Harmony in the Cosmos: Exploring the Universe Through Physics and Philosophy
Long ago, under a canopy of stars, our ancestors wondered what secrets the night sky concealed. Today, that same curiosity drives us to understand the universe better. To grasp the Mind of God. And so, at the heart of physics lies a philosophical pursuit—the belief that all forces and particles can be explained by a single Theory of Everything, or, as Michio Kaku calls it, The God Equation. Such a theory would not only explain the mechanic of the cosmos but also illuminate deeper questions in the process, as to why we exist, the meaning of our existence. It represents humanity’s ultimate quest – to find harmony within the infinite. Philosophy and science converge in this process, bridging the gap between what we know and what we yearn to understand. And so, begins the journey of crafting the grand Theory of Everything – decoding the Mind of God.
Several million years ago, myths and legends shaped our ancestor’s knowledge. That was until the Scientific Revolution happened, where logic met reason. The time in which all humans shifted their thinking from beliefs to reasons. Isaac Newton's classical mechanics changed the way humans viewed the world. From his laws of motion to his very own mathematics to find how to calculate the gravity of the moon (calculus), have all played a key role in our industry development. It was only because of Newton, that we realized that such a thing called gravity existed. However, in the late 1800s, the scientific community was confronted with a profound problem between two of the generation's most successful theories: Newton’s laws of motion and Maxwell’s equations, which unified electricity and magnetism. At the heart of the problem, laid a rather innocent looking speed of light. Scientists pictured a situation in which the question was what the measured speed of light would be if the person measuring it was moving with the spin of the Earth. According to Maxwell's previous work, Light was a self-propagating electromagnetic wave that is constant and moves 300,000 km/s. This realization posed a major problem as according to Newton’s framework, an observer moving along with the spin of the Earth should see a speed of light different than that of an observer who’s at rest. This is because velocities were expected to add together. Hence the solution to that question according to Newton’s laws would be the speed of the person + the speed of light. However, Maxwell’s equations allowed no such variation: the speed of light remained fixed. This contradiction led many physicists, including Maxwell himself, to suspect that Newton’s mechanics held true while Maxwell’s equations needed to complete and required modification.
To resolve this mystery, Albert Michelson and Edward Morley undertook, in 1887, a trailblazing experiment designed to detect changes in the speed of light as the Earth moved through space. The prevailing hypothesis suggested that like particles travel through air, waves travel through a medium. This medium was known as Luminiferous aether. If the aether existed, its stationary background would mean that Earth’s motion should affect the observed speed of light.
The results of this experiment were groundbreaking and unexpected, demonstrating a significant advancement in the field. Scientists couldn't find the reason behind this unusual result for over more than a decade. However, everything changed after Albert Einstein entered the picture. Rather than questioning Maxwell’s equations like everyone else, Einstein proposed something unusual. He proposed a radical departure from Newton. He proposed that the speed of light is the same in all reference frames, and time itself is relative starting a new chapter of physics and forever transforming our understanding of the universe.
This idea formed the beginning of Special Relativity. A theory in which Space and time were interwoven and called as a single continuum known as Spacetime. To understand the concept of Spacetime and its unusual dimensions, think of it like this. Imagine you are planning to meet your friend at a specific location on Earth. You may use google maps to find the exact place by finding out the longitude, latitude and altitude of your desired place. But what is one key information you are missing here? You are missing out time. Without time, your friend won't know what time to arrive and meet you. Similarly, this is how spacetime works, An event is considered as a specific point that defines both when and where and event occurs. One might wonder why there are only three spatial dimensions and a single dimension of time. While additional spatial dimensions have not been detected, multiple time dimensions, though intriguing in theory, would create closed time-like loops—paths that allow travel into the past. Such loops would violate causality making them impossible.
Spacetime, as a cornerstone of Special Relativity, transformed our perception of existence by unveiling profound truths. Motion through space could stretch time itself, often known as Time Dilation, while Mass can convert to pure energy anytime it liked. This can be seen by Einstein's iconic equation of "E=mc²". Special Relativity revolutionized our understanding by vividly illustrating the relativity of Time. Something previous physicians claimed wrong, it proved how absolute simultaneity is impossible.
And then in the early 20th century came General Relativity, a revolutionizing theory that describes gravity not as a force but as the curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy. Massive objects like stars and planets distort the fabric of spacetime, guiding the motion of other bodies around them. It is described as the distortion of space but also of time, but why? In his first theory, Einstein proved that light is constant even if it’s in an inertial or accelerating reference frame. If this is the case, then it means that with and without the presence of gravity light will also be the same. Speed = Distance/ Time. But since the distance travelled by light in the presence of gravity is higher due to the curvature of space, the time passes slower in the presence of a gravitational field relative to the time passed in the empty space. In other words, Time increases proportionately with the distance increased in the curvature of spacetime, to keep the speed of light constant in both reference frames. This shows major implications like the clocks running on Earth is slower than those running on space in the presence of no gravitational field. A popular system that incorporates this concept is the GPS system used to navigate different places across Earth. Although it is one of the greatest theories for more than 100 years, its still doesn't answer some questions such as What is gravity exactly? Why do massive objects distort spacetime?
Yet even these monumental accomplishments faced challenges, as Quantum mechanics entered the picture. Quantum mechanics is a theory that defied classical expectations. It focuses on particles up at a closer scale in which they no longer behaved like both light waves and particles at the same time. Their behaviours are guarded with probability rather than certainty, contrasting with previous theories. There is a famous saying that goes “If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics.” This shows how confusing and complex this theory is. Currently, it is a developing field as questions raised are starting to get answered.
Relativity describes objects at a large scale while Quantum Mechanics describes particles up close, contrasting each other. Attempts to unify these two theories have been made, however since the theories had different mathematics, constants and probabilities, the solution always resulted in infinities and paradoxes. At the heart of the black hole, it is believed that there is a mass concentrated infinitely small point with infinite density known as Singularity. General Relativity fails to work at this mysterious Singularity and so does Quantum Mechanics. This shows that there are gaps in our understanding of the world we live in. This world we call home. The reason for our existence in this strange realm remains a question. And that is how the God Equation was born: to unite all the fundamental forces of nature into a single, elegant mathematical equation that could answer the world's most grappling mysteries. If discovered this single equation can connect the entire universe - from the smallest of particles to the largest of galaxies - explaining time, matter and space in one elegant framework, answering questions the great minds of the past left to soon to answer. It represents humanity's deepest quest to understand the blueprint of reality.
Several attempts have been made to craft the Grand TOE, one of the most popular theories still developing is String Theory. Several renowned scientists have tried to create a TOE but have failed. String theory is the only theory competing for the grand spotlight that is mathematically consistent Now, what is string theory? Subatomic particles are the smallest unit of matter. However, in advanced physics they can be split up to more particles such as quarks, neutrino and more. These particles combine to form the protons and neutron. Michio Kaku, a renowned physicist, describes String theory as the following: all particles — electrons, quarks, light — are just vibrations on tiny strings. Physics is the laws of harmony of these vibrating strings. Chemistry is the melody that emerges from these harmonies. The universe is a symphony of strings, and the ‘mind of God’ is cosmic music resonating through eleven-dimensional space. String theory allows you to rotate particles into each other turning electrons into neutrinos, neutrinos into quarks by changing the vibrations, and the theory remains the same. That is the symmetry of the string, and that's why it's so powerful. A simple idea that encapsulates the entire universe.
String theory answers questions about what happened before the Big Bang. It takes you before the big bang, saying there is a multiverse of universes. Einstein’s equations say that we are like insects on a soap bubble that slowly expands. We are trapped like flies on fly papers, as we can’t escape this bubble. And that’s the Big Bang Theory but according to Einstein. However, String theory says that there should be other bubbles out there, in a multiverse of bubbles. When 2 universes collide, it can form another universe. Similarly, when a universe splits up, it can create 2 universes. This is how Big Bang is thought to be formed. Just like how Alice from Alice in Wonderland entered another dimension through the rabbit hole, it is possible to do this, and it’s part of Einstein’s equations. However, the question String theory is trying to answer is how practical it is to travel through a wormhole, a theoretical tunnel that connects two distant points, allowing instant travel to another dimension. String theory is a theory of everything. So, if it’s practical to travel through a wormhole, then it’s indeed possible to create a time machine. However, it’s difficult to build it. The reason wormholes are considered important is because in a trillion years’ time, the universe would have expanded so much, being very cold. However, at that point, all intelligent lives in the universe must die. But is there a way to survive? There is one way, that is to leave the universe. There is one way to leave this universe, using a wormhole. This is what String theory is currently researching, how practical going through a wormhole is. String theory is currently developing to answer profound questions like can you go back in time and meet your parents before you were born? Is it possible for us to travel faster than the speed of light through the wormhole? Such questions are currently being researched to develop an answer in the field of String theory.
As we push deeper in to the fabric of reality the questions become more complex and more profound. If the universe truly acts as a harmony of strings, then what role do, we, intelligent lives, play in that melody? The quest for the God Equation isn’t just about uniting the 4 fundamental forces; it’s about discovering who we truly are. How we ended up in this strange realm, and the reason we ended up here. Are we just active bystanders or do we play a role in the cosmic composition of our universe? The idea that one equation could explain everything is both overwhelming and fascinating. It is amazing to think that a single elegant solution might answer the biggest questions about our existence. Searching for a Theory of Everything is not just about science; it is about our place in the universe. Theories once deemed impossible – Relativity and Quantum Physics – show just how far our curiosity can take us. In this ever-changing universe, will we ever understand it truly rather than just as mere numbers in an elegant framework? In the end, science and philosophy, once thought as a contrasting pair, converge. The quest of knowledge turns into the quest of meaning as we try to find our meaning. And every equation written by humankind, at its heart, a reflection of our desire to find harmony within the infinite.
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(I have also looked at more videos made on YouTube)