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The Greatest Equation on Earth or in the UniverseBy Bob Connor
This is a composite picture that I put together about 11 years ago. It is not only a print which I hope you will enjoy, but, it is also a learning tool and even a sort of “puzzle”. The background is an actual photograph taken about 13 years ago by the Hubble Space Telescope of the “Eagle Nebula” (also known as “M-16") which is about 7,000 light years from earth. That means that the images which you see here appear as they were about 7,000 years ago (i.e. about 5,000 years before Christ was born). Wow! We’re looking back in time! Actually, the fantastic Hubble Space Telescope has now penetrated much further into the Universe and, thus, has looked even further back in time - to the very beginnings of the Universe. When we look at this photo of the Eagle Nebula, we see God at his finest - in the mist of Creation! It has been called “Pillars of Creation” and “The Hand of God”. But, it is not unique - this happened and is happening all over the Universe. As the late Carl Sagan would say. “Billions and billions of planets, stars, solar systems, and galaxies have been created just in this manner”. The equations in white represent some of the basic equations of nuclear physics, gravity, chemistry, mechanics, electricity, energy, applied mathematics, time, quantum mechanics (the study of the motion of elementary particles), and pure mathematics. The four basic natural forces of the Universe are represented: (gravity, electro-magnetic, the strong nuclear force (which holds the nucleus of an atom together despite the opposite charges of the particles comprising it), and the weak nuclear force (which keeps the elementary particles in atoms from collapsing in on one another)). Physicists are trying to tie all of these forces together into one “Unified Field Theory” which would explain all of the natural forces in the universe. The noted physicist Albert Einstein spent the later part of his life trying to devise such a theory. He was unsuccessful and no person has been able to succeed in this endeavor. Of course, God set into motion all of these forces and He will never be described by any equation. However, isn’t it wonderful that He has given us the intelligence to build instruments and devise equations and formulae to discover some of the intricacy of the workings of His wondrous creations, to enjoy some understanding of them, and to marvel at them? “Oh Lord My God When I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made I see the Stars I hear the rolling Thunder Thy pow’r thro’out the Universe displayed.” From the Hymn “How Great Thou Art” by Carl Gustaf Boberg (1859-1940). How great Thou Art! Science and mathematics are tools for the discovery, understanding and appreciation of the works of God. We must use our discoveries wisely. We must not destroy ourselves with the misuse of nuclear power, pollution of the environment, or exhaustion of resources. Science and mathematics can sharpen our reasoning abilities and increase our knowledge; but, we must use our own common sense to ultimately act wisely with what we know and what we have the ability to do. The equation at the bottom, presumptuously dubbed “The Greatest Equation on Earth or in The Universe”, is completely original with this writer. See if you can derive its meaning. If not, look at the explanation at the end of the accompanying materials. Of course, this is a fanciful “equation” and is used to illustrate in quasi-mathematical terms the common bond among four of the major religions of the world and many others. The truth is that we have far more in common than we have differences. Even those religions that recognize more than one god can, perhaps, be welcomed under the tent of those who believe in some concept of a Supreme Being – perhaps with more than one aspect. That is, so long as the belief system does not involve the worship of pagan idols. The picture serves its purpose if it reminds you of the Greatness and Universality of God and the common bond that we of many faiths have in our belief in God. GLOSSARY
 Sir Isaac Newton devised
formulae and laws to explain and quantify motion (mechanics). The force
“f” exerted on an object is equal to its mass “m” multiplied by
its acceleration. In other words, the harder you push on an object, the
faster it will go.
An interpretation of “The Greatest Equation on Earth or in the Universe” The equation states that the sum of 5 fractions is “the absolute value of 1". The two vertical lines denote “the absolute value” - that is the value without regard to whether it is positive or negative (+ or -). The numerators of the first four fractions represent four of the major religions of the world, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism. The 5th numerator - the “infinity” sign - represents all other belief systems which acknowledge the existence of some form of God or a collection of gods which could be aspects of one Supreme Being which is responsible for the creation and workings of the Universe. All of these religions have one extremely important thing in common - a belief in God or a collection of gods which could be aspects of one Supreme Being which is responsible for the creation and workings of the Universe. Thus, the denominator of all the fractions is “G” for “God”. There is, therefore, a “Common Denominator” of all of these religions which, mathematically, allows one to add them up. They add up to the absolute value of 1 since God is absolute. This is another way of saying that there are many paths by which to approach God. The purpose of this fanciful “equation” is to illustrate graphically that four of the five major religions of the world and many others have that all-important entity in common – God – a common denominator which allows us to view them as capable of combining and overlapping in their belief systems. Christianity is represented by the cross, a symbol of the crucifixion of Jesus. Although originally thought to be a bad thing that He was crucified, it was later understood that His death was a fulfillment of a mission and of prophecies and that He was sent here to die for our sins. Just as the day he was crucified was originally known as “Black Friday”, it is now known as “Good Friday”. Thus the symbol of the cross is a symbol of Good and the victory of Good over Evil. Islam is represented by the Arabic phrase “Bismillah Hirrahma Nirraheem” which, translated into English, means “In the Name of Allah the Beneficent and Most Merciful”. It is often written in a very artistic manner such as is shown here. Hinduism is represented by the “Aum” sign which Hindus believe is the basic sound and force of the Universe. It, too, is often written in various artistic forms and such a form is shown in the picture. Judaism is represented by the Menorah. The menorah shown in the picture is a collection of 8 candles plus one center candle used to light the others in a holder and is particularly appropriate this time of year since it symbolizes the eight nights that the candles continued to burn in a beleaguered temple even though there was not enough oil for them to burn for so long. This led to the celebration of the occasion known as “Hanukkah”, which is celebrated in December each year. The menorah used in the temple and synagogues is composed of 6 candles plus one to light the others. All other religions and belief systems that recognize a Creator, God, or collection of gods which could be interpreted as aspects of one Supreme Being who is responsible for the creation of and the workings of the Universe are represented by the infinity sign.
Bob Connor is a continuing education teacher at St. Ambrose Catholic Church. You can reach him at bobconn@earthlink.com (The Banner, December 8, 2008) |
This is the expression which
describes nuclear fusion. This is what is going on inside the Eagle
Nebula. It is also what goes on inside our own sun. Our sun is a large
nuclear reactor. And, yes, this is the expression which describes the
H-bomb. “H” stands for hydrogen, the simplest, most abundant element
in the universe. “He” stands for helium. “MeV” stands for “million
electron volts”. “n” stands for a neutron. The numbers in front of
the “H” and “He” stand for the number of various elementary
particles contained in the atom. The numbers in front of the “MeV” is
the number of “million electron volts”.
This is the equation for the
gravitational attraction between two objects. The “F” force of gravity
is equal to a universal gravitational constant “G” multiplied by the
mass “M” of one object multiplied by the mass “m” of the other
object. All of this is divided by the square of the distance “d”
between the two objects.
This is a combination of the
laws of Charles and Boyle, named after the discoverers. It is used to
calculate the behavior of gas as the pressure “P”, volume “V” and
temperature “T” are varied. The most familiar example is the pressure
cooker. If you increase the temperature “T” of the contents, the
volume “V” cannot increase because you have the lid snugly sealed, so
the pressure must increase to keep the equation in balance.
This is the famous “Ohm’s
Law”, named after its discoverer. It is used to calculate the
relationship among volts “E”, amperage “I”, and resistance “R”.
“E” is used instead of “V” because it stands for “electromotive
force”, which is the same thing as voltage. If you touch two wires of
opposite charge together, you get what is commonly referred to as a “short
circuit”. As described by Ohm’s Law, “R”, the resistance is “0"
and you are dividing by “0". You will remember from your high
school or college math that dividing by “0" is a “no-no”. The
result is given by some as “infinity”. This means that when the
resistance in a circuit is “0", the voltage and amperage go
bonkers. This is one reason why we have circuit breakers in our homes - to
stop the flow of current when the voltage and amperage go wild.
Applied mathematics. This is the
familiar equation for calculating the area “A” of a circle by
multiplying the square of its radius (the radius multiplied times itself)
and the value of Pi (approximately 3.1416).
This is the famous equation discovered
by Albert Einstein. He is, perhaps, the most famous scientist of the
twentieth century and this is perhaps the most familiar equation to
everyone. It says that energy “E” is equivalent to mass “m” time
the speed of light squared (186,000 miles per second times itself).
Actually, this is just a convenient way for scientists to deal with the
numbers. You can just as easily say “E=m”. Einstein concluded, by
expressing this equation, that energy is equal to mass. Mass is,
therefore, just “frozen energy”. So, everything in the universe is
energy in one form or another. If the energy in just a small amount of
mass (matter) is converted into energy, the yield of energy is
surprisingly enormous. This is what goes on inside of nuclear reactors or
in a nuclear bomb as enriched uranium is converted into energy.
This is the basic equation of Einstein’s
General Theory of Relativity. Time slows down and comes close to a halt as
an object approaches the speed of light. “V” is the velocity of the
object expressed as a percentage of the speed of light. As the velocity of
the object increases, “V2"
approaches “1". 1-1=0; so, just like in Ohm’s Law above, you are
getting very close to dividing by “0". “gamma”, which is later
used to divide into the value of “time”, becomes very large. When “time”
is divided by this very large number, the result becomes very small. Thus,
time slows down and would ultimately halt if the speed of light could be
achieved, which Einstein theorized it cannot be achieved.
