Does the "God Particle" Rule Out a Creator?
In July, Rolf Heuer, director of the European Center of Nuclear Research (CERN), announced that they had discovered evidence for a new particle with characteristics consistent with the theoretical Higgs boson, commonly called the “god particle”. (1)
In the Standard Model of physics, the most-accepted model to explain how the physical universe works, the Higgs boson is responsible for imparting mass to other subatomic and atomic particles. Without it, matter would just fly apart, leaving atomic particles zigging around in the universe. There would be no hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, oxygen or other atoms to build what we now call life on Earth. In fact, there would be no Earth or any other planet or star in the universe. To get a better idea of what the Higgs boson does, let's look at Einstein's model for gravity.
Einstein’s greatest contribution to physics was his relativity theories – first, the Special Relativity theory and later his General Relativity theory. For these theories he postulated that time was a physical property of our universe much like length, width and height. From this came the concept that gravity was a distortion of space – the more massive an object, the more distortion in space around the object. We can conceptualize this by thinking of a rubber drum head. Stretch a piece of rubber over a drum. Now roll a marble across the drum. Since the marble does not have much weight, the marble rolls in a straight line across the drum head. Now place a heavy steel ball in the middle of the drum head. The steel ball is heavy enough to depress the drum head under it. Now roll the marble across the drum head. This time, instead of the marble rolling in a straight line, it curves toward the heavy steel ball. In fact, if you roll it close enough to the steel ball but not directly at it, the marble will try to orbit the steel ball much like the planets in our solar system orbit the sun.
Now back to the Higgs boson. Much like massive objects in space distort space around them on a macro scale, one can think of the Higgs boson as this distortion in space around subatomic matter on a micro scale. So instead of being an actual subatomic particle itself, it describes the degree to which space is distorted on a micro scale. As such, perhaps it is more a property of space than an actual particle.
So the scientists at the multibillion dollar, 17-mile-long Large Hadron Collider under the Alps were very excited at this most recent discovery. They hope that this new discovery will give more credence to the Big Bang theory of the origins of our universe in an attempt to explain how things came about without a creator. But does it?
While the discovery helps bring support to a mathematical model of atomic physics, it says nothing about how our physical universe came into existence. It still does not explain how something (energy, matter and order) came from nothing. It does not explain away the need for a supernatural creator.
Genesis 1 explains how God created the universe and all that is within it. Perhaps He first created the formless and void water-like space-time in which He was going to speak. He speaks into it, creating distortions in space-time which He calls light. He separates the light from the darkness by putting a very tiny spin on the light He just spoke into existence. This then forms all the subatomic and atomic particles we have today. But whatever the mechanism that God used to create our universe, we know that it was directed and purposeful. His Spirit hovered over the face of the waters, plotting and planning, knowing all along that what He was about to do would cause Him to have his Son suffer and die for us. There are no known physical laws or models that explain how something comes from nothing, not even the Higgs boson. In my opinion, God’s description is still the only one and the best!
(1) http://www.udreview.com/mosaic/the-weekly-beaker-higgs-boson-detection-an-inspiring-moment-for-science-cosmology-1.2891284#.UEYXF0KWPIY
This article is based on an interview broadcast by Broken Road Radio. To hear the original interview and many others on biblical creation topics, go to http://brokenroadradio.com/morning-show-july-16-2012/
In July, Rolf Heuer, director of the European Center of Nuclear Research (CERN), announced that they had discovered evidence for a new particle with characteristics consistent with the theoretical Higgs boson, commonly called the “god particle”. (1)
In the Standard Model of physics, the most-accepted model to explain how the physical universe works, the Higgs boson is responsible for imparting mass to other subatomic and atomic particles. Without it, matter would just fly apart, leaving atomic particles zigging around in the universe. There would be no hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, oxygen or other atoms to build what we now call life on Earth. In fact, there would be no Earth or any other planet or star in the universe. To get a better idea of what the Higgs boson does, let's look at Einstein's model for gravity.
Einstein’s greatest contribution to physics was his relativity theories – first, the Special Relativity theory and later his General Relativity theory. For these theories, he postulated that time was a physical property of our universe much like length, width and height. From this came the concept that gravity was a distortion of space – the more massive an object, the more distortion in space around the object. We can conceptualize this by thinking of a rubber drum head. Stretch a piece of rubber over a drum. Now roll a marble across the drum. Since the marble does not have much weight, the marble rolls in a straight line across the drum head. Now place a heavy steel ball in the middle of the drum head. The steel ball is heavy enough to depress the drum head under it. Now roll the marble across the drum head. This time, instead of the marble rolling in a straight line, it curves toward the heavy steel ball. In fact, if you roll it close enough to the steel ball but not directly at it, the marble will try to orbit the steel ball much like the planets in our solar system orbit the sun.
Now back to the Higgs boson. Much like massive objects in space distort space around them on a macro scale, one can think of the Higgs boson as this distortion in space around subatomic matter on a micro scale. So instead of being an actual subatomic particle itself, it describes the degree to which space is distorted on a micro scale. As such, perhaps it is more a property of space than an actual particle.
So the scientists at the multibillion dollar, 17-mile-long Large Hadron Collider under the Alps were very excited at this most recent discovery. They hope that this new discovery will give more credence to the Big Bang theory of the origins of our universe in an attempt to explain how things came about without a creator. But does it?
While the discovery helps bring support to a mathematical model of atomic physics, it says nothing about how our physical universe came into existence. It still does not explain how something (energy, matter and order) came from nothing. It does not explain away the need for a supernatural creator.
Genesis 1 explains how God created the universe and all that is within it. Perhaps He first created the formless and void water-like space-time in which He was going to speak. He speaks into it, creating distortions in space-time which He calls light. He separates the light from the darkness by putting a very tiny spin on the light He just spoke into existence. This then forms all the subatomic and atomic particles we have today. But whatever the mechanism that God used to create our universe, we know that it was directed and purposeful. His Spirit hovered over the face of the waters, plotting and planning, knowing all along that what He was about to do would cause Him to have his Son suffer and die for us. There are no known physical laws or models that explain how something comes from nothing, not even the Higgs boson. In my opinion, God’s description is still the only one and the best!
(1) http://www.udreview.com/mosaic/the-weekly-beaker-higgs-boson-detection-a...
This article, by Creation Moments Board Member Dr. Don Clark, is based on an interview broadcast by Broken Road Radio. To hear the original interview and many others on biblical creation topics, go to http://brokenroadradio.com/morning-show-july-16-2012/
Comments
The Hadron Collider is a big waste of money. Anyone can read Genesis 1 and get the real story on creation ... for free. But, when I pointed this out on a Christian blog, an atheist claimed the theoretical Higgs boson had no connection to creation. I replied that it did, and that's why it's called the “god particle." It's another attempt by scientists to theorize away God, and they've spent billions of dollars on it. You'd think they'd learned their lesson about trying to tamper with things from the atomic bomb. If that wasn't an example of humans being destructive, I don't know what is. Humans are always destroying, not creating. Indeed, humans cannot create anything. They can only take what the Lord has given them and use it or abuse it. The Hadron Collider is not going to uncover any mysteries of the universe, because the universe is not a mystery. It's the work of the hand of God, and He's so far above humans that they will never begin to understand Him unless they submit to His righteousness. That means they have to turn to Him, repenting, and accept Him as their Savior. Otherwise, humans have no hope, Hadron Collider notwithstanding.
Nothing can explain away the need for a supernatural Creator. Throw all kinds of money at it, and you're still going to come up empty. The day that humans can create their own world all on their own will never come, because humans are not the Creator, nor are they the Author of the universe, nor will they ever be.