“Things should be made as simple as possible –but no simpler.” Albert Einstein

Relativity, Cosmology and the Quran: Some Thoughts

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.

Al-Rum 30:6-8

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.

http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~vincent/4500.6-001/Cosmology/SpecialRelativity.htm

Galileo’s Transformation

http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~vincent/4500.6-001/Cosmology/SpecialRelativity.htm

Einstein’s Second Postulate: The Speed of Light is Constant

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 requirean infinite amount of energy).

م�او�ات� الس� �ور� ن �ه� الل

ر�ض�� و�األ�

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)

http://homepages.wmich.edu/~kaldon/classes/ph115-4-lectures.htm

Consequences of the absolute velocity of light:Length and time are relative

http://sol.sci.uop.edu/~jfalward/relativity/twinparadox.jpg

�ع�د�ون� ت م�م�ا �ة� ن س� �ل�ف� �أ ك �ك� ب ر� ع�ند� �و�م%ا ي �ن� و�إ

Verily a Day in the sight of thy Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning. (al-Hajj 22:47)

ه� م�ق�د�ار� �ان� ك � �و�م ي ف�ي �ه� �ي �ل إ وح� و�الر� �ة� �ك ئ �م�ال� ال ج� �ع�ر� ت�ة� ن س� �ل�ف� أ ين� خ�م�س�

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 oflarge mass-energy density.

http://stringthebean.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/top-10-greatest-discovery/

The Theory of General Relativity

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)

R Rg GTab ab ab 1

28

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 equationsof general relativity for his model have no static solutions.” (e.g.Friedmannsolutions) Understanding Relativity, Leo Sartori, p. 316

Einstein introduces the Cosmological Constant

R Rg g GTab ab ab ab 1

28

Compare with:

R Rg GTab ab ab 1

28

This allows a static, unchanging universe.

Edwin Hubble and his amazing discovery of 1929

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.”

http://astro.wku.edu/astr106/Hubble_law_anim.gif

�ا �ن و�إ �د� ي� �أ ب �اه�ا �ن �ي �ن ب م�اء و�الس�

ع�ون� �م�وس� ل

The Quran’s statement on the Universe:

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’unclearly foreshadows the modern notion of the ‘’expanding universe.’’

http://www.astroex.org/english/exercise7/images/ex07_fig03_small.jpg

    

ن� ن�ا م�ي ل� ٱ ن� ن� ن ن ن�ا ن� ن� ن� ن� اا ن� ن�� ن ٱ�  And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), Ar-Rahman [55:7]      

          

�� ر ن� ن� م� �ه �ـ ن ل� ن! ن" �� ل# ن$ ن�% ه& �'ا ن م)اVerily, all things have We created in proportion and measure.  Al-Qamar [54:49]

“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 afraction given by a decimal point followed by 60 zeroes and a 1, would havethe Universe unsuitable for life as we know it.”

i.e. +/- 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001

Cosmic Coincidences, John Gribbin and Martin Rees, p.18

Not just expanding, but expanding precisely!

Following the expansion backward leads to another startling result ofmodern 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).

�اه�م�ا �ق�ن ف�ف�ت �ق%ا ت ر� �ا �ت �ان ك ر�ض�� و�األ� م�او�ات� الس� �ن� أ وا �ف�ر� ك �ذ�ين� ال �ر� ي �م� و�ل

� أ

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 timesymmetrical (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: GreatEquations 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 theexpansion would reverse.

Analogy with escape velocity:

http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/distance/strobel/gravappl/gravapplb_files/escvel.gif

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/imgmec/vesc1.gif

Possible fates of the Universe

http://aether.lbl.gov/www/science/size.gif

Mass density determines the “shape” of space

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/Images/map/geometry.jpg

The Startling Discovery

When scientists attempted to “weigh” the Universe, they made an amazingdiscovery: most of the matter (90%) is made of something completely unknown to us, different than protons, neutrons and electrons -- an invisible form of matterknown 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

ف�ي وا �ر� �ف�ك �ت ي �م� و�ل� أ

�ه� الل ل�ق� خ� م�ا ه�م� �نف�س� أض� ر�

� و�األ� م�او�ات� الس��ه�م�ا �ن �ي ب �ح�ق� و�م�ا �ال ب �ال� إ

�ن� و�إ مBى م�س� �ج�ل� و�أ�ق�اء �ل ب �اس� الن م�ن� ا �ير% �ث ك

ون� �اف�ر� �ك ل �ه�م� ب 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 ofwa ma binahuma???

Dark matter is critical to our existence – it helps control the exquisitelybalanced 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 ofIts actual density to the critical density, called Omega, is very near 1.

Omega: Value of 1.02 +/- 0.02http://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 anamazing 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

�ا �ن و�إ �د� ي� �أ ب �اه�ا �ن �ي �ن ب م�اء و�الس�

ع�ون� �م�وس� لAND 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 Bang2. The steady expansion of the Universe thereafter3. 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 onitself again – i.e. end in a Big Crunch.

�ب� �ت �ك �ل ل ج�ل� الس� �ط�ي� ك م�اء الس� �ط�و�ي ن �و�م� ي�ا �ن إ �ا �ن �ي ع�ل و�ع�د%ا �ع�يد�ه� ن ل�ق� خ� و�ل�

� أ �ا �ن �د�أ ب �م�ا ك�ين� ل ف�اع� �ا �ن ك

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 Our selves: for, behold, We are able to do [all things]! Al-Anbiya 21:104

A Journey into Gravity and SpacetimeJohn Archibald Wheeler, p. 36

(Physics, 6th edition,Douglas Giancoli, p. 938)

�ه�م�ا �ن �ي ب و�م�ا ر�ض�� و�األ� م�او�ات� الس� خ�ل�ق� �ذ�ي ال

�ع�ر�ش� ال ع�ل�ى �و�ى ت اس� �م� ث � �ام �ي أ �ة� ت س� ف�يا �ير% ب خ� �ه� ب �ل� أ ف�اس� ح�م�ن� الر�

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:

ه�م� �نف�س� أ ف�ي وا �ر� �ف�ك �ت ي �م� و�ل� أ

م�او�ات� الس� �ه� الل ل�ق� خ� م�او�م�ا ر�ض�

� �ال� و�األ� إ �ه�م�ا �ن �ي ب�ن� و�إ مBى م�س� �ج�ل� و�أ �ح�ق� �ال ب�ق�اء �ل ب �اس� الن م�ن� ا �ير% �ث ك

ون� �اف�ر� �ك ل �ه�م� ب 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