I've had a love of astronomy my entire life, and when I read Job 38-39 and consider the enormity of the universe, I (and almost every other person alive) am completely unable to convey the enormity of it, let alone understand it. Let's face it, our minds simply can't comprehend things this vast. It's big--let's just leave it at that. Instead, I'll give you a different slant on the universe, God's universe.
In 2002, British astrophysicist Martin Rees wrote a book titled "Just Six Numbers," which lays out the hypothesis that there are six numbers (constants) that determine the nature of our universe is today. It’s a little deep, but please know that I try to err on the side that people want to know more rather than less. If this type of stuff isn’t your cup of tea, skip it—the world won’t stop spinning, but do skip to the bottom.
The first number is Omega (Ώ), and it equals 1. Omega is the amount of material there is in the universe, and if the number was much below 1, galaxies couldn’t form. If it was much above 1, all material would collapse on itself due to the force of gravity.
The second number is Epsilon (ε), which equals .007. Epsilon refers to how firmly atomic nuclei bond, and if the value was .006 or .008, life as we know it wouldn’t exist.
The third number is D, which equals 3. This is the number of dimensions in the universe (length, width and height.) Time is also a dimension, but (to our knowledge) only goes in one direction. A universe with a different number of dimensions could exist, but it would be different than ours.
The fourth number is N, which is the strength of the electrical forces that holds atoms together, and it’s value is
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (that would be 1036—that’s a big number). Change that number by even a few zeroes and our universe would have collapsed upon itself within NANOseconds of its inception.
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (that would be 1036—that’s a big number). Change that number by even a few zeroes and our universe would have collapsed upon itself within NANOseconds of its inception.
The fifth number is Q, a ratio of two fundamental energies, which is .000001, or 10-5. If this number were much smaller, there would be no structure to the universe, and much larger, it would be one filled with black holes, and that wouldn’t be a great place to live.
The sixth number is Lambda (λ), which refers to the rate at which the universe is expanding, and is currently around .7. If it was much larger, galaxies couldn’t form, and much smaller, matter would collapse on itself, much as in our first number.
Big deal, the two of you still reading say to yourself, who cares? Considering the importance of these numbers and the precise nature to which our universe requires these numbers to be the values they are, consider these odds for a chance formation of the universe:
1*103*1036*105*.7≈1045
Take my word for it that this equation refers to multiplying the magnitudes of the six numbers above, and since ALL these numbers have to be the value they are for our universe to form and be habitable, these are slim odds. We can’t even comprehend a number that size, but I’ll try—that number is 10 trillion trillion trillion…plus nine more zeroes.
I believe I forgot to mention this is just the existence of the universe—I haven’t even mentioned life on earth, which I’ll save for another day. I’m merely attempting to convey the vastness and wonder of the universe in quantifiable terms—and it’s all God’s, and he did it for us.
Scott
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