‘O my God! How could you let this happen!’ exclaimed Science looking very perturbed. Unruffled, the Lord smiled but Science failed to notice. He ranted on…

Science: How could you let this happen Lord! Just now my children were settling down with the comfort of some understanding and here you go spoiling everything by changing the one thing they assumed was constant. Now they are so confused and divided in their opinion, it is going to take for ever to reconcile all their views… why did you have to do this!!!

God: Calm down my child. As always you need to start at the beginning if you want me to understand you. What have I done now?

Science: (Taking a deep breath) Lord! Humanity has established the fact that neither time nor space is constant in the world they occupy. In order to make sense of all the phenomena they perceive they have established that there are physical constants that never change – ever! A physical constant is a physical quantity that is believed to be both universal in nature and constant in time. There are many physical constants in science, some of the most widely recognised being the speed of light in vacuum c, the gravitational constant G, Planck’s constant h, the elementary charge e and the dimensionless fine-structure constant alpha α

God: Hmmm…. I am with you so far. So what seems to be the problem now?

Science: Analysing the light from quasars sent some 12 billion years ago, my scientists John Webb and Michael Murphy now claim that alpha α – the fine structure constant, was once around 0.0006 percent smaller than it is today. If this were correct then humanity’s entire theory of creation of the universe will need to be reformulated. We have always assumed that nature, no matter where, at all times and places is always governed by the same force. But now if alpha has changed over time then there is no rationality in the universe…

God: What actually according to your scientists is this ‘alpha’?

Science: The fine structure constant alpha is the fundamental constant of quantum electrodynamics, the quantum theory of the mutual influence among electrons, muons, and photons. As such it is a measure of the strength of these electromagnetic interactions. The electromagnetic field exerts the electromagnetic force on electrically charged particles which holds electrons and protons together in atoms, and which hold atoms together to make molecules. We now consider alpha the coupling constant for the electromagnetic force, similar to those for the other three known fundamental forces or interactions of nature: the gravitational force, the weak nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force.

God: Alright. So why does a change in alpha cause anxiety to you?

Science: Lord! Humanity has been driven by the question: are the constants observed by mankind the essential core of nature? Or are they human projections of their perceptions? The philosophers of old believed that you my lord had laid down the laws of nature and they prevail independent of man. Then philosophers claimed that it is human reason that created the rules of nature in order to structure a well-ordered world from the chaos of perceptions. Humanity began to believe in the laws of causality which is that all events have a cause. In other words a cause-less ‘GOD’ cannot exist. With the discovery of quantum mechanics, humanity now begins to see the laws of nature not merely as the result of human logic but actually REAL. Scientific realism as this is called is that reality is independent of what we might take the universe to be. Perhaps You do exist as the intelligent designer!

God: (with a smile) Wow! That is cool!

Science: Now if the constants –  say the gravity constant g had a higher value, the earth will be pulled towards the sun and life cannot exist. If alpha was different, carbon the foundation of organic life would not exist. If the speed of light were any different the houses along the street would be warped and twin brothers traveling at different speeds will end up with differences in their age! The entire world that man perceives will be topsy turvy! If the fundamental physical constants had different values, our universe would be so radically different that intelligent life would probably not have emerged.

God: (murmurs with a smile) A classic case of innocence turning to ignorance!

Science: (with a frown) What?

God: Humanity, by assuming that the physical constants were indeed ‘constant’, was innocent. Now that a question on the very foundation has risen, ignorance is creating havoc in their minds! Hmmm… Remember the Russian physicist Savely Karshenboim? The truth is there is no substantial reason why nature’s constants should be constant!

Science remained silent. He just wanted to know if it were true or false. Yet he knew the Lord would never give him such one word directives.

God: Didn’t John D Barrow, theoretical physicist state “The pure number we call the fine structure constant and denote by α is a combination of the electron charge, e, the speed of light, c, and Planck’s constant, h. At first we might be tempted to think that a world in which the speed of light was slower would be a different world. But this would be a mistake. If c, h, and e were all changed so that the values they have…were different, but the value of alpha (α) remained the same, this new world would be observationally indistinguishable from our world. The only thing that counts in the definition of worlds are the values of the dimensionless constants of Nature. If all masses were doubled in value you cannot tell because all the pure numbers defined by the ratios of any pair of masses are unchanged.”

Science: Yes indeed he did. That is exactly my point. As John Barrow said if each constant changed and yet its relationship remained constant, the observable universe would not be any different. But if the dimensionless constant alpha changed! You have to clarify this to man!

God: Child, these constants you speak of are ‘relationships’ between different phenomena. The speed of light is the relationship between time and space; gravity – the interaction between objects with mass; alpha – the electromagnetic interactions… The universe is not made of mere isolated constants but relationships that need to remain stable.

Science: (Almost like confronting the Lord) Why can’t you just say if the values of alpha has changed or not?

God: I am sure your doctors know that a calcium deficiency cannot be solved over night. Even if the needed amount was introduced, the human body cannot absorb more than a specified quantity. When humanity is ready they will understand.

Science and God remained silent for a while. With a meditative peace God quoted the words of one of his favorite children.

God: Inspired by Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, my child Yogananda wrote Omar’s Dream Wine of Love – I sought love in many lives. I shed bitter tears of separation and repentance to know what is love. I sacrificed everything, all attachment and delusion, to learn at last that I am in love with love… My child! The parents’ love for their child is true. The lover’s love for his beloved is true. The Master’s love for the disciple is true. And yet Love as Love alone is constant. The others are mere projections.

Written by Gita Krishna Raj  |  Published in infinithoughts in September 2009

When Science met God… |  Segment Five: Why Me?  | Chapter Three: Where is my anchor?