Expansion of the Universe
In
1929, the American astronomer Edwin Hubble, working at the California
Mount Wilson observatory, made one of the most important discoveries in
the history of astronomy. Observing a number of stars through his huge
telescope, he discovered that their light was shifted towards the red
end of the spectrum and, crucially, that this shift was directly related
to the distance of the stars from earth. This discovery had an
electrifying effect in the world of science, because according to the
recognized rules of physics, the spectra of light beams travelling
towards the point of observation tend towards violet while the spectra
of light beams moving away from the point of observation tend towards
red. During Hubble's observations, the light from stars was discovered
to tend towards red. This meant that they were constantly moving away
from us.
Before
long, Hubble made another important discovery; The stars weren't just
racing away from Earth; they were racing away from each other as well.
The only conclusion that could be derived from a universe where
everything moves away from everything else is that the universe
constantly "expands".
To
better understand, the universe can be thought of as the surface of a
balloon being blown up. Just as the points on the surface of a balloon
move apart from each other as the balloon is inflated, so do the objects
in space move apart from each other as the universe keeps expanding.
In
fact, this had been theoretically discovered even earlier. Albert
Einstein, who is considered the greatest scientist of the century, had
concluded after the calculations he made in theoretical physics that the
universe could not be static. However, he had laid his discovery to
rest simply not to conflict with the widely recognised static universe
model of his time. Later on, Einstein was to identify his act as "the
greatest mistake of his career". Subsequently, it became definite by
Hubble's observations, that the universe expands.
What importance, then, did the fact that the universe expands have on the existence of the universe?
The
expansion of the universe implied that if it could travel backwards in
time, the universe would prove to have originated from a single point.
The calculations showed that this "single point" that harboured all the
matter of the universe should have "zero volume" and "infinite density".
The universe had come about by the explosion of this single point with
zero volume. This great explosion that marked the beginning of the
universe was named the "Big Bang" and the theory started to be so
called.
It
has to be stated that "zero volume" is a theoretical expression used
for descriptive purposes. Science can define the concept of
"nothingness", which is beyond the limits of human comprehension, only
by expressing it as "a point with zero volume". In truth, "a point with
no volume" means "nothingness". The universe has come into being from
nothingness. In other words, it was created.
The
Big Bang theory showed that in the beginning all the objects in the
universe were of one piece and then were parted. This fact, which was
revealed by the Big Bang theory was stated in the Qur'an 14 centuries
ago, when people had a very limited knowledge about the universe:
Do
not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined
together (as one unit of creation), before We clove them asunder? We
made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? (The
Qur'an, 21:30)
As
stated in the verse, everything, even the "heavens and the earth" that
were not yet created, were created with a Big Bang out of a single
point, and began shaping the present universe by being parted from each
other.
When
we compare the statements in the verse with the Big Bang theory, we see
that they fully agree with each other. However, the Big Bang was
introduced as a scientific theory only in the 20th century.
The
expansion of the universe is one of the most important pieces of
evidence that the universe was created out of nothing. Although this
fact was not discovered by science until the 20th century, God has
informed us of this reality in the Qur'an revealed 1,400 years ago:
It
is We who have built the universe with (Our creative) power, and,
verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it. (The Qur'an, 51:47)
The Search for Alternatives to Big Bang Theory
As clearly seen, the Big Bang theory
proved that the universe was 'created from nothing', in other words,
that it was created by God. For this reason, astronomers committed to
the materialist philosophy continued to hold out against the Big Bang in
their struggle to uphold a fundamental tenet of their ideology. The
reason was made clear by the leading materialist physicist Arthur
Eddington, who said: "Philosophically, the notion of an abrupt beginning
to the present order of Nature is repugnant to me."
Sir Fred Hoyle was one of those who
were disturbed by the Big Bang theory. In the middle of the century,
Hoyle championed a theory called "the steady-state theory" which was
similar to the "constant universe" approach of the 19th century. The
steady-state theory argued that the universe was both infinite in size
and eternal in duration. With the sole visible aim of supporting the
materialist philosophy, this theory was totally at variance with the
'Big Bang' theory, which held that the universe had a beginning.
Those who defended the steady-state
theory remained adamantly opposed to the Big Bang for years. Science,
however, was working against them.
In 1948, George Gamov came up with
another idea concerning the Big Bang. If the universe was formed in a
sudden, cataclysmic explosion, there ought to be a definite amount of
radiation left over from that explosion. This radiation should be
detectable and, furthermore, it should be uniform throughout the
universe.
Within two decades, observational proof of Gamov's conjecture was forthcoming.
Cosmic Background Radiation
In 1965, two researchers by the name
of Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson chanced upon a form of radiation
hitherto unnoticed. This radiation, called the "cosmic background
radiation", did not seem to radiate from a particular source but rather
pervaded the whole of space. It was soon realized that this radiation
was the echo of the Big Bang, still reverberating since the first
moments of that great explosion. Penzias and Wilson were awarded a Nobel
Prize for their discovery.
In 1989, NASA sent the Cosmic
Background Explorer (COBE) satellite into space to do research on cosmic
background radiation. It took only eight minutes for the sensitive
instruments on board the satellite to detect and confirm the levels of
radiation reported by Penzias and Wilson. The COBE had found the remains
of the big explosion that had taken place at the outset of the
universe.
Defined as the greatest astronomic
discovery of all times, this finding explicitly proved the Big Bang
theory. The findings of the COBE 2 satellite which was sent into space
after the COBE satellite also confirmed the calculations based on the
Big Bang.
More evidence for the Big Bang was
forthcoming. One piece had to do with the relative amounts of hydrogen
and helium in the universe. Observations indicated that the
hydrogen-helium concentration in the universe was in accord with
theoretical calculations of what should have been remained after the Big
Bang. That drove another stake into the heart of the steady state
theory because if the universe had existed for eternity and never had a
beginning, all of its hydrogen should have been burned into helium.
All of this compelling evidence caused
the Big Bang theory to be embraced by the scientific community. The Big
Bang model was the latest point reached by science concerning the
formation and beginning of the universe.
Defending the steady-state theory
alongside Fred Hoyle for years, Dennis Sciama described the final
position they had reached after all the evidence for the Big Bang theory
was revealed:There was at that time a somewhat acrimonious debate
between some of the proponents of the steady state theory and observers
who were testing it and, I think, hoping to disprove it. I played a very
minor part at that time because I was a supporter of the steady state
theory, not in the sense that I believed that it had to be true, but in
that I found it so attractive I wanted it to be true. When hostile
observational evidence became to come in, Fred Hoyle took a leading part
in trying to counter this evidence, and I played a small part at the
side, also making suggestions as to how the hostile evidence could be
answered. But as that evidence piled up, it became more and more evident
that the game was up, and that one had to abandon the steady state
theory.
Prof. George Abel from the University
of California also states that currently available evidence shows that
the universe originated billions of years ago with the Big Bang. He
concedes that he has no choice but to accept the Big Bang theory.
With the Big Bang's victory, the
concept of 'eternal matter' that constituted the basis of the
materialist philosophy is thrown into the trash-heap of history. What,
then, was before the Big Bang and what was the power that brought the
universe into 'being' with this big explosion when it was
"non-existent"? This question certainly implies, in Arthur Eddington's
words, the 'philosophically unfavourable' fact for the materialists,
that is, of the existence of a Creator. The renowned atheist philosopher
Antony Flew comments on the issue:Notoriously, confession is good for
the soul. I will therefore begin by confessing that the Stratonician
atheist has to be embarrassed by the contemporary cosmological
consensus. For it seems that the cosmologists are providing a scientific
proof of what St. Thomas contended could not be proved philosophically;
namely, that the universe had a beginning. So long as the universe can
be comfortably thought of as being not only without end but also without
beginning, it remains easy to urge that its brute existence, and
whatever are found to be its most fundamental features, should be
accepted as the explanatory ultimates. Although I believe that it
remains still correct, it certainly is neither easy nor comfortable to
maintain this position in the face of the Big Bang story.
Many scientists who do not blindly
condition themselves to be atheists have admitted the role of an
almighty Creator in the creation of the universe. This Creator must be a
being Who has created both matter and time, yet Who is independent of
both. Well-known astrophysicist Hugh Ross has this to say:
If time's beginning is concurrent with
the beginning of the universe, as the space-theorem says, then the
cause of the universe must be some entity operating in a time dimension
completely independent of and preexistent to the time dimension of the
cosmos. This conclusion is powerfully important to our understanding of
who God is and who or what God isn't. It tells us that God is not the
universe itself, nor is God contained within the universe.
Matter and time are created by the
almighty Creator Who is independent of all these notions. This Creator
is God, Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth.
Delicate Balances in Space
In truth, the Big Bang caused much
greater trouble for the materialists than the above confessions of the
atheist philosopher, Antony Flew. For the Big Bang not only proves that
the universe was created out of nothing, but also that it was brought
into being in a very planned, systematic and controlled manner.
The Big Bang took place with the
explosion of the point which contained all the matter and energy of the
universe and its dispersion into space in all directions with a
terrifying speed. Out of this matter and energy, there came about a
great balance containing galaxies, stars, the sun, the earth and all
other heavenly bodies. Moreover, laws were formed called the 'laws of
physics', which are uniform throughout the whole universe and do not
change. All these indicate that a perfect order arose after the Big
Bang.
Explosions, however, do not bring
about order. All of the observable explosions tend to harm,
disintegrate, and destroy what is present. For example, the atom and
hydrogen bomb explosions, fire-damp explosions, volcanic explosions,
natural gas explosions, solar explosions: they all have destructive
effects.
If we were to be introduced to a very
detailed order after an explosion - for instance, if an explosion under
the ground gave rise to perfect works of art, huge palaces, or imposing
houses - we might conclude that there was a "supernatural" intervention
behind this explosion and that all the pieces dispersed by the explosion
had been made to move in a very controlled way.
This quotation from Sir Fred Hoyle,
who accepted his mistake after many years of opposition to the Big Bang
Theory, expresses the situation very well:
The big bang theory holds that the
universe began with a single explosion. Yet as can be seen below, an
explosion merely throws matter apart, while the big bang has
mysteriously produced the opposite effect - with matter clumping
together in the form of galaxies.6
While stating that the Big Bang's
giving way to order is contradictory, he surely interprets the Big Bang
with a materialistic bias and assumes that this was an "uncontrolled
explosion". He, however, was in reality the one who became
self-contradictory by making such a statement simply to dismiss the
existence of a Creator. For if a great order arose with an explosion,
then the concept of an "uncontrolled explosion" should have been set
aside and it should be accepted that the explosion was extraordinarily
controlled.
Another aspect of this extraordinary
order formed in the universe following the Big Bang is the creation of a
"habitable universe". The conditions for the formation of a habitable
planet are so many and so complex that it is almost impossible to think
that this formation is coincidental.
Paul Davies, a renowned professor of
theoretical physics, calculated how "fine tuned" the pace of expansion
after the Big Bang was, and he reached an incredible conclusion.
According to Davies, if the rate of expansion after the Big Bang had
been different even by the ratio of one over a billion times a billion,
no habitable star type would have been formed:
Careful measurement puts the rate of
expansion very close to a critical value at which the universe will just
escape its own gravity and expand forever. A little slower and the
cosmos would collapse, a little faster and the cosmic material would
have long ago completely dispersed. It is interesting to ask precisely
how delicately the rate of expansion has been 'fine-tuned' to fall on
this narrow dividing line between two catastrophes. If at time I S (by
which time the pattern of expansion was already firmly established) the
expansion rate had differed from its actual value by more than 10-18, it
would have been sufficient to throw the delicate balance out. The
explosive vigour of the universe is thus matched with almost
unbelievable accuracy to its gravitating power. The big bang was not,
evidently, any old bang, but an explosion of exquisitely arranged
magnitude.
The laws of physics that emerged
together with the Big Bang have not change at all over a period of 15
billion years. Furthermore, these laws stand on calculations so
scrupulous that even a millimetre's variation from their current values
can result in the destruction of the whole structure and configuration
of the universe.
The famous physicist Prof. Stephen
Hawking states in his book A Brief History of Time, that the universe is
set on calculations and balances more finely tuned than we can
conceive. Hawking states with reference to the rate of expansion of the
universe:
Why did the universe start out with so
nearly the critical rate of expansion that separates models that
recollapse from those that go on expanding forever, so that even now,
ten thousand million years later, it is still expanding at nearly the
critical rate? If the rate of expansion one second after the big bang
had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million,
the universe would have recollapsed before it ever reached its present
size.8
Paul Davies also explains the unavoidable consequence to be derived from these incredibly precise balances and calculations:
It is hard to resist the impression
that the present structure of the universe, apparently so sensitive to
minor alterations in the numbers, has been rather carefully thought out…
The seemingly miraculous concurrence of numerical values that nature
has assigned to her fundamental constants must remain the most
compelling evidence for an element of cosmic design.
In relation to the same conclusion, an
American professor of Astronomy, George Greenstein, writes in his book
The Symbiotic Universe:
As we survey all the evidence, the
thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency - or, rather
Agency - must be involved.
The atom, the building-block of
matter, came into being after the Big Bang. These atoms then came
together to make up the universe with its stars, earth and sun.
Afterwards, the same atoms established life on the earth, everything you
see around you: your body, the chair you sit on, the book you hold in
your hand, the sky seen through the window, the soil, the concrete, the
fruits, the plants, all living things and everything that you can
imagine have come to life with the gathering of atoms.
What then is the atom, the building block of everything, made of and what kind of a structure does it have?
When we examine the structure of
atoms, we see that all of them have an outstanding design and order.
Every atom has a nucleus in which there are certain numbers of protons
and neutrons. In addition to these, there are electrons which move
around the nucleus in a constant orbit with a speed of 1,000 kms per
second.11 Electrons and protons of an atom are equal in number, because
positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons always
balance each other. If one of these numbers were different, there would
be no atom, since its electromagnetic balance would be disturbed. An
atom's nucleus, the protons and the neutrons in it, and the electrons
around it are always in motion. These revolve both around themselves and
each other unerringly at certain speeds. These speeds are always
proportionate to each other and provide the subsistence of the atom. No
disorder, disparity, or change ever occurs.
It is very remarkable that such highly
ordered and determined entities could come into being after a great
explosion that took place in non-being. If the Big Bang were an
uncontrolled, coincidental explosion, then it ought to have been
followed by random events and everything that formed subsequently ought
to have been dispersed in a great chaos.
In fact, a flawless order has
prevailed at every point since the beginning of the existence of the
universe. For example, although atoms are formed at different places and
times, they are so organised that they seem as though they were
produced from a single factory with an awareness of each kind. First,
electrons find themselves a nucleus and start to turn around it. Later,
atoms come together to form matter and all these bring about meaningful,
purposeful and reasonable objects. Ambiguous, useless, abnormal and
purposeless things never occur. Everything from the smallest unit to the
biggest component is organised and has manifold purposes.
All of this is solid evidence of the
existence of the Creator, Who is exalted in power, and indicate the fact
that everything comes into existence however He wants and whenever He
wills. In the Qur'an, God refers to His creation thus:
He it is Who has created the heavens
and the earth with truth, and on the day He says: Be, it is. His word is
the truth. (The Qur'an, 6:73)
There is a certain sense in which I
would say that the universe has a purpose. It's not just there by
chance. Some people take the view that the universe is simply there and
it runs along - it's a bit as though it just sort of computes, and we
happen by accident to find ourselves in this thing. I don't think that's
a very fruitful or helpful way of looking at the universe. I think that
there is something much deeper about it, about its existence, which we
have very little inkling of at the moment.
The above words of Roger Penrose are
indeed good food for thought. As his words imply, many people wrongly
entertain thoughts that the universe with all its perfect harmony exists
for nothing and that they live in this universe for no particular
reason or purpose.
However, it can by no means be
considered as ordinary that a quite perfect and wondrous order came
about after a Big Bang, which is considered by the scientific community
to be the means of the formation of the universe.
Briefly, when we examine the glorious
system in the universe, we see that the existence of the universe and
its workings rest on extremely delicate balances and an order too
complex to be explained away by coincidental causes. As is evident, it
is by no means possible for this delicate balance and order to have been
formed on its own and by coincidence after a great explosion. The
formation of such an order following an explosion such as the Big Bang
could only have been possible as a result of a supernatural creation.
This matchless plan and order in the
universe certainly proves the existence of a Creator with infinite
knowledge, might and wisdom, Who has created matter from nothing and Who
controls and manages it incessantly. This Creator is God, the Lord of
the heavens, the earth and all that is in between.
All the evidence shows us how the
claims of the materialist philosophy, which is simply a 19th century
dogma, are invalidated by 20th century science.
By revealing the great plan, design
and order prevalent in the universe, modern science has proved the
existence of a Creator Who has created and continually rules all beings:
that is, God.
Holding sway over a great number of
people for centuries and having even disguised itself with the mask of
"science", materialism, by deeming everything to consist of nothing but
matter, has made a great mistake and denied the existence of God, Who
created and ordered matter from nothing. One day, materialism will be
remembered in history as a primitive and superstitious belief opposed to
both reason and science.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder