Relativity, Cosmology and the Quran: Some Thoughts
“Things should be made as simple as possible –
but no simpler.” Albert Einstein
Al-Rum 30:6-8
It is a promise of Allah. Allah faileth not His promise, but most of mankind know not.
They know but the outer (things) in the life of this world: but of the End of things they are
heedless.
Have they not pondered upon themselves? Allah created not the heavens and the earth, and
that which is between them, save with truth and for a destined end. But truly many of mankind
are disbelievers in the meeting with their Lord.
In 1905, Albert Einstein published his theory of special relativity
The laws of physics are identical to all observers in an inertial frame
of reference (i.e. moving at a constant velocity)
* Therefore, there is no absolute rest or absolute motion.
Galileo’s Transformation
http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~vincent/4500.6-001/Cosmology/SpecialRelativity.htm
Einstein’s Second Postulate: The Speed of Light is Constant
http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~vincent/4500.6-001/Cosmology/SpecialRelativity.htm
The speed of light (in empty space) is an absolute constant of nature
No material object can move at the speed of light (this would require
an infinite amount of energy).
‫ض‬
ِ ‫س َم َاوا‬
‫ه‬
‫ور ال ه‬
ِ ‫ت َو أاْل َ أر‬
ُ ُ‫اَّللُ ن‬
God is the Light of the heavens and the earth.
(al-Nur, 24:35)
•Note that in the universe, there are 1 billion photons of light for every material particle!
(Physics, 6th edition,Douglas Giancoli, p. 938)
Consequences of the absolute velocity of light:
Length and time are relative
http://homepages.wmich.edu/~kaldon/classes/ph115-4-lectures.htm
http://sol.sci.uop.edu/~jfalward/relativity/twinparadox.jpg
‫ون‬
َ ُّ‫سنَ ٍة ِم هما تَعُد‬
ِ ‫َو ِإ هن يَ أو ًما ِعندَ َر ِب َك َكأ َ أل‬
َ ‫ف‬
Verily a Day in the sight of thy Lord is like a thousand years
of your reckoning. (al-Hajj 22:47)
‫سنَ ٍة‬
َ ‫ارُُ َ أَم ِس‬
َ ‫الرو ُح ِإلَ أي ِه ِفي يَ أو ٍم َك‬
ُّ ‫ت َ أع ُر ُج أال َم ََل ِئ َكةُ َو‬
ُ َ‫ان ِم أْد‬
َ ‫ف‬
َ ‫ين َ َ أل‬
The angels and the spirit ascend unto him in a
Day the measure whereof is (as) fifty thousand
years (al-Ma’arij, 70:4)
Interestingly, in general relativity, time slows down in the presence of
large mass-energy density.
The Theory of General Relativity
http://stringthebean.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/top-10-greatest-discovery/
General relativity is the geometrical theory of
gravitation.
It unifies special relativity and Sir Isaac
Newton’s law of universal gravitation with the
insight that gravitation is not due to a force but
rather is a manifestation of curved space and
time, with this curvature being produced by the
mass-energy and momentum content of the
space-time.
General relativity is distinguished from other
metric theories of gravitation by its use of the
Einstein field equations to relate space-time
content and space-time curvature.
http://stringthebean.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/top-10-greatest-discovery/
The Einstein Equation of General Relativity (1915)
1
Rab  Rg ab   8GTab
2
Components on the left refer to certain measures of the curvature of spacetime;
Components on the right refer to the energy density of matter
Problem: “To his dismay, Einstein found that the field equations
of general relativity for his model have no static solutions.” (e.g.Friedmann
solutions) Understanding Relativity, Leo Sartori, p. 316
Einstein introduces the Cosmological Constant
1
Rab  Rg ab   g ab   8GTab
2
Compare with:
1
Rab  Rg ab   8GTab
2
This allows a static, unchanging universe.
Edwin Hubble and his amazing discovery of 1929
http://astro.wku.edu/astr106/Hubble_law_anim.gif
Einstein was wrong. The universe is expanding!!!
“The discovery of the expansion of the Universe was one of the great intellectual revolutions
of the twentieth century. It came as a total surprise and changed the discussion of the
origin of the Universe.” (The Universe in a Nutshell, Steven Hawking p.76).
Einstein calls the Cosmological Constant “my greatest blunder.”
The Quran’s statement on the Universe:
‫ون‬
َ ُ‫س َماء بَنَ أينَا َها ِبأ َ أي ٍد َو ِإنها لَ ُمو ِسع‬
‫َوال ه‬
AND IT IS We who have built the universe with power; and,
verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it. Az-Azariyat
51:47
Muhammad Asad commentary: “the phrase inna la-musi’un
clearly foreshadows the modern notion of the ‘’expanding universe.’’
http://www.astroex.org/english/exercise7/images/ex07_fig03_small.jpg
Not just expanding, but expanding precisely!
“So our existence tells us that the Universe must have expanded, and be expanding,
neither too fast nor too slow, but at just the “right” rate …”
“… the relevant number, the so-called “density parameter,” was set in the beginning,
with an accuracy of 1 part in 1060 . Changing that parameter, either way, by a
fraction given by a decimal point followed by 60 zeroes and a 1, would have
the Universe unsuitable for life as we know it.”
i.e. +/- 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001
Cosmic Coincidences, John Gribbin and Martin Rees, p.18
‫ان‬
َ ََ‫ض َع ٱل ِمي‬
‫َوٱل ه‬
َ ‫س َما ٓ َء َرفَعَ َها َو َو‬
And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the
Balance (of Justice), Ar-Rahman [55:7]
‫ِإنها ُك هل شَى ٍء ََلَْنَ ٰـهُ ِبَْدَ ٍر‬
Verily, all things have We created in proportion and measure.
Al-Qamar [54:49]
Following the expansion backward leads to another startling result of
modern cosmology: The Big Bang!! (This term was coined by Fred Hoyle in the 1950s)
“Roger Penrose and I were able to show that Einstein’s general
theory of relativity implied that the Universe and time itself must
have had a beginning in a tremendous explosion.”
(The Universe in a Nutshell, Steven Hawking p.76).
‫ض َكانَتَا َرتأًْا فَفَت َ أْنَا ُه َما‬
ِ ‫س َم َاوا‬
َ ‫َ َ َولَ أم يَ َر اله ِذ‬
‫ين َكفَ ُروا َ َ هن ال ه‬
َ ‫ت َو أاْل َ أر‬
Are then, they who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the
heavens and the earth were [once] one single entity, which We then
parted asunder? – Al-Anbiya (The Prophets) 21:30
Fataqnahuma implies a violent tearing apart
Evidence for the Big Bang:
1. Relative abundances of hydrogen, helium and deuterium.
2. The Cosmic Microwave Background radiation
Predicted by theorists (Gamow 1948) and discovered accidentally by
Penzias and Wilson in 1965 (won them 1978 Nobel Prize) –
(interesting note on pigeon droppings).
21:30
http://www.phy.duke.edu/~kolena/cmbspectrum1.gif
Precision of the Big Bang and the Arrow of Time
1. The equations of general relativity and quantum mechanics are time
symmetrical (time can run forward or backward).
2. The Universe is time asymmetrical (time runs only forward).
The answer seems to be in an extremely ordered
state at the Big Bang which allows entropy (disorder)
to always increase. Not a haphazard explosion.
“Using the Bekenstein-Hawking formula for black-hole entropy, one can
conclude that the ‘specialness of the Big Bang was quite stupendous,
namely to one part in at least 10 10 123 “
The Rediscovery of Gravity, Roger Penrose, in It Must be Beautiful: Great
Equations of Modern Science, ed. Graham Farmelo, p. 77.
What about the Fate of the Universe: Thinking through the second millennium
The fate of the Universe depends on the mass density, and whether there is
enough matter to stop the expansion of the universe through the force of gravity:
the more matter, the more gravity. There is a certain critical density at which the
expansion would reverse.
Analogy with escape velocity:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/imgmec/vesc1.gif
http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/distance/strobel/gravappl/gravapplb_files/escvel.gif
Possible fates of the Universe
Mass density determines the “shape” of space
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/Images/map/geometry.jpg
http://aether.lbl.gov/www/science/size.gif
The Startling Discovery
When scientists attempted to “weigh” the Universe, they made an amazing
discovery: most of the matter (90%) is made of something completely unknown
to us, different than protons, neutrons and electrons -- an invisible form of matter
known as Dark Matter, known to us only because of its gravitational effects.
Another illustration of an illusion, that “our” matter is the real matter.
http://www.blogsforcompanies.com/TTimages/dark_matter_map.jpg
‫َ َ َولَ أم يَتَفَ هك ُروا فِي ََنفُ ِس ِه أم َما‬
‫ض‬
ِ ‫س َم َاوا‬
‫ََلَقَ ه‬
‫اَّللُ ال ه‬
َ ‫ت َو أاْل َ أر‬
‫ق َوَ َ َج ٍل‬
ِ ‫َو َما بَ أينَ ُه َما ِإ هَّل ِب أال َح‬
‫اس‬
ِ ‫يرا ِم َن النه‬
ً ‫س ًّمى َو ِإ هن َك ِث‬
َ ‫ُّم‬
‫ون‬
َ ‫ِب ِلَْاء َر ِب ِه أم لَ َكافِ ُر‬
Do they not reflect in their own
minds? Not but with truth and for a
term appointed, did Allah create the
heavens and the earth, and all
between them: yet are there truly
many among men who deny the
meeting with their Lord (at the
Resurrection)! Al_Rum 30:8
Classical interpretations of
wa ma binahuma???
Dark matter is critical to our existence – it helps control the exquisitely
balanced expansion rate.
“And yet, without the dark matter– the invisible stuff of the Universe–
the Universe itself would be a very different place, and we would not exist.
Does the dark stuff exist, in a sense, for our benefit?”
Cosmic Coincidences, John Gribbin and Martin Rees, p. 28
It turns out that the Universe is essentially at the critical density – the ratio of
Its actual density to the critical density, called Omega, is very near 1.
Omega: Value of 1.02 +/- 0.02
http://facultystaff.richmond.edu/~ebunn/bayes/node4.html
One of the best ways to explain this is a theory called inflation, which requires
the flatness of the Universe (proposed by Alan Guth of MIT around 1980).
This theory also solves some issues with the standard Big Bang models.
“There is, indeed, a theory (rather, a group of theories) that makes flatness
a required feature of the Universe. Such models go by the name inflation,
because they suggest that very early in its lifetime (during the first split-second)
the Universe expanded by an enormous factor.”
Cosmic Coincidences, John Gribbin and Martin Rees, p. 26
http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~afrank/A105/LectureXVI/CosmicTimeline.jpg
A New Discovery at the close of the Second Millennium: Dark Energy
Measurements of the speed of recession of Type Ia supernovae revealed an
amazing fact: The Universe is not only expanding, but the expansion is
accelerating, not slowing down as scientists thought it had to be.
This acceleration appears due to a mysterious energy that is called Dark Energy.
“Dark Energy appears to be, based on the brightness of the most distant type-Ia
supernovae, a mysterious force that is accelerating the expansion of the universe.
These recent discoveries have provided good evidence that there is such an outward
force on the universe (variously called the cosmological constant, "quintessence," or
"dark energy"). “
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/010104a.html
Most recent estimates of the contents of the Universe
http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/media/080998/index.html
‫ون‬
َ ُ‫س َماء بَنَ أينَا َها ِبأ َ أي ٍد َو ِإنها لَ ُمو ِسع‬
‫َوال ه‬
AND IT IS We who have built the universe with power; and, verily, it
is We who are steadily expanding it. Az-Azariyat 51:47
Three types of expansion:
1. The massive expansion of the period of inflation, just after the Big Bang
2. The steady expansion of the Universe thereafter
3. The “new” acceleration of the expansion secondary to dark energy
??? Bi aydin
http://www.redorbit.com/modules/reflib/article_images/6_5daa7ca55793bcf9bd03dd45c1a97f4f.jpg
Since we are so close to the critical density, it is conceivable that if this
“dark energy” changes character, the Universe could begin to collapse on
itself again – i.e. end in a Big Crunch.
‫يَ أو َم ن أ‬
َ ‫س َماء َك‬
‫ب َك َما بَدََأنَا َ َ هو َل‬
‫َط ِوي ال ه‬
ِ ِ ‫طي‬
ِ ُ ‫الس ِج ِل ِل أل ُكت‬
‫ين‬
َ ‫علَ أينَا ِإنها ُكنها فَا ِع ِل‬
َ ‫ق نُّ ِعيدُُُ َو أعدًا‬
ٍ ‫َ أَل‬
On that Day We shall roll up the skies as written scrolls are rolled up;
[and] as We brought into being the first creation, so We shall bring it
forth anew a promise which We have willed upon Ourselves: for,
behold, We are able to do [all things]!
Al-Anbiya 21:104
A Journey into Gravity and Spacetime
John Archibald Wheeler, p. 36
(Physics, 6th edition,Douglas Giancoli, p. 938)
‫ض َو َما بَ أينَ ُه َما ِفي ِست ه ِة َ َي ٍهام‬
ِ ‫س َم َاوا‬
‫اله ِذي ََلَقَ ال ه‬
َ ‫ت َو أاْل َ أر‬
‫يرا‬
‫علَى أالعَ أر ِش ه‬
ً ‫الر أح َم ُن فَا أسأ َ أل ِب ِه ََ ِب‬
َ ‫ث ُ هم ا أست َ َوى‬
He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between, in six
days (periods), and is firmly established on the Throne (of Authority): Allah
Most Gracious: ask thou, then, about Him of any acquainted (with such
things). Al-Furqan 25:59
Conclusions:
َ‫َ َ َولَ أم يَتَفَ هك ُروا ِفي ََنفُ ِس ِه أم َما ََلَق‬
‫ض َو َما‬
ِ ‫س َم َاوا‬
‫ه‬
‫اَّللُ ال ه‬
َ ‫ت َو أاْل َ أر‬
‫س ًّمى‬
َ ‫ق َوَ َ َج ٍل ُّم‬
ِ ‫بَ أينَ ُه َما ِإ هَّل ِب أال َح‬
‫اس ِب ِلَْاء َر ِب ِه أم‬
ِ ‫يرا ِم َن النه‬
ً ِ‫َو ِإ هن َكث‬
‫ون‬
َ ‫لَ َكافِ ُر‬
Do they not reflect in their own minds?
Not but with truth and for a term
appointed, did Allah create the heavens
and the earth, and all between them: yet
are there truly many among men who
deny the meeting with their Lord (at the
Resurrection)! Al_Rum 30:8
“There is no better evidence to
support the argument that the
Universe has been designed for our
benefit -- tailor-made for man….
If we modify the value of one of the
fundamental constants, something
invariably goes wrong, leading to a
Universe that is inhospitable to life as
we know it… The conditions in our
Universe really do seem to be
uniquely suitable for life forms like
ourselves.”
Cosmic Coincidences, John Gribbin and Martin
Rees
190 Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the
alternation of night and day there are indeed Signs for men
of understanding.
191 Men who celebrate the praises of Allah standing sitting and
lying down on their sides and contemplate the (wonders of)
creation in the heavens and the earth (with the thought):
"Our Lord! not for naught hast thou created (all) this! Glory
to thee! give us salvation from the penalty of the fire.
Al-Imran 3:190-191