy, we will be moving smoothly again in the same energy fields and comfortably but at a higher but constant speed.
I have mentioned above that Special Relativity deals with high speed travel. The difference in the personal standards for time does not matter very much when we are moving at normal everyday speeds. The effects of Special Relativity will become tremendous once the speed of the observer reaches say beyond 0.1 % the velocity of light ( 300 km per second ). If you remember the escape velocity of space rockets of only 7.6 km per second ( which is almost the current top speed limit that is achievable by man- made objects on planet earth ) when ascending into their orbits around the earth, you will realize the reason why we are not aware of the effects of Relativity most of the time. On the other hand, as space probes venture into deep space where gravitational pull from other heavenly bodies is much less higher speeds are possible and the effects of Relativity will be felt. Closer to earth in our atmosphere, the manifestations of the effects of Relativity can be seen in the prolonged life span of elementary particles produced by cosmic rays that hit the earth's atmosphere. Normally, these particles only exist for a few billionth of a second in the cloud chambers of accelerators that observe their life history but as they move at close to the velocity of light as they interact with our atmosphere upon entry by the cosmic rays that produce them, their life spans are extended sometimes to a few seconds from our point of view. For them, they have still existed for just a few billionth of a second according to their own time scale and near-to-light speed. However, as time is compressed or slowed down with increasing speed under the theory of Special Relativity these elementary particles seem to exist for longer periods of time from our human low
78
speed vantage point.
The reason why nothing can attain the speed of light is that light itself is massless. To speed up an object with any mass, energy is required. As an object increases its speed its mass also increases on account of extra energy being put into it. This is the Principle of Equivalence of Mass and Energy ( E=mc2 ) which is another conclusion of Special Relativity. Therefore, it will require an infinite amount of energy to speed up anything with any amount of mass to the velocity of light making it impossible to do so.
Strange as all these may sound to the lay person, such incredible phenomenon can be explained in terms of the contraction of space ( which is the other component of the space-time continuum ) together with any physical object in such space as the object moves through it at speed. In fact, this idea of contraction of a moving body as it is travelling at speed was first suggested by the Dutch scientist Hendrik Lorentz some time before Einstein published his theory of Special Relativity. The faster the body moves the greater the rate of contraction.This idea of contracting space under speed should not surprise you if you think of space and time as a single entity called space-time as discovered by Einstein.
Brian Green expressed this concept very vividly and in a comprehensible manner in his recent book “ The Fabric of the Cosmos “. He wrote thus:-” In fact, THE revolutionary discovery of special relativity is this: When you look at something like a parked car, which from your viewpoint is stationary- not moving through space, that is- all of its motion is through time. The car, its driver, the street, you, your clothes are all moving through time in perfect synch: second followed by second, ticking away uniformly. But if the car speeds away, some of its motion is DIVERTED into motion through space. ......the speed of the car through time slows down when it diverts some of its motion through space. This means that the car's progress through time slows down and therefore time elapses more slowly for the moving car and its driver than it elapses for you and everything else that remains stationary. That in a nutshell, is special relativity. “
There are further wonderful insights by Brian Green into the Theory of Relativity that are worthy of our attention. Put it in another way, Einstein had discovered that the total velocity of ANY object's motion through space and motion through time is always equal to the velocity of light. This is the new law of motion under Special Relativity. This sounds illogical but it is true because we have been under the mistaken impression that nothing can attain the speed of light in the COMBINED motion through space-time as a continuum. In terms of motion in space, it is true that nothing can catch up with light but when time-space is taken together this new law of motion holds true. In other words, some of the light-speed motion of an object is diverted to motion through space. Motion through space and motion through time is another pair of complimentary entities in nature as discovered by Einstein. Their total is always equal to the speed of light which is another very important constant of nature. This constant applies to everything in this world but light is unique in that it is massless and it can, therefore, live its life in the fast lane and it always attains the maximum velocity of 300,000 km per second leaving its motion through time to be zero. It will not move through time at all ! Light is, therefore, truly timeless and will never grow old because time stops when this velocity is reached. That is another way of explaining why nothing can attain the velocity of light as any object must have mass and must necessarily occupy space so that it must have a minimum effect on space through its very existence. Therefore, anything with the slightest of mass can never convert all its motion in space into motion in time thus making it impossible to attain the velocity of light. This is the significance of Einstein's revolutionary concept of an inseparable space-time continuum as opposed to the traditional idea of having two seprarate and independent entities of space and time. The crucial Connection or Bridging entity between Einstein's space-time continuum is the constant velocity of light. Thus, we have successfully summed up the miraculous relationship between the space-time continuum and light the nature of which is still shrouded in great mystery in terms of its behaviour.
I hope that the reader can now appreciate the impact Einstein's revolutionary space-time continuum concept on our perceived reality that is this physical world. Because of this new concept we can no longer assume that all physical objects are solid and totally tangible. Instead, both space-time and all physical objects in it are, in a
79
sense, elastic and may vary in length depending on the speed of its motion through space and time. On account of the motions of an object partly through space and partly through time and always making a constant total of the velocity of light as explained above all moving observers must necessarily have their personal and subjective standard for time. This is because for observers moving at different speed their amount of motion through time will be different due to their amount of motion through space being different ( remembering the two different forms of motions must add up to the velocity of light which is a universal constant).Therefore, there is no longer a universally applicable time for all moving observers!
Apart from the abolition of absolute time, Einstein's Relativity also does away with absolute rest. Before his time, scientists assumed that there was a mysterious and imaginery substance with unknown characteristics called ETHER permeating all of space which acted as an objective measure for absolute rest because the ether was assumed to be always at rest. All light waves propagate through this ether as their medium against which motion and rest can be gauged. In other words, everything moves relative to the ether so that there is an absolute and universal standard to measure motion and rest. Based on this unproven theory, one would expect that light should move at a fixed speed through the ether. If one moves in the same direction as the light through the ether, its speed should appear to be lower than when one moves against the light from the opposite direction. In 1887, American scientists Albert Michaelson and Edward Morley carried out a series of very accurate experiments. They compared the velocities of two beams of light at right angles to each other. As the earth rotated and orbited the sun, their experimental apparatus was dragged along by the earth through the supposedly present ether at different speeds and directions.To everyone's surprise, they had found no daily or yearly differences in speed between the two beams of light thus proving that the velocity of light was constant regardless of the speed and direction of the moving apparatus. In 1905, Einstein proposed that if we could not detect whether or not we were moving through space such as in the above experiments the idea of the ether would be redundant and should be scrapped altogether. This effectively abolished the idea of absolute rest as Einstein had abolished absolute time by virtue of Special Relativity because without the ether there would be nothing or no objective yardstick to measure absolute rest and motion. Only relative motion is important. You can equally say that Newton's apple fell towards the earth or the earth moving towards the apple, albeit for some negligible distance according to the laws of gravity. Instead, he theorized that regardless of the speed of all moving observers,the velocity of light had to be constant to them. The velocity of light is independent of the motions of any observer and the same in all directions which you have already seen from the above is the fundamental connection between space and time. This is really one of the greatest insights of Einstein in his Theory of Special
Relativity !
Another very important relationship discovered by Einstein in Relativity is the equivalence of energy and mass. This is why Einstein once called mass frozen energy. The connection between these two entities is summed up in his enormously famous equation :- E=mc2 which is the only equation in physics that has commanded a worldwide audience and recognition at the street level. This equation implies that to attain the speed of light which has zero mass the left side of the equation would become infinity. On the other hand, we can use a very small amount of mass to produce a tremendous amount of energy as c on the right hand side of the equation is the speed of light which is 300,000 km per second. In practice, the huge amount of energy can only be produced during the nuclear fission process of some radio active elements such as uranium and plutonium. This happens in chain reactions set up by the induced disintegration of the uranium nucleus into two nuclei with slightly lower mass. This can lead to the release of huge amount of hidden nuclear energy. The neutrons in these unstable elements will degenerate into positively charged protons thus releasing a lot of hidden nuclear energy when the negatively charged electrons captured within the neutron's nucleus are set free. The splitting nucleui will ultimately induce the fission of other uranium atoms in their vicinity to create an almost unstoppable chain reaction that ends in a deadly nuclear explosion that mimic the Big Bang. While we denounce the use of the nuclear bomb in wars, we must also admit that the peaceful use of nuclear power has provided us with an
80
acceptable alternative for fossil fuel which has such devastating effects on the environment. It is just a question of proper and controlled application of this new and theoretically endless energy source.
There is one more important conclusion from Special Relativity and that is time runs slower for an observer as the speed of his motion becomes higher ( the same phenomenon is seen in the case of a stronger gravitational field as predicted in General Relativity ). This can be explained in terms of more motion in space being translated into less motion in time in order to comply with the requirement ( as explained above ) that the total speed of a body moving in the space-time continuum must be constant at the velocity of light. In 1971 two American scientists Hafele and Keating, carried four atomic caesium clocks on a commercial jet liner around the world in two eastbound and westbound flights respectively and proved that the eastbound clocks lost 59 nanoseconds ( billionths of a second ) while the westbound clocks gained 273 nanoseconds which was very close to the predictions of Relativity. The speed of the the earth's rotation towards the east is added to the speed of the eastbound flight resulting in the slowing down of time for a faster moving object as predicted by Einstein's theory.
General Relativity
The revolutionary Theory of Special Relativity seemed to work well and in harmony with most scientific theories discovered up to 1905 with the exception of Newton's theory of gravity. The main point of contention between Newton and Einstein's theories is that while Newton's theory of gravity predicted instantaneous effects for the gravitational force Einstein's Relativity restricted the speed of any force or influence to the velocity of light. The practical consequences of such different predictions are enormous. Take for example, if the sun were to cease to exist at this moment as a result of exhausting all its nuclear fuel, all the planets in the solar system including earth would be immediately thrown out of their orbits according to Newton's theory. On the other hand, Einstein's theory would predict that the effects of the sun's destruction would not be felt by the earth for seven minutes which would be the time taken by light to reach the earth from the sun. The objection to Newton's theory from Einstein's Relativity was two fold. Firstly, the instant effects predicted by Newton's theory meant that signals and information can travel faster than light which is forbidden by Relativity. Secondly, the concept of Simultaneity is also foreign to Relativity because being instantaneous must necessarily involve a universal standard of time which is non-existent according to Relativity. Thus, Einstein wrote in his book called Relativity- The Special and the General Theory :-” Let me add a final remark of a fundamental nature. The success of the Faraday-Maxwell interpretation of electromagnetic action at a distance resulted in physicists becoming convinced that there are no such thing as instantaneous actions at a distance ( not involving an intermediary medium ) of the type of Newton's law of gravitation. “
Einstein was aware of this difficulty when he was at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern but did not have time to work out the reason in earnest until he was in Prague in 1911. There, he became aware of the similarity between the effects of acceleration and gravity. This he later called the Principle of Equivalence. More precisely, Einstein realized that a free-falling person would not feel the pull of gravity. This led him to the idea that gravity was actually the result of the geometry of space as warped into different shapes in different ways by the presence of mass or energy which are equivalent to each other as already proven in Special Relativity. To distinguish this part of his theory on gravity from his earlier 1905 theory, he renamed his 1905 theory Special Relativity and his theory on gravtity which he published in 1915 General Relativity.
To go deeper into the theory, what Einstein is advocating in General Relativity is that the feeling of gravitational pull is the result of the acceleration experienced by a body free-falling in curved and warped space-time caused by the presence of mass and energy. The theory also predicts the creation of gravitational waves ( moving at the exact speed of light ) by massive bodies moving in space but I must again emphasize that
81
the concept of space here is not just a passive existence of some independent medium such as the ether in classical Newtonian Mechanics. Rather it is something that is elastic and malleable and is dynamically linked to the total mass and energy present in the universe and constantly interacting with all these entities. Einstein's space is also unique in that it may curve and warp to all kinds of strange geometrical shapes depending on the overall distribution of mass and energy in the universe. When concentration of mass and energy in a particular regions of space is extremely high black holes will be formed as explained in Chapter ( i ).
Due to the complicated mathematics and, in particular, geometry involved even the genius Einstein himself had to recruit the help of his long time mathematician friend Carl Friedrich Gauss and to apply the skill and foresight of another great Nineteenth Century mathematician, Georg Bernhard Riemann to formulate his famous gravitational field equations that can precisely predict the orbits and paths of various stars and planets. Such equations are also known as Einstein Field Equations. These equations are extremely complicated but they can give detailed and precise predictions on all phenomena relating to the working of gravity and ultimately to the beginning and destiny of our universe. Later on in this chapter, we shall see how these equations lead to the predictions of the existence of black holes, the conditions at the beginning of our universe, its possible destiny and even the possibility of time travel.
The first definitive observational evidence in support of General Relativity was obtained by a scientific expedition led by Sir Arthur Eddington to Africa to observe a total solar eclipse in 1919. By comparing the observed postion of stars situated close to the darkened sun along the earth's line of vision and comparing the same star's actual position on the astronomical map of the heavens, Eddington was able to calculate the exact deviation of the observed postion from the actual position which was caused by the warping of space around the sun due to the huge solar mass. The results of the deviation coincided exactly with the predictions of Einstein's Field Equations. Such accurate measurements in observations to test the theory of General Relativity could only be made in a total solar eclipse which would not occur very often. Upon notification by Eddington of the successful testing of his theory, Einstein was reported to have said:-” If it had been otherwise, I would have been sorry for the Lord ! “ Such was the confidence
Einstein had in his Theory of General Relativity. Another important prediction of the theory is the formation of black
holes at the end of the lives of massive stars with more than twice the solar mass in size. This is the result of gravitational collapse of the remaning mass after all nuclear fuel in the dying star has been exhausted. So long as the nuclear fusion process in the star is underway the expolsive energy produced in nuclear reaction is able to counter act the inward gravitational force of the star's own mass. You will recall in chapter ( i ) that no further nuclear fusion is possible when all cheimcal elements in the burning star have been converted into iron which has the most stable of all atomic nuclei. Without the continuous outward pressure of nuclear energy the now mainly iron core of the dying star will undergo gravitational collapse upon its own mass. This process will ultimately lead to a catastrophic expolsion of a supernova that can outshine a whole galaxy of a while. For stars with less than two solar mass the end result of the supernova will be a neutron star of ultra high density of about 20 km in diameter with the mass comparable to our earth. This is like compressing the earth into the size of Manhattan Island in New York City. A spinning neutron star will give out two beams of radio waves on both sides like a light house beacon on account of tremendous compression on its mass by gravitational force. Seen from afar, it produces periodical pulsations of radio waves. Astronomers called these remnants of supernovae explosions pulsers. When pulsars were first discovered in the early Sixties their regular radio pulses were mistaken for signals from E.T. ( Extra- Terrestrials ) which were subsequently proved to be false alarms. This episode in the history of astronomy is known as the Litte Green Man ( LGM ) Phenomenon. For stars with more than two solar mass, the gravitational collapse continues unimpeded to a point of singularity called a black hole. Although no direct evidence has been found to prove their existence on account of their invisible nature a lot of strong circumstantial evidence is available to infer their presence. Based upon the motions of some stars and galaxies which should have flown apart on account of their excessive velocity compared to their
82
visible mass, astronomers concluded that the centres of their orbits must harbour some invisible mass.These unseen entities are more likely than not black holes as predicted by General Relativity.The most famous of these candidates for blackholes is the one in Cygnus X-1 star system while our own Milky Way Galaxy centre is suspected to be harbouring a massive black hole. Stephen Hawking is the foremost expert in blackholes. When quasars were first discovered they showed ultra bright regions thought to be created by the process of astronomical mass being sucked into a black hole creating huge amounts of x-ray in the process. However, this theory relating to quasars is still inconclusive.
More recently in the 1990s, a few sophisticated observatories had been constructed in different places around the world to observe the presence of gravitational waves as predicted by General Relativity but so far to no avail. The likely reasons are speculated to be the tremendously weak nature of the gravitational force ( it is 10 to 39 power weaker than the electromagnetic force ) making the presence of gravitational waves being felt ( if they are there ) extremely improbable unless a truly massive heavenly body moves along swiftly at close vicinity to the earth due to the occurrence of some catastrophic astronomical event.
One more prediction of General Relativity is that time runs slower in a stronger gravitational field. Time is predicted to stop running inside a black hole which is supposed to have maximum gravtiy and density. This phenomenon was again proven in five in-flight experiments between September 1975 and January 1976 over Chesapeake Bay in USA. These experiments proved conclusively that clocks run more slowly at ground level than in the weaker gravitational field high above the earth.
( B ) The Inspirations
Before Einstein published his Theory of Special Relativity in 1905 and his Theory of General Relativity in 1915, he had only written two major scientific papers, one on the Brownian Movement solving the mystery of apparent movements of pollen particles on the water surface as if the pollens were alive. This strange phenomenon was attributed to the bombardment of the pollens by water molecules. The second was his paper on the photoelectric effect in early 1905 proving that light consists of particles which was his major contribution to Quantum Theory. This paper showed that the photon is the quanta for light. However, we should gauge the success of a scientist not in terms of quantity but the quality of his work instead. Einstein's Relativity changed the whole paradigm in science which had been the norm for the world for some 300 years since Newton. Once he saw the light, he was so inspired that his came up with revolutionary scientific predictions that covered the entire spectrum of activities in the Macrocosm, Men's World and Microcosm ranging from changed concepts of space-time to the origin and destiny of the universe. Einstein's contributions had profound effects on the largest macrocosm of the universe ( General Relativity ), the smallest microcosm of the quantum world ( Photoelectric Effect ) and in the intermediate size range of Men's world
( Special Relativity ).
Having paid tribute to the man of the Twentieth Century as Einstein had once been named, let us see what implications his theories have on our daily lives. On the more practical front, Einstein's theory on the photoelectric effect had led to the invention of the T.V.and the laser ( which has been described in more detail in section ( c ) of chapter ( ii ) ). Then, there is the principle of the equivalence of mass and energy which has since been applied to a new source of energy- nuclear power used in electricity generation.
Intellectually, the effects of Relativity are more far reaching. The abolition of a universal standard for time and absolute rest means that each one of us has our own point of view with regard to space-time and all of these different view points are equally correct from each particular observer's perspective. These differences will be
negligible unless the observers are moving at very high speed relative to one another.
83
Nevertheless, we have to admit that by nature there is no single absolutely correct point of view validly applicable to everyone. Therefore, one must be open to different points of view when dealing with matters of common interest.
During the course of Einstein's development of his General Relativity, he had made an assumption in his Field Equations which he had called “the biggest blunder” of his life. Upon completing the formulation of the equations, he found that they mathematically implied an expanding or contracting universe which was against the then prevailing view of the Steady State Theory of the universe. To comply with this view, Einstein created a mathematical constant in the equations known as the Cosmological Constant which was in effect an anti-gravitational force to counter act the existing force of gravity to prevent the universe in his mathematical model from collapsing into a singularity. In other words, his equations implied an unstable universe. Once again, mathematics had successfully preceded the discovery of an important natural law or a defining natural phenomenon. As history has subsequently shown, Edwin Hubble had later discovered in 1929 the most extraordinary astronomical observation ever made by men that our universe is indeed expanding. Therefore, Albert Einstein had missed the chance to be the first person to discover the continuous expansion of our universe. To explain a bit further, the fate of our universe depends on its mean density, which you may recall, is known as Omega. When Omega is greater or less than one the universe will keep on contracting or expanding respectively. Only when Omega is unity that our universe will keep on behaving the way it is and keep its present appearance forever. That was why Einstein's equations implied an expanding or contracting universe unless Omega or the mean density of matters in it is unity. While we can take this interesting episode to mean that even the greatest of minds is not infalliable, we can also learn that even a genius will succumb to the prevailing paradigm ( in this case the accepted notion of a static universe in the early 1900s ). Luckily, the story did not end there. As recently as in 2001, astronomers had discovered reliable observational evidence of the presence of a very small value for the Cosmological Constant which has the effect of an anti-gravitational force that will cause our universe to expand forever though at an ever reducing rate. Einstein seemed to have the last laugh. May be it was his undeniable genius and intuition that had saved the day. So, the reader will realize that there is no absolute and eternal truth except that there is an absolute eternity of unending cycles of changes. Again, the Golden Rule is there is no Golden Rule !
One further notable point about this episode is the miraculous nature of mathematics. More often than not, mathematics seems to be always ahead of us. Like the prediction of Einstein's Cosmological Constant created out of his intuition, what made his Theory of General Relativity possible is the advanced mathematics of their day by Gauss, Hilbert and Riemann which was not specifically invented for General Relativity. It just seemed to have been around in anticipation of the advent of Einstein's theory. In 1915, he was at a loss as to how his ideas could be comprehensibly expressed while the needed mathematics was all the time waiting in the wings. This begs the question of whether reality creates mathematics or it is mathematics that reflects reality. There is no definite answer. Only more questions such as :-” Is the Creator of the universe a mathematician ? “
( C ) The Eccentric Ideas
Einstein's Special and General Relativity have been around for a hundred years and yet many of their predictions are still mysterious as ever. Two of such propositions are the Twins Paradox and the Time Travel Paradox which we shall examine in turn.
The Twins Paradox
84
The Twins Paradox relates to high speed travel regarding the slowing down of time. It comes about in a hypothetical situation in which one of the twins is sent on a space mission travelling at close to the speed of light while the other remains on earth. After a few years according to his high speed time, the space traveller returns to the earth to find his twin brother some twenty years older than himself. This is the supposed result of the predictions of Special Relativity. This situation seems to be impossible by our present understanding of the laws of biology thus calling into question the validity of Einstein's predictions. How should we look at this paradox ?
Well, I think the paradox arises from a misunderstanding of the theory. There is, in fact, no paradox. A paradox will only arise when different results are obtained when applying the same standards thus making the two different sets of results logically inconsistent relative to the same set of standards. Recall the example I gave about the prolonged life of elementary particles in cosmic rays hitting our atmosphere. It is a matter of different points of view. From our low speed vantage point on earth, the particles do have a prolonged life but to the particles themselves at their near-to-light velocity it is still the very short life span of a few billionths of a second. On the other hand, from the particles' high speed view point we would be moving as slowly as ants but nothing has changed for us. We feel normal as ever. The key to the understanding of this seeming paradox can again be found in the total velocity of motion of any object in space and in time must be equal to the constant speed which is that of light. Secondly, space and time is one continuum and unseparated. Thirdly, the stationary earth resident and the space traveller are subject to two different sets of circumstances. The former stays on earth under normal speed conditions while the latter speeds away accelerating to near-to-light speed and returns to earth again to resume the same speed.
Applying the above three key points to the Twins Paradox, you will make the following observations. First, the paradox has treated space and the earth as two separate theatres of action. The space traveller is assumed to have exited a separate theatre as a young man from space upon re-entry to earth. This is not true. Secondly, as seen from the earth's low speed vantage point the space traveller would, indeed, be younger and the earth resident look older from the high speed vantage point of the space traveller as long as both keep to their respective high and low speeds.The space traveller's fast motion in space ( and, hence, his ”saved time “) will all be given way back to motion in time upon resuming normal speed on his return to earth. The most basic thing to remember is that Relativity only applies to relative motions but not to acceleration ( as in the case of space travelling ) which is an absolute and objective phenomenon. In other words, the twins are subject to different conditions. The earth resident passed thirty earth years under normal speed while the space traveller experienced a few years close to the speed of light. Giving a numerical example, if the space traveller is travelling at 80% the speed of light his subjective time will only be 60% of the normal time on earth according to the predictions of Relativity. Therefore, the space traveller will have only experienced 60% of the time compared to the earth resident. Thus, you will see that the twins have actually experienced different amounts of time ( the space traveller experiencing 60 % of that of the earth resident ) and logically enough the ageing process is different for them. There is no paradox in theory but, in reality, we are as yet unable to accelerate any object much less a human being to such high speeds. The fact that speed does make time run slower was scientifically proven in 1971 in the Hafele and Keating experiments as described above in support of the predictions of Relativity. So, it would appear that the best recipe for beauty treatment is high speed travel to stay young.
Under Special Relativity time is an elastic and integral part of a continuum called space-time. Furthermore, time under Relativity is a frozen river ( a very apt image given by scientists ). They even talk about time slices from this frozen river and sometimes at different angles that is a particular frame of reference for an observer. There is no actual flow of time. Only our consciousness and sensations produce the feeling of the passage and flow of time. The space traveller is simply assuming a position and all its trimmings in a different slice of time in the frozen river that is a continuum called space-time as opposed to the earth resident who has stayed put in one slice of space-time that is the earth. Of course, the ever elusive enigma is why do we only seem to move forward in this
85
frozen river and always remember the past but not the future? Why is the arrow of time always pointing forward ?
My own eccentric idea on this greatest puzzle of all times is that the frozen river of time is, in fact, a circular doughnut with any starting point on its circumference being the ending point as well. Each person has his or her own personal doughnut that represents each person's life story which is also malleable and interactive with other doughnuts. My conjecture is that these doughnuts are fuzzy and elusive entities like the elementary particles because they are projections or images from a deeper reality as described in the Holographic Model of the universe. In the centre of the doughnut is the person's own consciousness. Our consciousness is continuously scanning the ring of the doughnut in one direction we called “ forward “ as we live our lives. This direction is in step with the expansion of the universe which is another giant doughnut containing all the smaller doughnuts representing the sum total of all life stories of everyone and everything in our visible universe. If the universe is on the contraction stage such as the theorized Big Crunch, the scanning direction of our consciousness would be the opposite direction which is “ backwards “ and all events and actions would have been in backward motion like rewinding a video tape. As we view each slice of our own doughnut ( representing a particular point in our life ), an observation or decicsion made by our consciousness at that point in time will cause the fuzzy nature of the doughnut to materialize and become part of our life's history. This represents the collapse of the Schrodinger Wave Functions as proposed in the Quantum Theory.
At the end of our life, our personal doughnut which is subject to irreversible physical laws ( especially the Second Law of Thermodynamics on the increase of entropy over time ) will disintegrate and become part of the energy of the universe under the Law of Conservation of Energy while our consciousness would endure the test of time. Perhaps reincarnation is the assumption of a different doughnut of life by the same everlasting consciousness. Due to different physical constituents of another doughnut, the same consciousness might react in a different way to give rise to a different character and behaviour. Memory of past lives would understandably become hazy or completely wiped out which seems to be the usual case. Before we let our imagination run wild, let me recapitulate my conjecture with some grave reservations. At the present stage, these are simply my own guesses as to the possibilities of life after death. I must also subject my own propositions to the stringent criteria on scientific theories set out earlier in this book . As yet, my ideas cannot be put to the test which is the supreme hallmark of the scientific method. Therefore, they are speculations only but, on the other hand, all theories start with propositions. So, nothing can be dismissed off-hand. Recorded cases of memory of past lives and out-of-body experiences do point to the need to investigate such phenomena and the idea of the afterlife further. Formulations of testing procedures for these ideas may be forthcoming ( I have a few ideas of my own ), especially from psychiatrists and neural scientists who are on the receiving end of such bizzare information. Hence, we should not be afraid to venture into this mystical area that is so closely linked to our consciousness. Until then we should keep an open mind on such issues which are traditionally philosophical questions. As Einstein's Relativity opened up the philosophical issue of the lack of objective standards in time and perspective, so should we follow the example of this great man to raise philosophical issues in science without fear or favour as and when necessary. One of the key issues to be settled before advances can be made into the mystery of the “ afterlife “ is, of course, the nature of human consciousness itself. This
issue will be explored in a later chapter.
The Time Travel Paradox
This paradox is a well known one. It is sometimes called the Grand Father Paradox. If we can travel backwards in time like in the movie Back to the Future and kill our own parents where would we be now ? Logically speaking, we would not have been born ! It would imply that time travel is not possible because it is logically inconsistent. Nonetheless, we should examine the proposition more closely before coming
86
to a definite conclusion. Let us start with what Einstein's Relativity say about time travel. In his
Field Equations, there are various models of different kinds of universes that obey the rules of General Relativity. In 1950, the mathematician and philosopher Kurt Godel threw a bombshell on the scientific world by proving that Einstein's General Relativity permits time travelling. Among the relevant equations, there are negative values for time which seem to imply that time can run backwards making time travel appearing to be possible. Furthermore, these mathematical models involve a finite but unbounded universe with spinning matters ( without boundaries such as in the form of a globe ) which would allow a traveller to return to the original point where he has first started if he can travel far enough. Einstein's theories of General Relativity makes it possible for matter and energy to warp space in all sorts of strange ways so that there can be” time loops “ connecting regions of different time and space of that universe or even connecting back to the same given point.
To illustrate the point further, we can think of Einstein's model of the universe as a cylinder that connects the infinite past to the present and then to the infinite future. The cross section of the cylinder represents the three physical dimensions of length, width and depth compressed into one dimension and the full length of this infinitely long cylinder is time ( from the infinite past to the infinite future ). The circumference of the cross-section of the cylinder is the finite but unbounded limits of the physical world. I must emphasize that this image of the universe of Einstein is, of course, not our real universe which we now know is expanding and started at the singularity of the Big Bang. But it is a good illustration for our time travel arguments because the notion of time travel originated from his theories. Taking the cylinder image as our model of Einstein's universe, the warping of space by mass leading to the formation of a time loop may be viewed as a handle appearing on the side of the cylinder which connects two regions of the cylinder reprsenting two different regions of time. In the case of a warp in the shape of a half ring attached to the cylinder, travelling along such a time loop can lead back to the starting point. These are the ideas that lend support to the possiblity of time travel.
Going back to the practical problems of time travel, there are actually two versions of time travel. The strong version allows the time traveller to influence past events while the weaker version restricts the traveller to an observational role as a bystander. Scientists have speculated two differents ways of putting time travel into practice if this is at all possible. Firstly, there is a theory concerning the possible existence of a portal connecting the present to the past. The second concept is the construction of a time machine which can create such a warp in space that will give rise to the time loop necessary for time travel.
With regard to the time portal, it is suspected that a very tiny passage may exist at the heart of black holes called a “ wormhole “ which could instantly lead to other parts of the universe or other univrses. However, the size of such a wormhole, even if it exists is expected to be as small as 1 over 10 to the 30 power of a cm which is close to smallest possible Planck length. On top of this, it is speculated that such wormholes, if they actually exist, will most probably be very unstable. Therefore, it would appear that macroscopic objects cannot safely pass through a wormhole without being crushed. So, this is most likely to be unworkable.
The second proposal concerns the building of a time machine. This leads us back to the above model of Einstein's spinning universe. As this model of the universe spins the centre point of the circle remains stationary while the outer edge will spin faster and faster. Conceivably, while the centre spins at near-to-light speed the edge will exceed the velocity of light which is forbidden by Relativity so that the spinning rate of this particular model of the universe will be limited to the speed of light. Normally , this is most unlikely to happen. Nevertheless, there are certain other Einstein's models of spinning universes that are expanding only in two dimensions but not the third. If one goes to the third direction one will get back to where one started from. Every time one makes such a round trip to and from the third direction in such a universe one's speed is increased because the energy is built up due to the lack of expanding space in the third direction. The repeated trips to the third direction would possibly increase one's speed sufficiently to approach the velocity of light in such a universe. Any machine that is based on this model may work. Once the light of speed is reached the traveller should in
87
principle be timeless and could go anywhere in time. Of course, if one applies Stephen Hawking's Chronological Protection Conjecture, this is most unlikely to happen. This principle states that the laws of physics prevent the construction of any means of time travel that will lead to the possible changes of past history.
The time travel paradox arises as a result of our common sense notion of cause and effect in that particular order. If the order of cause and effect is reversed, all sorts of illogical and nonsensical events will occur thus making our lives quite impossible. However, I feel that time travel may not violate Hawking's conjecture if the weaker form of time travel is materialized. I am of the opinion that under the Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Theory, a time traveller will only be able to observe the past history rather than take part in it. I have two reasons in support of my argument. Firstly, the unfolded history is the particular path of events already chosen by any observer. Changing it in the past implies a different choice having been made which would have resulted in another sequence of events that does not relate to the present position in space-time that the time traveller has arrived at to begin his backwards time travel. All these different worlds are separated from one another. Had the time traveller changed his past history he would have gone down a completely separate path to start his time travel from there. Secondly, the time traveller has to assume his normally slow human speed in order to participate in changing a particular part of past history, this would imply that he could not maintain the velocity of light which has enabled him to achieve his timeless capability to do the time travel in the first place. Once he reduces his speed below that of light, he would lose his ability to participate in time travelling. Therefore, I do not think the time
travel paradox would ever arise in practice. Personally, I hope we can engage in the weaker version of time travel
just like Star Trek in the future. Hopefully, we can create a machine that will ionize us into elementary particles to achieve the timeless quality of light to enable us to observe past history or the future first-hand. As regards changing the past or future whatever that might be, I would not dream of doing such a thing because it is a God-like status that carries unbearable responsibilities which would make me very unhappy.
My Own Space-Time Eccentricity
I have these eccentric ideas about the nature of space-time. With the malleable nature of physical objects which is manifested when they are in motion it is possible that physical objects are actually holographic images projected from a deeper level of reality. Also, the fact that the speed of motion of an object affects the length of the object but not its width is like an echo from the Holographic Principle relating to the capacity for the storage of information which depends on the area rather than the volume. These similarities both reflect the probability that this universe is really a holographic image projected from an intricate order as postulated by David Bohm. Furthermore, light has no mass but can easily be detectable by us. Without light no propagation of any information is possible which means that life as we know it cannot function at all. Thus, this most important massless medium that makes transmission of information possible may very probably just be images reflected from a deeper reality. This again fits in well with the theory of a Holographic Universe. I really hope that more research efforts can be made to find out more about the implications of the theory and to formulate vigorous tests for the theory which has great potentials for gaining deeper insights into our physical reality.
Before leaving this fascinating Theory of Special and General Relativity, let me point out to the reader that Einstein's theory is still a classical theory as opposed to Quantum Theory because it does not take into account effects of quantum uncertainty and like all existing scientific theories ( including Quantum Theory ) it breaks down when we arrive at the point of singularity that is supposed to be the beginning of our universe at the Big Bang when both space and time were born. In fact, all laws of nature as we know them will break down at a singularity which is defined as the point where the routes of all light rays come to an end. However, there are hopeful signs that the collaboration betweeen
88
Relativity and Quantum Theory may solve the mystery of space-time in the foreseeable future. This can happen because Relativity is the best available theory about space-time and gravity while Quantum Theory with its quantization of space-time may prevent the singularity from materializing in the first place. As the size of space approaches the Planck length of 1 over 10 cm to the 33 power, the uncertainty principle in Quantum Theory will cause the entity of space-time ( Planck time as you may recall is 1 over 10 second to the 43 power ) to become fuzzy and the scientific term of quantum foam is used to describe conditions at this quantum level. The term Bose-Einstein condensate relates to such conditions. On the issue of quantum uncertainty, Einstein was against the whole idea right up to the time of his death. His dislike or even contempt for Quantum Theory is unmistakably seen in his statement :-” I cannot believe that God plays dice with the cosmos !” Einstein spent most of the latter part of his life at the research centre at Princeton University in New Jersey, USA trying to formulate the Grand Unified Theory to unite all the four forces of nature which remained elusive to the scientific community to the present day.
As for myself, I also have this eccentric idea about space-time and mass (alias frozen energy). As mentioned in the prologue, I suspect that due to the interchangeable nature of mass and energy there could be a point when energy becomes mass (matter) and from then on space-time is detectable. This is analogous to the situation at the instance of the Big Bang when the resultant energy created by the “ explosion “ condensed into matter. With the creation of matter, space-time is born. Before that stage, there was only energy of some sort permeating the great void. For this reason, I feel that space-time, mass and energy are all the same thing at a higher level of symmetry. Furthermore, the theorized existence of various energy fields permeating the void may very well indicate that some sort of steady-state has existed in the great void in the form of energy or force fields from time immemorial. This may be an interesting direction for further scientific exploration. Of course, I am very well aware of the fact that the steady-state concept is no longer the generally accepted scientific paradigm. Nevertheless, there are numerous examples of shifts in paradigm in the course of development of modern science which seems to be an eternal cycle of changes from one extreme to the other. So, there are no absolute possibilities or impossibilities but simply constant changes down the road to improved knowledge of this mystical universe. That is how progress in science is made. Therefore, let us be bold in our assumptions but meticulous in our verifications of any proposed theories.
From my prologue to the book :-Before I start off on this long and arduous intellectual journey, I would like to suggest five ways of reading this book. First, the conventional way which is to start from page one and then all the way through to the last. Second, if you are pressed for time or are really afraid of the scientific pudding you can skip all the first seven chapters on the relevant scientific theories and start with chapter (viii) on the philosophical issues after, of course, reading the lengthy prologue only to refer to the the first seven chapters as references are made to each in connection with the relevant issues and arguments on human behaviour. Third, if you feel that you are reasonably well informed about a particular scientific theory, you can skip that particular chapter and follow the conventional way in all other respects. But as I point out in the prologue, it should be interesting just to browse through section ( C ) The Eccentric Ideas in every chapter to get a feel of my screwball whims. The fourth way to read this book is just to single out the particular chapters that arouse your interest. So long as you read the prologue and the last two chapters together with the epilogue, you will still get some ideas of what I am talking about – LIFE. The fifth and last way to read my the book is simply to pick out topics that interest you from the table of contents and read them. Most topics are relatively self-contained but with specific references to the related chapters and sections. I have tried my very best to make my the book as versatile as I can to suit the busy modern reader. As regards the lengthy prologue ( the smart reader must have guessed it ), I purposely summarize all my basic themes and ideas at an early stage for the benefit of those who do not have enough time to finish the whole book. Depending on the temperament of the reader, let us fasten our seat belts or boil the coffee in preparation for the take off.
ReplyDeleteLink to Part 2 :-http://jkhcforum.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/universe-personal-view-part-2-of-3.html
ReplyDelete