Can the ‘God Particle’ a new claim by scientists help us in developing the ‘Theory of Everything’?

[Guest guest]

Can the ‘God Particle’ a new claim by scientists help us in developing the

‘Theory of Everything’?

 

 

Dear Devotees and Friends:

 

Please accept our humble dandavats.

 

Hare Krsna.

 

–Satsanga MP3– Satanga: July 11, 2008 is now uploaded.

 

In the Satsanga a scientific discussion is presented about a sub-atomic

particle which is popularly known as ‘God Particle’.

 

 

 Peter Higgs

In 1964, particle physicist Peter Higgs discovered a sub-atomic particle which

is now known as the Higgs boson. Scientists believe that the Higgs boson gives

all matter it’s mass, and thus it is considered a fundamental particle. More

recently, the Higgs boson has been known by a more colorful name as the ‘God

Particle’. It is very interesting how the Higgs boson got this new name. The

scientific community thinks that it is very surprising for this Higgs boson to

get the name ‘God particle.’

 

The fact is that Nobel-prize winner Leon Lederman coined the theistic name for

the Higgs boson as ‘God particle’. Higgs, whose name is associated with this

fundamental particle, commented that, “I find it embarrassing because, though

I’m not a believer myself, I think it is the kind of misuse of terminology

which I think might offend some people.†[1] Higgs further says that, it

wasn’t even Lederman’s choice, “He wanted to refer to it as that

‘goddamn particle’ and his editor wouldn’t let him.†[1] Beacause of its

heavy mass, the particle is very difficult to detect and it is very expensive to

build a large enough collider to prove its existence.

 

 

Large Hadron Collider at CERN

 

In May of 2008 Science Daily published a news item with the title “Large

Hadron Collider Enables Hunt For ‘God Particle’ To Complete ‘Theory Of

Everything’â€. [2] The scientists built a Large Hadron Collider, which they

believe will help them understand the interactions of the fundamental forces of

nature. They also hope this will enable them to resolve the puzzle of why

gravity is the weakest fundamental force.

 

It is mentioned in the Science Daily news article that, “The collider is a

successor of sorts to the Superconducting Supercollider; a high-energy collider

that was to have been built in Texas. The supercollider was first proposed in

1983 and construction began in 1991, but escalating cost estimates and other

factors created controversy and Congress cancelled the project in 1993 after

about $2 billion had been spent.â€

 

In the mid 1990’s, scientists from the University of Washington (UW) started

working on various aspects of the Large Hadron Collider. It is expected by UW

scientists that “the collider will send hydrogen protons racing at nearly the

speed of light in opposite directions through parallel underground cylinders

that form a large circle about 16.5 miles in circumference, straddling the

Swiss-French border. The cylinders intersect at various points, allowing proton

collisions that produce sub-atomic particles that can be observed by one of the

six detectors, each positioned at one of the intersections.†The tubes which

are needed for the functioning of detectors have a skin just 1/64th of an inch

thick. The major achievement that UW scientists achieved is that they were able

to design and manufacture these tubes which require great precision.

 

His Holiness Bhakti Madhava Puri Swami, Ph.D., of the Bhaktivedanta Institute,

discussed this topic during the Weekly Online Science/Spirituality Satsanga on

July 20, 2008. Maharaja explained that billions of dollars were spent for

building the large underground collider, which requires a giant magnetic

cylinder in order to get charged particles to move at a very high speed. When

these particles collide they will fission and produce many sub-particles. For

example, when two protons collide with each other at a very high speed and at

high-energy impact, they split into smaller sub-atomic particles which are also

known as quarks. The combination of strongly interacting sub-atomic particles is

called a hadron, in which the sub-atomic particles are called quarks. Quarks are

smaller than neutrons and protons which are made up of quarks.

 

Electrons are not made up of any sub particles as they are already very small.

There is a limit to the size of fundamental particles, thus we can not find

further sub-atomic particles smaller than that. According to modern quantum

theory we have to stop at a certain point beyond which we can no longer find any

further sub-atomic particles. Electrons are extremely small particles and very

light in weight. The classical radius of a free electron is taken to be about

3×10-15 meters (weight 9.11 × 10-31 kg), and the classical radius of a free

proton is taken to be about 1×10-15 (weight 1.67 × 10-27 kg).

 

The electron may be treated as a particle or as a wave according to the theory

of quantum mechanics. Actually, the electron is merely a vector in Hilbert

space. This space is not a physical space of three dimensions, but a

mathematical space of infinite dimensions. Functional space does not have a

space-time coordinate frame. Electrons are considered in that space to be a

particular vector. Thus it is not proper to describe an electron as a particle.

It is more appropriate to call it a vector, having certain dimensions in Hilbert

space. That is all that can be said from a quantum mechanical point of view.

From the point of view of classical physics, we talk about particles and waves,

but from a quantum mechanical formulation, we only talk about vectors.

 

Because of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle we can only locate a particle

within a certain limit of space. If we try to shrink the space and define the

position of a particle very minutely, then we will expand the momentum

unlimitedly. Momentum has to do with how fast a particle is moving. How fast a

particle is moving has to do with how much energy a particle has. By decreasing

the location of a particle to a very, very small space, we will increase the

momentum unlimitedly.

 

As we mentioned, electrons occupy a very small space and have a very small mass.

If we were to attempt to find a sub-atomic particle of an electron, it would

have to be smaller than the electron. As a result, a sub part of an electron

would have a momentum and mass beyond the one we had already determined for the

electron itself, which would be impossible. Thus, it is to be noted that

sub-atomic particles are found in fundamental particles like neutrons and

protons, but not in electrons.

 

The collider is meant to allow the protons to collide, which would lead to the

production of the sub-atomic particles. Scientists currently have the methods to

measure the sub-atomic particles once they come out of the proton collision. But

there is one special particle scientists are having difficulty in finding

because it is very heavy in weight. It is known as the Higgs boson or the ‘God

particle’.

 

HH Bhakti Madhava Puri Swami further explained the limitations of this new claim

by scientists. The field of the Higgs boson can be compared to the old concept

of the ether. Hence, what had already been dismissed by Einstein’s experiments

regarding the existence of the ether is now being re-introduced by Higgs in the

form of the Higgs boson field, since every particle is associated with its own

field. The field of the Higgs boson is very important, because, according to

Higgs, all the particles of the standard model of physics will get their mass

from the Higgs boson when they enter its field. Some particles pick up a lot of

mass (like quarks), some pick up very little mass, (like electrons) and some

don’t even touch the field, and thus don’t pick up any mass, (like photons).

Thus the field of the Higgs boson can be used to describe the mass of various

types of elementary particles. It is due to this ability of Higgs’ theory to

explain the mass

of the fundamental particles and also refine the current Big Bang theory of the

origin of the universe that the Higgs boson is referred to as the ‘God

particle’.

 

However, there are many serious problems with this new theory. The biggest

problem is that theories of particles are inherently defective because they

can’t explain continuous phenomena. Particles, or quanta, refer to

discontinuous phenomena. So how can we expect that this theory can be used to

describe continuous phenomena like gravity? Gravity, as defined in the theory of

general relativity, is not quantized. Acceleration is not defined as a quantized

phenomenon. Although gravitons have been proposed for special relativity,

mathematcal problems arise when applied to general relativity which deals with

accelerated systems or gravity.

 

The standard model of physics includes three of the four fundamental forces:

electromagnetic force, weak force, and strong force. It doesn’t explain the

fourth fundamental force, gravity. The standard model applies to

electro-magnetic theory, quantum mechanics, quantum electro-dynamics theory, and

special relativity theory, but it cannot accommodate the general relativity

theory, which includes gravity. Gravity refers to a force of acceleration, while

special relativity deals with systems that are moving with constant velocity.

Hence the Higgs boson or the ‘God particle’ may not be a proper means for

developing the ‘Theory of Everything’ since it cannot accommodate the

general relativity theory.

 

There are numerous and serious challenges which are attached to this new project

which has been undertaken by the scientists. They dismiss environmental

concerns, or public fears that a black hole may be created, etc. They are

spending millions of dollars in their attempt to find ever more exotic

particles. The exact figures spent on this project have not been provided to the

general public. The money currently being used is coming from the government,

which ultimately comes from taxes, while there are many other problems existing

on our planet that need funding such as cleaning up environmental pollution,

eliminating poverty, disease, starvation, etc.

 

When the advancement of knowledge becomes dependent upon big money science, it

ultimately disempowers individuals own self-determination that is essential to

their freedom as spiritual beings. Vedantic science of the theistic Bhagavat

school of philosophy cultivates the development of that freedom and liberation

from the entanglement of conditioned existence. A moment of such realization is

far more valuable for achieving satisfaction and fulfillment in life than the

endless pursuit of conditional material knowledge. The teachings of Sri

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu provide the chance to cultivate this type of alternative

science.  

  

References:

[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jun/30/higgs.boson.cern

[2] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080527200600.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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