The create-a-universe project\u2019s success depends upon two assumptions: first, that the universe began in a Big Bang, and second, that it underwent rapid inflation shortly thereafter.
\nThe first assumption, the Big Bang theory, is predicated on the observation that all objects in the universe appear to be moving away from one another. Edwin Hubble, after whom the Space Telescope is named, noted this odd fact back in 1929. The obvious implication of Hubble\u2019s discovery was that the universe would have had to have a beginning point, when it was incredibly small, from which it then expanded over time. In 1915 Einstein\u2019s General Theory of Relativity had indicated that the universe must be either expanding or contracting. But since such an idea was at odds with the universally held theory that the universe was static, Einstein added a fudge into his equations called the cosmological constant to get rid of the universe\u2019s ballooning. So few were looking for what Hubble had found by chance. Interestingly, Hubble\u2019s findings matched Einstein\u2019s predictions (minus the fudge factor) exactly. Nevertheless, Hubble\u2019s observations and ideas were criticized and resisted. In fact, the designation of the theory as \u201cthe Big Bang\u201d was at first a derogatory put down of the theory. It made scientists very uncomfortable to be faced with the fact that the universe had a beginning. <\/p>\n
Why? One of the oldest arguments for the existence of God is what is called the First Cause Argument. It goes like this: \u201cAll effects have a cause. The universe is an effect. Therefore the universe has a cause.\u201d And so what was the cause of the universe? Most people would say that cause was God. The refutation of this argument for God\u2019s existence went as follows: \u201cIf the universe had a cause which we call \u2018God\u2019 then what caused \u2018God?\u2019\u201d The traditional answer is \u201cGod is uncaused, he has always existed.\u201d The obvious response then is, \u201cWhy do we have to assume the universe is an effect at all? Why don\u2019t we simply assume that the universe has always existed? Why add the extra complication of \u2018God?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
The reality of an expanding universe and the Big Bang Theory blew that simple refutation out of the water. And so the theory made a lot of scientists very uncomfortable because of its obvious theological implications. Though the Big Bang Theory was resisted for decades, today, because of the overwhelming evidence, it is almost universally accepted. <\/p>\n
The second assumption needed to make possible the creation of a universe is called \u201cinflation theory.\u201d The theory was developed in 1981 by MIT physicist Alan Guth. He noticed that there appeared to have been a period immediately following the Big Bang when the universe \u201cinflated\u201d rapidly, separating regions of space-time far enough apart that they functioned entirely independently of each other. <\/p>\n
Given these two assumptions of Big Bang and Inflation, the universe \u201ccreation\u201d project is not theoretical physics. Rather, it is applied physics, on the order of building the first MRI machine. It is simply a physical application of observed phenomena, in combination with the aim of achieving an as yet untested physical effect. Inflation theory helps provide the means of understanding how that effect might be brought about.<\/p>\n
As reported by the journal New Scientist: \u201cInflation theory\u2026relies on the fact that the \u2018vacuum\u2019 of empty space-time is not a boring, static place. Instead, it is subject to quantum fluctuations that cause strange bubbles to appear at random times. These bubbles of \u2018false vacuum\u2019 contain space-time with different\u2014and very curious\u2014 properties.\u201d How curious? The space-time inside the \u201cfalse vacuum\u201d is organized in ways that can be different than the organization in the rest of the universe. That different organization in the \u201cfalse vacuum\u201d happens thanks to a phenomenon known as the \u201cHiggs field.\u201d And with the constant provided by this \u201cHiggs field,\u201d the bubbles of \u201cfalse vacuum\u201d can withstand contact with the higher pressure external vacuum in our universe, making them expand through a kind of cosmic inflation just like what followed the Big Bang of our universe. The key to making this happen, however, is something known as a monopole, a spherical particle that, unlike a magnet which has two poles, has only one. By adding mass to this already extremely dense particle, scientists think that they could use it as a trigger to make the bubble of false vacuum grow into a new universe entirely separate from ours, a universe that would then go on to develop its own physical laws and properties.<\/p>\n
\tThe Japanese physicist Nobuyuki Sakai, as quoted by New Scientist<\/em>, says that the \u201cbaby universe has its own space-time and, as this inflates, the pressure from the true vacuum outside its walls continues to constrain it. As these forces compete, the growing baby universe is forced to bubble out from our space-time until its only connection to us is through a narrow space-time tunnel called a wormhole.\u201d<\/p>\n \tThis wormhole between our space-time and the newly created universe would quickly snap. The new universe would then continue to grow and expand in ways that we could neither predict nor affect. In fact, from our perspective, it would appear as a microscopic black hole that evaporated almost instantly. This then becomes the problem with the whole experiment: everything would likely happen so fast that it might be impossible to know if anything had actually happened at all.<\/p>\n And in any case, this is hardly the creation from nothing that God did. As remarkable as such an experiment would be, like the joke, humanity would not actually be starting from scratch. We\u2019d still be using God\u2019s dirt. <\/p>\n There\u2019s an old and humorous joke about human arrogance. One day a group of scientists got together and decided that humanity had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell … Continue reading ![](\"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/plugins\/send-to-kindle\/media\/white-15.png\")
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