Universe. is it fine tuned

2
Genesis of this presentations

The most incomprehensible thing about the Universe is
that; it is comprehensible.
- Albert Einstein
The Universe is comprehensible because it is governed by
scientific laws; that is to say, its behaviour can be
modelled.
- Stephen Hawking
Quotes

Since the beginning of time the laws of nature appear to
have survived unchanged. What power imposes on the
Universe that all things follow certain rules? And why
don’t the laws change over time, or from place to place,
over billions of years and trillions of miles? It is not hard
to understand why some people have always found the
answer in God.
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- Leon M. Lederman
Quote

Today , our knowledge of the Universe embraces
distances so vast we will never travel them and distances
so tiny we will never see them. We contemplate time no
clock can measure, dimensions no instrument can detect,
and forces no person can feel. We have found that in
variety and apparent chaos, there is simplicity and order.
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- Leon M. Lederman
Quote

We each exist for but a short time, and in that time explore but a
small part of the whole Universe. We wonder, we seek answers
living in the vast world that is by turn kind and cruel, and gazing at
the immense heavens above, people have always asked multitude
of questions: How can we understand the world in which we find
ourselves? How does the Universe behave? What is the nature of
reality? Where did all this come from? Did the Universe need a
creator? Most of us do not spend most of our time worrying about
these questions. But almost all of us worry about them some time
or other.
- Stephen Hawking
I do not know how many of us ever wondered about the mysteries of Universe.
- self !
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Quote

Recap Presentation 1  About the Title Pic of Universe
Space probes COBE launched in 1986
and, WMAP in 2001 examined the
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)
radiation fluctuations to an accuracy of
one part in 100,000. The average
temperature of the remnant radiant
heat of the Big Bang is 2.73 Kelvin
average. This was the picture of the
complete Universe mapped by CMB
released by NASA in May 2010
Universe
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 The only question raised on my last presentation was; do
God exist?
Let me clarify.
 The question was beyond the scope of the last presentation.
 The quotes of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking on laws of
nature where the word God figured were part of slide dividers
intended as point to ponder and to invite probing questions in
Theoretical physics not Theology.
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 Q 1. Is the Universe fine tuned by a intelligent designer to
make possible existence of us?
 Q 2. Does the Universe need a creator?
 Q 3. Can all the physical process of the Universe be
understood without invoking creator?
 Q 4. Does the cosmos has a purpose?
 Q 5. Does human life has a purpose?
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Questions taken up in this presentation

To understand the Universe at the deepest level, we
need to known not only how the Universe behaves,
but also why.
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Before we get into why let us understand how a little more
than I’ve explained in my last presentation.
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Let us understand the processes since Big Bang leading to
development of intelligent life on earth.
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Let us understand ‘how’
 To start with, let us understand about elements.
 There are 118 elements starting with a single proton ‘H’
(Hydrogen with atomic No. 1) to ‘Uuo’ (Unounociam with
atomic No. 118).
 Of these; elements up to Plutonium (atomic No. 94) were
formed naturally and the balance were synthesised in
laboratory nuclear reactions.
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Recall elements in the order of atomic No.
15

How all the natural elements were formed?
 Elements were formed by Nucleosynthesis (process of
creating new atomic nuclei from pre-existing nucleons
(protons and neutrons)) through following process:-
 Big Bang nucleosynthesis.
 Stellar nucleosynthesis.
 Proton-Proton Chain reaction.
 Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen (CNO) cycle.
 Triple Alpha Process.
 Super Nova Nucleosynthesis.
16

Big bang nucleosynthesis
 As the quark-gluon plasma from the Big Bang cooled
below two trillion degrees, starting with only Protons and
Neutrons, nuclei of Hydrogen and its isotopes were
formed, further fusion reaction produced Helium, Lithium
and Beryllium.
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Within a few hours of Big Bang the fusion process shuts
down due to drops in temperature and density as the
Universe continued to expand.
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Before Stellar Nucleosynthesis; Understand How Stars
Formed
 Universe continued to expand and cool for next millions of years
without much happening.
 Roughly 500 million years after the Big Bang.
 In the regions denser than average, the expansion slowed down
due to gravitational attraction. The period of gravitational
contraction lasted about 10 to 15 million years.
 As these region contracted, temperature increased over a million
deg K leading to nuclear fusion reaction giving birth to Star.
21

Stellar Nucleosynthesis
• Proton-Proton Chain reaction.
• Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen (CNO) cycle.
• Triple Alpha Process.
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Proton-Proton Chain Reaction
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Proton-proton chain took place in stars with core temp from
4 to 13 million deg K
 Stars remained stable for a long time like our sun, burning
hydrogen into helium and Beryllium by proton-proton chain
reaction radiating energy as heat and light.
 As hydrogen supply got exhausted, the reaction slowed
down, reducing the outward pressure in the region.
 Gravitational force contracted, heating up the region
further.
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Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen Cycle (CNO Cycle) started after
Core Temp Reaching Above 13 million deg K
 Helium started fusing into heavier elements like carbon,
Nitrogen and Oxygen.
 Thereafter carbon, neon and silicon fusion took place.
 Near the end of the star’s life it began producing iron
(atomic No. 26) which did not release energy.
 Further heavier elements could not be produced now.
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Before Proceeding to Triple Alpha Process Understand
Why Fusion Stops at Iron
 Reason is the Mass defects in atomic masses .i.e. there is
no excess mass after fusion to be realised as energy after
element iron, further fusion of heavier elements requires
energy. The opposite is true for Nuclear Fission Reaction
.i.e. fission in an element heavier than Iron produces
energy, and fission in any element lighter than iron
requires energy.
 The easiest to fuse is Hydrogen (atomic No. 1) and the easiest
to split is Plutonium (atomic No. 94) and get maximum energy
out of mass defect.
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 The triple alpha process is a set of nuclear fusion reactions by
which three Helium nuclei are transformed into Carbon.
 Of all the elements, production of Carbon is of particular
importance because its formation from Helium is a bottleneck
in the entire process. The production of Carbon under normal
fusion chain .i.e. He + He → Be; Be + He → C would not be
able to produce Carbon in as much abundance required for
creation of life like us.
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Triple Alpha Process contd….

 Because isotope of Beryllium formed by two Helium
immediately decays back to Helium.
 Fusion of three Helium into Carbon is due to a rare resonance
which is responsible for the Carbon abundance. (Fred Hoyle in
1952 discovered that the sum of energies of a Beryllium
nucleus and a Helium nucleus is exactly the same as energy of
Carbon in quantum state: the reason for the resonance).
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 Carbon is the 15th most abundant element in the Earth's crust,
and the fourth most abundant element in the universe by
mass after hydrogen, helium, and oxygen. It is present in all
known life forms, and in the human body carbon is the second
most abundant element by mass after oxygen. This
abundance, together with the diverse compounds and their
unusual polymer-forming ability at the temperatures
commonly encountered on Earth, make this element the
chemical basis of all known life.
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 But this Carbon is still a long way from forming aggregates of chemical
compounds of the type (humans) that can enjoy a glass of beer or ask questions
about Universe!

Super Nova Nucleosynthesis.
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 Up to 1.4 times the solar mass: The star will collapse
under its own gravity with no further fusion and hence no
outward pressure to balance gravitational force.
 Above 1.4 and less than 20 times the solar mass: The iron
core is so large that it cannot support its own mass. The
core collapse as its electrons are driven into its protons,
forming neutrons and neutrinos in a burst of inverse beta
decay, or electron capture. The shock wave formed by the
sudden collapse causes the rest of the star to explode in a
super nova.
33

Super nova or explosive nucleosynthesis
 In a few seconds in the explosive environment of Super
Nova the elements between Silicon and Nickel are
synthesised by rapid fusion. All elements heavier than
Iron till Plutonium (Atomic No. 94) is formed by rapid
absorption of free Neutrons and Protons released during
the explosion
34

Fluorine
There’s one more life’s essential element that
the supernovae did not make, that’s Fluorine.
35

 Fluorine is made only on the surfaces of white dwarf binaries.
(A white dwarf is a burnt out star, binaries are two stars going
around each other).
 The white dwarf with enough mass relative to the star orbiting
around it pulls mass off the surface of the star and on to its
surface.
 When that material falls on the surface of the while dwarf, it
ignites very interesting nuclear reactions that produce
Fluorine.
 The white dwarf blast the Fluorine beyond the gravitational
pull in stellar wind , putting it into outer space.
 Future generations of stars absorbs it.
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So all elements from Hydrogen up to Plutonium with
Carbon in abundance including Fluorine has been
formed. Now what next?
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Our sun and its planets
 The outer region of the heavier elements produced near the
end of the star’s life blown off during Super Nova were flung
back into the galaxy.
 This Super Nova provides raw material for gravitational
condensation and next generation stars.
 Our sun is a second or third generation of star formed roughly
5 billion years ago.
 The mater left out after formation of our sun became planets
and our earth was formed 400 million years after the Sun was
formed with all elements formed in earlier generation stars.
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Evolution
 The earth formed (4.6 billion years ago) was initially very hot
and without atmosphere
 It cooled and acquired atmosphere from emission of gases
from the rocks .
 Early atmosphere contained no oxygen but hydrogen sulphide.
 The cooling of the earth at the point where the outgassed
volatile components were held in an atmosphere of sufficient
pressure for the stabilization and retention of liquid water.
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Evolution Continues …
 540 million years ago. Primitive life forms developed in
oceans by chance combination of atoms into large
structures, called macromolecules.
 These macromolecules reproduced themselves and
multiplied.
 In some cases there were errors in reproduction.
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If you don’t believe the contents of last slide, you are
free to study Abiogenesis (study of how life on Earth
could have arisen from inanimate matter)
 Most amino acids, called "the building blocks of life", can
form via natural chemical reactions unrelated to life, has
been demonstrated by simulating some of the conditions
of the early Earth, in a laboratory.
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 In most of the cases the errors produced macromolecules
that could not reproduce itself and eventually destroyed.
 However, a few of the errors produced new
macromolecules that were better at reproducing
themselves and replaced original macromolecules.
 Multi cellular organisms formed by chance, e.g., the pair
of cells failed to separate during cell division, or two cells
stuck together accidentally. Natural selection favoured
this new form as it would survive and prosper.
43

 1.5 billion years ago when the atmosphere contained
sufficient oxygen to support the higher energy
requirement; multi cellular organisms could survive.
 In this way a process of evolution was started that led to
the development of more complicated, self-reproducing
organisms. (in a warm little pond, with all sorts of
ammonia and phosphoric salts, heat, electricity etc)
44

 Primitive forms of life (sulphide-dependent
chemoautotrophic bacteria (prokaryotes)) consumed
various materials, including hydrogen sulphide and
released oxygen.
 The greatest proportion of today's water may have been
synthesized this way.
 This gradually changed the atmosphere.
45

 This allowed the development of higher forms of life such
as fish, reptiles, and mammals.
 Our species, Homo sapiens originated in sub saharan
Africa around 202,000 years ago reaching full behavioural
modernity around 50,000 years ago
46

Constituents of the human body in a person weighing 60 kg
Constituent Weight Percentage of
atoms
Oxygen 38.8 kg 25.5 %
Carbon 10.9 kg 9.5 %
Hydrogen 6.0 kg 63.0 %
Nitrogen 1.9 kg 1.4 %
Others 2.4 kg 0.6 %
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 The last common ancestor between humans and the
remaining great apes diverged between 8 and 4 million
years ago, first the gorillas, and then the chimpanzees
split off from the line leading to the humans.
 The functional human DNA is approximately 98.4%
identical to that of chimpanzees when comparing single
nucleotide polymorphisms.
48

 Until 10,000 years ago, humans lived as hunter-gatherers.
 The advent of agriculture, domestication of animals and the
use of metal tools prompted permanent human settlements.
 Agriculture encouraged trade and cooperation, and led to
complex society.
 About 6,000 years ago, the first proto-states developed in
Mesopotamia, Egypt's Nile Valley and the Indus Valley.
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 Military forces were formed for protection, and government
bureaucracies for administration. States cooperated and
competed for resources, in some cases waging wars.
 Around 2,000–3,000 years ago, some states, such as Persia,
India, China, Rome, and Greece, developed through conquest
into the first expansive empires.
 Religions, such as Judaism originated in west Asia, and
Hinduism originated in south Asia.
 The late middle ages saw the rise of revolutionary ideas and
technologies. In China, an advanced and urbanized society
promoted innovations and sciences, such as printing.
50

 In India, major advancements were made in mathematics,
philosophy, religion and metallurgy.
 The Islamic golden age saw major scientific advancements in
Muslim empires.
 Over the next 500 years, exploration and colonialism brought
great parts of the world under European control, leading to
later struggles for independence.
 The scientific revolution in the 17th century and the industrial
revolution in the 18th–19th centuries promoted major
innovations in transport, energy development, such as coal
and electricity.
 With the advent of the Information age at the end of the 20th
century, modern humans live in a world that has become
increasingly globalized and interconnected.
51

 As of 2010, almost 2 billion humans are able to
communicate with each other via the Internet, and 3.3
billion by mobile phone subscriptions.
 Between 1969 and 1972, two humans at a time spent
brief intervals on the Moon.
 As on Jan 2011, no other celestial body has been visited
by humans.
 Humans have had a dramatic effect on the environment.
As humans are not preyed upon, they have been super
predators.
52

 Currently, through land development, combustion of fossil fuels and
pollution, humans are main contributor to global climate change.
 If the present growth trends in world population, industrialization,
pollution, food production, and resource depletion continue
unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached
sometime within the next 100 years. The most probable result will
be a sudden and uncontrollable decline in both population and
industrial capacity.
 Human activity is believed to be a major contributor to the ongoing
Holocene extinction event, which is a form of mass extinction.
 If this continues at its current rate it is predicted that it will wipe out
half of all species over the next century.
53

Let us leave history behind where it belongs and get back
to physics and may be philosophy.
54

Laws of Nature
... And the Nature of Laws
55

Fundamental numbers
 Theoretical physicists are trying to find answer to numerous
fundamental numbers that the law of science contain.
 The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers
appears to have been very finely adjusted to make possible
the development of life.
 Most other values of these numbers would certainly give raise
to Universe that, although they might be very beautiful, would
contain no one able to wonder at that beauty.
56

 If the rate of expansion of the Universe had been less by one part to
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 the Universe would have re-collapsed
shortly after Big Bang, had it been more by this part Universe would have
expanded without giving opportunity for the stars to form.
 The ratio of the velocity of the electron in the first circular orbit of the
atom to the speed of light is 0.08542455. (a variation in this number would
mean stellar fusion would not produce Carbon, a larger variation would
render fusion impossible and hence preclude formation of stars). This is
called as “Fine Structure Constant”
 The early Universe thankfully contained density fluctuations of about
1 part in 100,000, else stars would not have formed.
 Earth’s orbit need to have no more that Zero to 0.5 eccentricity for life to
exist.
To name a few
57

 If the strength of strong nuclear force is 0.5% different. Carbon and
Oxygen would have been destroyed in every star.
 If protons were 0.2% heavier, they would decay into neutrons,
destabilising atoms.
 If the sum of masses of quark that make up a proton were changed by
10%, there would be far fewer stable atomic nuclei of which we are
made.
 A planet with a large tilt will experience extreme seasonal variations in
climate, unfriendly to complex life. A planet with little or no tilt will lack
the stimulus to evolution that climate variation provides. (Earth has 23.5o
tilt)
Change these rules of our Universe just a bit, and conditions for our
existence disappear!
58

The habitable zone for the planets with respect to the
star is some times called Goldilocks Zone, because the
development of intelligent life requires that the planetary
temperatures be just right for the liquid water to exist.
You can see in the picture the size of hospitable zone is
smaller for cooler stars.
60

Is the Universe fine tuned to make possible
existence of us?
Question No. 1
62

It was argued that the Universe is fine tuned to make
possible existence of humans. This argument is based on
the fact that earthly life is very sensitive to the values of
several fundamental physical constants. Making the
tiniest change in any of these, and life as we know it
would not exist. The delicate connections between
physical constants and life are called the Anthropic
Coincidences
63
The Argument

Introduction to anthropic principle
weak anthropic principle:
 “conditions that are observed in the universe must allow the
observer to exist.”
(This is based on the self-evident truth, that if the universe had not been
suitable for life, we wouldn't be asking why it is so finely adjusted.)
Strong anthropic principle:
 "the Universe (and hence the fundamental parameters on
which it depends) must be such as to admit the creation of
observers within it at some stage.
In mathematics and philosophy, the weak form of a statement is one which is
"easier" to support,
64

As the argument goes, the data are said to reveal a
universe that is exquisitely fine-tuned for the production
of life. This precise balancing act is claimed to be a highly
unlikely result of mindless chance. An intelligent,
purposeful, and indeed personal Creator must have made
things the way they are.
65
The Argument goes on …

 Anthropic principle claims that the whole vast universe exists
simply for our sake.
 This is hard to believe.
 Our solar system is certainly a prerequisite for our existence;
one might extend this to the whole of our galaxy to allow
earlier generation stars that created the heavier elements.
 But there does not seem to be any need for all those other
billions of galaxies.
66

 The many improbable occurrences that conspired to
enable our existence, and our world’s human friendly
design, would indeed be puzzling if ours were the only
solar system in the Universe.
 We now know: there exists countless planets among the
many billions of stars in the Universe.
 This makes our existence far less remarkable and far less
compelling as evidence that the earth was carefully
designed just for us.
67

Is the Universe fine tuned to make possible existence
of us?
Answer
The constants of nature is extraordinarily fine-tuned
for the production of life, for supernatural purpose has
no evidence.
We currently know that the fundamental physics and
cosmology remains consistent with a universe that
evolved by purely natural processes.
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Question No. 1

"It's a simple paradox. The Universe is very old and very
large. Humankind, by comparison, is only a tiny
disturbance in one small corner of it - and a very recent
one. Yet the universe is only very large and very old
because we are here to say it is... And yet, of course, we
all know perfectly well that it is what it is whether we are
here or not."
- Michael Frayn in his book The Human Touch.
Quote
69

 Does the Universe need a creator?
 Can all the physical process of the Universe be
understood without invoking Creator?
Answer to the above questions will be based on
Natural Philosophy and Science and not Theology or
Religion; hence God is not brought into debate.
The answer is going to be much longer than the previous one.
70
Question No. 2 & 3

Science seemed to have uncovered a set of laws
without exceptions that, within the limits set by
uncertainty principle, tell us how the universe would
have formed and how it will develop with time.
71

Economy of effort
 The exploration in astrophysics was limited to events
moments after big bang and moments before big crunch
(or entropic death of Universe); as all laws of known
science breaks down in singularity (point of
commencement at big bang or point of termination at big
crunch).
 So for the moment we will keep aside the question
regarding before Big Bang, but will return to it shortly.
72

 These fundamental laws and the fundamental forces
which follows them may have been decreed by Creator.
 But it appears that he has since left the Universe to
evolve according to the laws and does not intervene in it.
 But how did he choose the initial configuration of the
Universe? And what were the boundary conditions at the
beginning of time?
 One possible answer; is to say that Creator chose the
initial configuration of the Universe for the reason that
we cannot hope to understand.
73
Was it God?

 This would certainly be within the power of the
omnipotent being.
 But if he had started it off in such an incomprehensible
way, why did he choose to let it evolve according to laws
that we could understand?
74
Was it God? Contd…

The whole history of science has been a gradual
realisation that events do not happen in an arbitrary
manner.
Now we have no option but discuss Quantum Physics to
get further with the topic.
75
Was it not God?

Before coming to what the latest development in physics
and Quantum physics tells us. Let us understand
Why the laws of nature was explained by Theology in
ancient times?
76The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo
Why God?

 The notion that laws of nature had to be intentionally
obeyed reflects the ancients focus on why nature behaves
as it does, rather than on how it behaves.
 Ignorance of nature’s way led people in ancient times to
use religion to explain nature.
 Since connection to cause and effect in nature was
invisible to their eyes, religion appeared inscrutable.
77
Why God? Contd …

 It was around 300 BC Philosopher Thales developed the
idea that the world can be understood, that the complex
happenings around us could be reduced to simple
principles and explain without resorting to mythical or
theological explanations.
 Around 250 BC Philosopher Aristarchus postulated that
we are but ordinary inhabitants of the Universe, not
special beings.
 Around same time Theologists thought that the physical
process need to be enforced by divine intervention.
78
Why God? Contd …

Limitations in ancient times
 Apart from Pythagoras theorem the only physical laws known
to the ancients were three laws detailed by Archimedes (287 -
212 BC).
 The base 10 number notation in arithmetic dates back only to
AD 700.
 The plus and minus didn’t come until fifteenth century.
 Equal sign didn’t exist before 16th century.
 Clocks that could measure time didn’t exist before16th century.
 But, theology of ancient times were almost never rewritten
and still believed.
79

Rejection of science by theology
 Greek philosophers rejected the idea that the Universe is
governed by indifferent natural law.
 They also rejected the idea that humans do not hold
privileged place within the Universe.
 In 1277 catholic church published a list of 219 errors or
heresies that were to be condemned. Among them was
the idea that nature follows laws because this conflicts
with God’s omnipotence.
80

 In 1543 Copernicus described a world in which the Sun
was at rest and the planets revolved around in circular
orbits. This model was held to contradict the Holy
Scriptures.
 Galileo supported Copernicus model and was tried for
heresy in 1633 for his opinion which was contrary to Holy
Scriptures. He was found guilty and confined to house
arrest for the rest of his life.
Rejection of science by theology contd...
81

Rejection of science by theology contd...
 Throughout the medieval period, scholars were required
by the religious establishments to take it for granted that
the holly scriptures was literally true. It was told that
every mouse, every pineapple, every house fly served a
purpose in God’s scheme, to purpose otherwise was
dangerous.
 Scholars therefore spent much of their energy attempting
to reconcile the concepts of nature derived from
observation or mathematical reasoning with their
religion.
82

If laws of nature can only be answered by invoking a
creator; what created the creator?
By raising the question of the need for a Creator for
objects with irreducible complexity, it raises the question,
"what created the creator?" "If complex organisms
demand an explanation, so does a complex creator. And
it's no solution to raise the theologian's plea that creator
is simply immune to the normal demands of explanation,"
83
A question

Let us get on with Quantum Physics, which I was about to
start in the slide No. 75.
84

A different frame work
Until the advent of modern physics it was generally
thought that all knowledge of the world could be
obtained through direct observation, that things are what
they seem, as perceived through our senses.
85

A different frame work; quantum physics
"Schrodinger's cat paradox"
86

Quantum domain
 The deterministic property of classical physics (or just
physics) is replaced by uncertainty for objects of small
size (scale of less than 10-33cm, which is called the Planck
length - the smallest meaningful size). Only the
probability of certain quantities and processes can be
estimated in this domain.
87

 Quantum theory was developed in 1925-1926 by Erwin
Schrodinger, Werner Heisenberg, and others in response to
many inconsistencies between experimental data and classical
theories.
 The difference between classical and quantum theories is:-
 Classical theory deals with continuously varying quantities.
 Quantum theory deals with discontinuous or divisible processes.
 Classical theory completely determines the relationship between variables at an earlier
time and those at a later time.
 Quantum laws determine only probabilities of future events in terms of given
conditions in the past.
 By the early 1930s the application of quantum theory to
problems involving nuclei, atoms, molecules, and matter made it
possible to understand a vast body of otherwise puzzling data
and led to predictions of remarkable accuracy. 88
Quantum domain contd…

Quantum physics
 Quantum physics is a new model of reality that gives us a
picture of the Universe. It is a picture in which many concepts
fundamental to our intuitive understanding of reality no longer
has a meaning. Quantum model of nature encompasses
principle that contradict not only our every day experience but
our intuitive concept of reality.
 Quantum physics provides a frame work for understanding
how nature operates on atomic and sub atomic scales. It is
classical physics (or just physics) which need to be applied for
larger objects and observable Universe which uses
approximations.
89

Quantum physics contd…
 Given the initial state of a system, nature determines its future
state through a process that is fundamentally uncertain.
 In short if you kick a quantum football, no amount of skill or
computation ability or knowledge will allow you to say in
advance exactly where it will land.
 As per Richard Feynman's description of Quantum theory, a
system do not have just one history but every possible history.
Universe itself has no single history, nor even an independent
existence.
90

 If this appears weird, I can suggest where to start if you want to
understand a quantum physics, it is the two slit experiment
conducted first in 1927 to explain interference which creates pattern
of light and dark fringes which we read in school without
understanding the meaning or purpose. This experiment contains all
the mysteries of Quantum Physics.
 If things look uncertain still, I can’t extend the presentation further. I
recommended reading Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle to
understand the subject any further than I made in my first
presentation.
 Not withstanding, let me get ahead with the presentation.
91
Quantum physics contd…

world of difference
 There is a world of difference between Classical and Quantum
Physics. No other field of science has generated so much
research and experiments designed to understand and
determine the boundary between the classical and quantum
world in the last 50 years. The boundary seems to be located
at about 10 nanometre.
 In science, large assemblage appears to behave different from
the behavior of its individual components. For example; the
response of a single neuron hardly portend those of a human
brain, also the knowledge about a water molecule do not tell
you much about the behavior of the ocean.
92

I will end the elaboration on Quantum physics here and
invite questions on this sub topic before proceeding
further on the main topic.
Let me forewarn things more weirder than Quantum
physics is going to follow.
From “Universe-as-we-know-it”,
to “Universe-as-it-might-be”
93
world of difference contd…

Theory should be as simple as possible, but not simpler
- Albert Einstein
95
Quote

Unification of four fundamental forces of nature
 The history of physics is closely linked to the unification of
seemingly disparate phenomena. Each stage of unification in
turn advanced a new theoretical framework, which provides a
deeper understanding of nature.
Superstring Theory
 According to the theory of superstrings, the fundamental
constituents of the material world are not point-like
elementary particles, but tiny one-dimensional strings having a
length of about 10-33 cm (the Planck length). They can vibrate
in many different ways, which correspond to the different
elementary particles observed in nature. All the four
fundamental forces are explained in a 10 dimensional space.
96

M-theory
 This is a eleven dimensional string theory which is in its nascent
form claimed to be the only candidate for a complete theory of
Universe, the theory Einstein was hopping to find.
 According to M- Theory, ours is not the only Universe. Instead, great
many Universes were created out of nothing. According to this
theory, there can be 100500 different vacua each one corresponds to
a different universe.
 Their creation does not require the intervention of supernatural
being. Rather, these multiple Universes arise naturally from physical
law.
If M Theory is confirmed by observation, it will be the successful
conclusion of a search going back more than 3,000 years. We will
have found the grand design.
- Stephen Hawking in his book The Grand Design. 97

 Can all the physical process of the Universe be understood
without invoking Creator?
Please wait a little longer
Before we come to answer this question let us understand a
game.
98

Origin
 The Game of Life, is a cellular automaton devised by the
British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970.
 Conway was interested in a problem presented in the
1940s by renowned mathematician John von Neumann,
who tried to find a hypothetical machine that could build
copies of itself, and succeeded when he found a
mathematical model for such a machine with very
complicated rules on a rectangular grid.
100

Rules of Conway’s Game
 The universe of the Game of Life is an infinite two-dimensional
orthogonal grid of square cells, each of which is in one of two
possible states, live or dead. Every cell interacts with its eight
neighbours, which are the cells that are directly horizontally,
vertically, or diagonally adjacent. At each step (say generation)
in time, the following transitions occur:
 Live cell with less than two live neighbours dies of loneliness.
 Live cell with more than three live neighbours dies of
overcrowding.
 Live cell with two or three live neighbours lives on to the next
generation.
 Dead cell with exactly three live neighbours becomes live (birth).
101

 Conway’s game of life shows that even a very simple set of
laws can produce complex features similar to those of
intelligent life.
 Von Neumann estimated the minimum size of self replicating
pattern in the game of life is 10 trillion squares – that is
roughly the number of molecules in a single human cell.
 With more laws Conway type world can respond to
environmental stimuli, and even appear to make decisions.
102

 The objects described above satisfy the reproduction
condition but may not be stable in the form explained
above.
 However it is easy to imagine that slightly more
complicated laws would allow complex systems with all
attributes of our life.
See this game on the internet to visualize it better. There are other
games similar to this like Langton's ant etc
103

The game of life is not really a game but a set of laws
that govern a two-dimensional Universe.
104

 Everything from weather to human behavior can be predicted
within the limitations set by Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.
 We could therefore say that any complex being including humans
has free will not as a fundamental feature, but as an effective
theory.
105

To predict such complexity is impractical but not impossible.
As per Chaos theory the behavior of dynamic systems that are
highly sensitive to initial conditions (Small differences in initial
conditions referred to as the butterfly effect) yield widely
diverging outcomes for chaotic systems, rendering long-term
prediction impractical. This happens even though these
systems are deterministic, meaning that their future behavior
is fully determined by their initial conditions, with no random
elements involved. In other words, the deterministic nature of
these systems does not make them predictable.
106

 Thanks for patiently enduring to get to the answer to Q 2
& 3
107

 Can all the physical process of the Universe be understood
without invoking Creator?
Answer
 There is a good possibility that the Universe does not need a
creator and all the physical process of the Universe could one day
be understood.
Because there is a law like gravity, the Universe can and will
create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason
there is some thing rather than nothing, why the Universe exists,
why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue
touch paper and set the Universe going.
- Stephen Hawking 108
Quote
Question No. 2 & 3

 The above answer is not to be mixed-up with the existence or
otherwise of God.
 When nature can produce such a magnificent Universe not
just one but possibly 100500 of them; God as we believe with
all magical powers is also certainly possible.
110

Does the cosmos have a purpose? What is the ultimate
reason for the existence of the Universe?
Answer
We do not have evidence or knowledge to believe one way
or other.
111
Question No. 4

Does human life has purpose?
The best explanation I found was in a philosophical theory of
Aristotle namely Hylomorphism.
112
Question No. 5
Answer

Matter
 Aristotle defines X's matter as the "constituents" of X,
as "that out of which" X is made.
 When some X is produced, X's matter is what
undergoes the change into X and remains constant
throughout the process.
114

Form
 Consider bronze. Bronze is the matter of both a bronze statue
and a bronze sphere. When a bronze statue changes into a
bronze sphere or vice versa, the bronze remains constant
throughout the change. The bronze is potentially both a bronze
statue and a bronze sphere: while remaining bronze, it can
become a bronze statue or a bronze sphere. Thus, matter is
"potentiality": M is X's matter if and only if M has the potential
to be X.
 Whereas matter is potentiality, form is actuality. If bronze is a
bronze sphere’s matter, then roundness is its form. Bronze is
potentially a bronze sphere. It becomes actually a bronze
sphere when given roundness. Thus, roundness is an
"actuality" of the bronze sphere.
115

Prime matter
 In some cases, a substance's matter will itself be a
substance. If substance A is made out of substance B, then
substance B is the matter of substance A. However, what is
the matter of a substance that is not made out of any other
substance? According to Aristotle, such a substance has
only "prime matter" as its matter. Prime matter is matter
with no substantial form of its own. Thus, it can change into
various kinds of substances without remaining any kind of
substance all the time.
116

Purpose
 Aristotle sees the universe as inherently purposeful. Aristotle
claims that potentiality exists for the sake of actuality. Thus,
matter exists for the sake of receiving its form, Now, each
thing has certain potentialities as a result of its form. The more
a thing achieves its potential, the more it succeeds in achieving
its purpose.
 Because of his form, a human being has certain abilities.
Hence, his purpose in life is to exercise those abilities as well
and as fully as possible. Now, the most characteristic human
ability, which is not included in the form of any other
organism, is the ability to think. Therefore, the purposeful
human life is a life lived rationally.
117

Pretty simple rationale right? in comparison to
heaps of rules, and do’s and don'ts as per the holly
scriptures which drives home the same principle.
118

119
So, we’ve got the answers to the Universe.
Have we?

The end
120
‘If Universe Is the Answer, What is the Question?
- Leon Lederman

References
 The Grand Design - by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow.
 Hyper Space – by Michio Kaku
 A Brief History of Time – by Stephen Hawking
 The nature of space and time - by Stephen Hawking and Roger
Penrose.
 Illustrated Science Library – Encyclopedia Britannica
 The Drunkards Walk – by Leonard Mlodinow
 The God Particle: Leon Lederman
 Beyond God Particle : Leon Lederman
 Euclid’s Widow - by Leonard Mlodinow
 The Human Touch – by Michael Frayn
 Public lectures and colloquium of Prof Stephen Hawking
 Articles on following topics from Internet majorly from Wikipedia
encyclopedia.
121

 Anthropic principle
 Antimatter
 Antiparticle
 Anti-sidereal time
 Aneutronic fusion
 Axiom
 Abiogenesis
 Aristotle
 Atomic and molecular
astrophysics
 Arrow of time
 Bohr’s atomic model
 Biogenesis
 Carbon
 Carbon chauvinism
 Cellular automaton
 Cliché
 CNO cycle
 Chaos theory
 Conflict thesis
 Continuity thesis
 Conway’s game of life
 Cosmic microwave
background radiation
 Cosmic neutrino background
 Cosmogony
 Cosmological constant
122The topics in amber color font are recommended readings for new entrants to the subject.

 Creation–evolution
controversy
 Creationism
 Creation myth
 Determinism
 Empiricism
 Entropy
 Entropy and life
 Equivalence principle
 Fine-tuned Universe
 Fine Structure Constant.
 Fifth force
 Fallacy
 Flood geology
 Flying Spaghetti Monster
 Frame of reference
 Free will
 Genesis creation
 Great Architect of the
Universe
 Gravitational lens
 Hubble's law
 Hubble Space Telescope
 Hylomorphism
 Intelligent designer
 International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor
 Langton's ant
 Large Hadron Collider
 Louis Pasteur
123

 Meaning of life
 Metaphysical naturalism
 Metaphysics
 Metaphysics (Aristotle)
 M-theory
 Monism
 Multiverse
 National Ignition Facility
 Natural philosophy
 Nuclear fission
 Nuclear fusion
 Fusion power
 Nucleosynthesis
 Nucleo-cosmochronology
 Ontology
 Origin of water on Earth
 Pantheism
 Particle physics
 Philosophy of perception
 Planetary geology
 Proton–proton chain
reaction
 Quantum chaos
 Quasar
 Rare Earth hypothesis
 Star
124

 Tautology (logic)
 The Theory of Everything
 Time's Arrow, Time's Cycle
 The Unreality of Time
 Thought experiment
 Triple-alpha process
 Truism
 Ultimate fate of the
universe
 Uncertainty Principle
 Watchmaker analogy
 What Is Life?
125

Universe. is it fine tuned

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