#6 The Highly Structured Universe
Trying to understand a complex problem requires a methodical approach. One of the first steps after defining the problem is to gather sufficient information about it to understand the context and nature of the issue we are dealing with.
Attempting to crack the biggest question of all – the meaning of life – requires a similar approach. We started by gathering information and data about the issue. We began our quest by observing the natural world and understanding the environs we inhabit. The planet we live in, it turns out, is not a run-of-the-mill place. It is a special one-of-a-kind heavenly body that fulfills all our exhaustive needs. It gives us much more than we would expect and enriches our lives beyond our basic needs.
Our observation of the natural world does not stop with our planet though. There is still a lot more information, knowledge, and observation that we can collect about the world we are part of. Specifically, there is insightful information embedded into the framework of the universe we find ourselves in. This data set provides us with an immense wealth of knowledge that will guide us through our journey. This blog, and the next couple of succeeding ones, will deal with such observations about our universe.
The Fundamental Structure
Our universe is big. It is so vast that, even with our most powerful telescopes in space, we can barely observe a tiny part of it. Yet, we have been able to figure out – mostly through physics, mathematics, and the natural sciences supplemented by observational data – many intricate details about the way our universe is structured and functions. There is a lot more we still haven’t discovered yet, but what we have so far has given us a sound picture of the framework upon which our universe runs.
Our universe contains space, time, matter, and energy as part of its fundamental properties. To the best of our current knowledge, the physical manifestation of the universe comprises observable matter, dark matter, and dark energy. We don’t have much clue about dark matter and dark energy. There’s no point dwelling on it. But we will briefly examine what the observable matter – everything that we can observe and see including you and me – is made up of.
Our universe is not constituted haphazardly. It does not run its affairs arbitrarily. On the contrary – as our observations will show – there is an extremely precise and definite order in the way our entire universe exists and functions. In this blog, we will focus on the most basic structure upon which the observable matter of our universe is constructed.
The Subatomic Particles
At its tiniest and most fundamental level that we have understood so far, the observable matter of our universe is constructed from subatomic particles. These elementary particles are exceptionally minuscule and are smaller than an atom. So far, about seventeen elementary particles have been discovered, i.e., identified and proven to exist. Particle physicists posit the existence of many other elementary particles based on their experimental observations and theoretical calculations, though they have yet to be discovered. The following figure summarizes the Standard Model of the Elementary Particles as it is understood by particle physicists today.
We’re not going to go into the physics of these elementary particles. What I do want to point out, however, are some of their key characteristics. Notice the three numbers written at the top right of the box for each elementary particle. They signify the three properties associated with each elementary particle: mass, charge, and spin. Collectively, these three properties determine the type and role of every elementary particle. Look at the three numbers carefully for each elementary particle. All the elementary particles have a precise and admissible value for each property.
One of the astonishing observations of the elementary particles is that they exhibit perfect order, arrangement, and symmetry in their properties of mass, charge, and spin. The elementary particles either exist on their own, like electrons, or they bond with each other in perfect combinations of their properties to give rise to stable composite particles, like protons and neutrons. A slight deviation in the mass, charge, and spin properties of the elementary particles would destabilize the observable matter and the forces that interact with them. Our universe would become unstable and would collapse or disintegrate.
The Atomic Particles
Elementary particles glue together in exact proportions to form composite particles, such as protons and neutrons, which, in turn, bind with each other in precise combinations to form the nucleus of an atom. An atom is the smallest fundamental particle of each chemical element found in nature. Since we currently have about 118 chemical elements in the Periodic Table – such as hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, iron, copper, etc. – there are as many different kinds of atoms in the universe.
An atom cannot just form arbitrarily from protons, neutrons, and electrons. Only specific combinations of these particles produce a stable atom. Moreover, these particles are held together in their places through extremely precise force interactions. Any deviation in their values would destabilize the atom and prevent it from materializing. The extraordinary precision in the properties of the elementary particles translates into another sublime layer of exactness that is exhibited at the atomic level.
To get a sense of the smallness of the atomic level, a single grain of sand contains 50 billion billion atoms. The electron within an atom revolves around its nucleus so fast that it would travel around the entire Earth in 18 seconds. With this perspective in mind, it is wondrous to note that all the aforementioned exceptional properties in the order, symmetry, and precision of an atom exists at the microscopic atomic and subatomic levels.
Atoms are everywhere. They make up everything you see – including you and me. And the complexity and precision with which they exist and function at a level that we cannot even see is mind-boggling.
The Molecular Structure
The precision and order that is prevalent at the atomic level do not stop there. It continues to even higher levels. Atoms of different types combine in well-defined ways to form higher-order structures called molecules. Again, molecules do not form in an arbitrary haphazard manner. Atoms of different types follow strict rules that allow them to bond with each other through chemical bondings that produce stable molecules.
Molecules are the basic building blocks of compounds. An untold number of molecular structures exist in our universe. Each distinct molecular structure produces a different compound – such as water, carbon dioxide, table salt, glucose, plastic, etc. – with unique properties of color, texture, shape, smell, and function. Behind everything that we see around us is a highly precise, ordered, and well-defined framework of structure and interaction.
When we go deeper beyond the surface, we see that everything in our universe and in our world is constituted within a very well-defined framework. There is an extraordinarily precise structure at the most basic core of our universe. All the matter around us has a wonderful chemistry behind it that is exact and precisely organized. This chemistry rests on an even more astonishing framework of particle physics, the intricacies and precision of which are astonishing and beyond description. It is as if we are living in an unreal magical world.
Most of us go about our daily lives without looking deeper into the world around us. We see, hear, touch, smell, and feel the world but only subconsciously. We don’t think about them. We don’t ponder over them. We take them for granted. But if we are truly looking for answers to the big questions of life, we must start with the basics. We need to go beyond the surface and recognize things for what they are.
All of us know well how matter is structured. We all learned it in school in physics and chemistry. It is not a new discovery. But have we ever wondered why it is so beautifully organized? What makes it so precise? Did all of it happen randomly by chance? Did everything come together in this arrangement on its own? We need to have an honest and sincere reflection to have the insights to the answers.