From the Physicists' Kitchen
Stephen Hawking, in his book, A brief History of Time, says that as we approach the point of Big Bang we reach a point of mathematical singularity. Therefore, all physical laws breakdown at t=0, i.e. the beginning of universe and before. Space and Time as defined by physics are no more valid. He conveniently puts the ball in the philosopher's court before t=0 and proceeds ahead with his narration. But I have clung on to this point ever since then. What existed before t = 0? This also takes me to the question who created the creator? Allow me now to mention how Lord Shiva is worshiped in India. The most worshiped form of Lord Shiva is the Lingaakaara, an ellipsoid form symbolizing the One who has neither a beginning nor an end!
Since I ended with Lord Shiva in the previous para, let me begin with Him in this. Lord Shiva, the Nataraja, is supposed to perform a form of dance called the Shiva Thandava. Fritjof Capra, in his book, The Tao of Physics, draws a parallel between this Cosmic Dance with the dances of the sub-atomic particles. I don't remember if I read it in the same book or else where but this universe can be compared to the cosmic dance(Thandava) of Lord Shiva. Just as the dancer permeates the dance, God permeates the entire Universe.
The equation of E = mc^2 ,given by Einstein, essentially says that mass and energy are inter-convertible. So, if you were to keep an 100Watt incandescent light switched continuously for a year, you would spend energy worth a few micro(10^-6) grams. Using the same equation, if you were to calculate the rate at which our beloved Sun sheds its energy, it is around 8 billion(10^8) kg/s. And yet it would survive for another few billion years. But this Sun is a mid-sized star in our galaxy called the Milky Way. And if you ever want to name a galaxy after a friend, feel free to do so. There are enough of them; enough to associate around four per a living person in this world. (Compiled from the vague memories of Fundamentals of Physics by Resnick and Halliday and/or Modern Physics by Kenneth S Krane)
Stephen Hawking, in his book, A brief History of Time, says that as we approach the point of Big Bang we reach a point of mathematical singularity. Therefore, all physical laws breakdown at t=0, i.e. the beginning of universe and before. Space and Time as defined by physics are no more valid. He conveniently puts the ball in the philosopher's court before t=0 and proceeds ahead with his narration. But I have clung on to this point ever since then. What existed before t = 0? This also takes me to the question who created the creator? Allow me now to mention how Lord Shiva is worshiped in India. The most worshiped form of Lord Shiva is the Lingaakaara, an ellipsoid form symbolizing the One who has neither a beginning nor an end!
Since I ended with Lord Shiva in the previous para, let me begin with Him in this. Lord Shiva, the Nataraja, is supposed to perform a form of dance called the Shiva Thandava. Fritjof Capra, in his book, The Tao of Physics, draws a parallel between this Cosmic Dance with the dances of the sub-atomic particles. I don't remember if I read it in the same book or else where but this universe can be compared to the cosmic dance(Thandava) of Lord Shiva. Just as the dancer permeates the dance, God permeates the entire Universe.
The equation of E = mc^2 ,given by Einstein, essentially says that mass and energy are inter-convertible. So, if you were to keep an 100Watt incandescent light switched continuously for a year, you would spend energy worth a few micro(10^-6) grams. Using the same equation, if you were to calculate the rate at which our beloved Sun sheds its energy, it is around 8 billion(10^8) kg/s. And yet it would survive for another few billion years. But this Sun is a mid-sized star in our galaxy called the Milky Way. And if you ever want to name a galaxy after a friend, feel free to do so. There are enough of them; enough to associate around four per a living person in this world. (Compiled from the vague memories of Fundamentals of Physics by Resnick and Halliday and/or Modern Physics by Kenneth S Krane)
2 comments:
Nice comparison of Shiva and string theory. Even I have this doubt. Have we misinterpreted the science as religion sometime :-P
Nice informative post! Demonstrating that science is half the circle..and spirituality is full circle! :-)
Post a Comment