The Start…
We all know of our planet, the Earth, the one which we live on. The solar system and the eight planets within our galaxy, the Milky Way, is also what we have known for a while. All this is just a small spec in the big picture. Milky Way is just one galaxy of the countless billions of unknown galaxies within our Universe. But, just like our Universe, there lies a possibility of multiverses (multiple universes like ours). So, this raises not one, but several questions.
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- What led to this enormous creation, of not one but several universes?
- Was there a Creator behind this?
- How does the universe work?
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Origin and the Big Bang…
How did it all begin? BANG! Like a tiny firecracker 1cm wide, and it started, the mighty process of galaxies scattering across the universe, particles colliding and clumping to form planets, and massive balls of fire emitting energy to take on the role of stars, the Sun, for us Earthlings. Like a fragmentation grenade releasing high velocity projectile, the big bang launched massive amounts of energy and matter across the space, which over time cooled and condensed to form these celestial bodies which we see and inhabit now.
Life on other Planets…
Ours is just one of the million planets in our Milky Way galaxy and there are million other galaxies in this vast space, assuming there exists only one universe. So, let’s open up our minds and consider the existence of multiple universes arising out of the occurrence of several big bangs at multiple arbitrary locations in space. This would mean that, even if we consider one Earth to exist for each galaxy then it would mean that there exist million other planets, like Earth, suitable for life, on which life would have evolved since the big bang. Hence in theory million other species, maybe like us or non-humans exist in this set of universes, at present. In our Solar System, which is a part of the Milky Way galaxy, Earth is the only inhabitable planet. So, even if we consider the probability of multiverses existing or just this single universe, each galaxy will continue to have billions of solar systems, with each solar systems having their own energy source/s, like our Sun. Thus, the probability of life existing elsewhere is quite high. There can also be chances of same species like us existing elsewhere, or a totally new life-form with a much higher intelligence level, which may be the one reason why we are not being contacted, even though we maybe, already being observed, just like we study other celestial objects.
Before the Big Bang…
The question, how can this universe of such infinite vastness materialize out of nothing? Philosophy tells us, for every positive there exists a negative, and so does science. Laws of physics demand the existence of something called negative energy, just like on a sub-atomic level there exists electrons and protons, two oppositely charged particles. This sub-atomic level, is where creating something out of nothing is possible, at least for a short while. Particles such as protons behave according to the laws of nature we call quantum mechanics, they can really appear at random. We know that universe once was very small, smaller than a proton. This means universe simply must have popped into existence without violating the known laws of nature. And concerning the negative aspects of this universe, there is this scary phenomena which we know as Black Holes. Just like planets interspersed across the galaxies, we have black holes, which are massive stars collapsing in on themselves and possessing a gravitational field that can prevent light from passing and even stop time. So, simply put, time does not exist in a black hole. The answer, at the beginning, before the big bang, the tiny particle, that existed, which lead to further events, was nothing but a black hole the size of an atomic particle. So based on this hypothesis, if black hole was the only thing present before the big bang, then, according to the definition of a black hole, time was something that did not exist. Big bang was the beginning of time! It was when creation began and what got created was our Universe. [Based on Stephen Hawking’s Theory]
What about God?
Science deals with the physical aspects. The domain encloses all that is material and can be made sense out of. This means that any cause and effect phenomena which can be explained according to the predefined laws of nature and can be comprehended by our human mind is covered by science. This leaves a wide domain of spirituality, uncertainty, human relationships and emotions untouched. Here, one may consider God and things like instinct to play a role. Though seemingly, not of creation and destruction, which is, hypothetically, being taken care by science, it still leaves the significant aspects of human life such as purpose, to be of divine origin. This may seem like a reassurance for religious people, but then again, this entire theory of big bang, can also be considered as a hypothesis for reassuring the thinking minds. If laws of nature are fixed and applicable beyond our universe is not known for certain. Science and religion will always be two distinct parts because science is methodical and doesn’t encapsulate divine aspects or even matters involving humans and their relationships. Science talks about the set of fixed laws governed by defined forces whereas religion talks about things like meaning and purpose. But again that requires a basis, you cannot just state that your purpose in life is to fly without considering the scientific reality of things, being natural flight is not possible for humans. World works in certain ways and obeys laws of nature and that has implications on what we mean by purpose and value.
Our Limitations…
Universe is ordered and there is a natural scheme of things, but again, that is just a human perspective, based on information available to us. We already are aware of the magnificence of our mind, but basing answers such as those of our existence on fixed laws relevant to us, can also be looked at as act of arrogance on our behalf. Having such a restricted view as a single species would mean being shortsighted in this context. On an individual scale, we as humans too have differing opinions, perspective and sense of rationality, so is it apt for us as a group to define the entire universe based on our abilities and sense of understanding.
But these are human-defined laws on which these conclusions are based, and in certain aspects as the case of a proton, such laws are inherently random and not naturally fixed. What we refer to as law of nature is just a concept that is related to and conceivable by us, based on a subject which we identify as Math. But when we talk about nature it is pertaining to our existence. So what about a different universe altogether? If it would be the case of a totally disconnected and unrelated ‘universe’, there are chances of a totally different set of laws or even absence of laws, in that case, it might even be wrong even to refer to it as a ‘universe’.
