“Things should be made as simple as possible – but no simpler.” Albert Einstein

1. Relativity, Cosmology and the Quran: Some Thoughts “Things should be made as simple as possible – but no simpler.” Albert Einstein

2. Al-Rum 30:6-8 It is a promise of Allah. Allah faileth not His promise, but most of mankind know not. They know but the outer (things) in the life of this world: but of the End of things they are heedless. Have they not pondered upon themselves? Allah created not the heavens and the earth, and that which is between them, save with truth and for a destined end. But truly many of mankind are disbelievers in the meeting with their Lord.

3. In 1905, Albert Einstein published his theory of special relativity The laws of physics are identical to all observers in an inertial frame of reference (i.e. moving at a constant velocity) * Therefore, there is no absolute rest or absolute motion.

4. Galileo’s Transformation http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~vincent/4500.6-001/Cosmology/SpecialRelativity.htm

5. Einstein’s Second Postulate: The Speed of Light is Constant http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~vincent/4500.6-001/Cosmology/SpecialRelativity.htm

6. The speed of light (in empty space) is an absolute constant of nature No material object can move at the speed of light (this would require an infinite amount of energy). اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. (al-Nur, 24:35) • Note that in the universe, there are 1 billion photons of light for every material particle! • (Physics, 6th edition,Douglas Giancoli, p. 938)

7. Consequences of the absolute velocity of light: Length and time are relative http://homepages.wmich.edu/~kaldon/classes/ph115-4-lectures.htm http://sol.sci.uop.edu/~jfalward/relativity/twinparadox.jpg

8. وَإِنَّ يَوْمًا عِندَ رَبِّكَ كَأَلْفِ سَنَةٍ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ Verily a Day in the sight of thy Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning. (al-Hajj 22:47) تَعْرُجُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ فِي يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ The angels and the spirit ascend unto him in a Day the measure whereof is (as) fifty thousand years (al-Ma’arij, 70:4) Interestingly, in general relativity, time slows down in the presence of large mass-energy density.

9. The Theory of General Relativity http://stringthebean.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/top-10-greatest-discovery/

10. General relativity is the geometrical theory of gravitation. It unifies special relativity and Sir Isaac Newton’s law of universal gravitation with the insight that gravitation is not due to a force but rather is a manifestation of curved space and time, with this curvature being produced by the mass-energy and momentum content of the space-time. General relativity is distinguished from other metric theories of gravitation by its use of the Einstein field equations to relate space-time content and space-time curvature. http://stringthebean.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/top-10-greatest-discovery/

11. The Einstein Equation of General Relativity (1915) Components on the left refer to certain measures of the curvature of spacetime; Components on the right refer to the energy density of matter Problem: “To his dismay, Einstein found that the field equations of general relativity for his model have no static solutions.” (e.g.Friedmann solutions) Understanding Relativity, Leo Sartori, p. 316

12. Einstein introduces the Cosmological Constant Compare with: This allows a static, unchanging universe.

13. Edwin Hubble and his amazing discovery of 1929 http://astro.wku.edu/astr106/Hubble_law_anim.gif Einstein was wrong. The universe is expanding!!! “The discovery of the expansion of the Universe was one of the great intellectual revolutions of the twentieth century. It came as a total surprise and changed the discussion of the origin of the Universe.” (The Universe in a Nutshell, Steven Hawking p.76). Einstein calls the Cosmological Constant “my greatest blunder.”

14. The Quran’s statement on the Universe: وَالسَّمَاء بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ AND IT IS We who have built the universe with power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it. Az-Azariyat 51:47 Muhammad Asad commentary: “the phrase inna la-musi’un clearly foreshadows the modern notion of the ‘’expanding universe.’’ http://www.astroex.org/english/exercise7/images/ex07_fig03_small.jpg

15. Not just expanding, but expanding precisely! “So our existence tells us that the Universe must have expanded, and be expanding, neither too fast nor too slow, but at just the “right” rate …” “… the relevant number, the so-called “density parameter,” was set in the beginning, with an accuracy of 1 part in 1060 . Changing that parameter, either way, by a fraction given by a decimal point followed by 60 zeroes and a 1, would have the Universe unsuitable for life as we know it.” i.e. +/- 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001 Cosmic Coincidences, John Gribbin and Martin Rees, p.18 وَٱلسَّمَآءَ رَفَعَهَا وَوَضَعَ ٱلۡمِيزَانَ  And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), Ar-Rahman [55:7] إِنَّا كُلَّ شَىۡءٍ خَلَقۡنَـٰهُ بِقَدَرٍ۬Verily, all things have We created in proportion and measure.   Al-Qamar [54:49]

16. Following the expansion backward leads to another startling result of modern cosmology: The Big Bang!! (This term was coined by Fred Hoyle in the 1950s) “Roger Penrose and I were able to show that Einstein’s general theory of relativity implied that the Universe and time itself must have had a beginning in a tremendous explosion.” (The Universe in a Nutshell, Steven Hawking p.76).

17. أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا Are then, they who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were [once] one single entity, which We then parted asunder? – Al-Anbiya (The Prophets) 21:30 Fataqnahuma implies a violent tearing apart

18. Evidence for the Big Bang: • Relative abundances of hydrogen, helium and deuterium. • The Cosmic Microwave Background radiation • Predicted by theorists (Gamow 1948) and discovered accidentally by • Penzias and Wilson in 1965 (won them 1978 Nobel Prize) – • (interesting note on pigeon droppings). 21:30 http://www.phy.duke.edu/~kolena/cmbspectrum1.gif

19. Precision of the Big Bang and the Arrow of Time • The equations of general relativity and quantum mechanics are time • symmetrical (time can run forward or backward). • 2. The Universe is time asymmetrical (time runs only forward). The answer seems to be in an extremely ordered state at the Big Bang which allows entropy (disorder) to always increase. Not a haphazard explosion. “Using the Bekenstein-Hawking formula for black-hole entropy, one can conclude that the ‘specialness of the Big Bang was quite stupendous, namely to one part in at least 10 10 123 “ The Rediscovery of Gravity, Roger Penrose, in It Must be Beautiful: Great Equations of Modern Science, ed. Graham Farmelo, p. 77.

20. What about the Fate of the Universe: Thinking through the second millennium The fate of the Universe depends on the mass density, and whether there is enough matter to stop the expansion of the universe through the force of gravity: the more matter, the more gravity. There is a certain critical density at which the expansion would reverse. Analogy with escape velocity: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/imgmec/vesc1.gif http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/distance/strobel/gravappl/gravapplb_files/escvel.gif

21. Possible fates of the Universe Mass density determines the “shape” of space http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/Images/map/geometry.jpg http://aether.lbl.gov/www/science/size.gif

22. The Startling Discovery When scientists attempted to “weigh” the Universe, they made an amazing discovery: most of the matter (90%) is made of something completely unknown to us, different than protons, neutrons and electrons -- an invisible form of matter known as Dark Matter, known to us only because of its gravitational effects. Another illustration of an illusion, that “our” matter is the real matter. http://www.blogsforcompanies.com/TTimages/dark_matter_map.jpg

23. أَوَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوا فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ النَّاسِ بِلِقَاء رَبِّهِمْ لَكَافِرُونَ Do they not reflect in their own minds? Not but with truth and for a term appointed, did Allah create the heavens and the earth, and all between them: yet are there truly many among men who deny the meeting with their Lord (at the Resurrection)! Al_Rum 30:8 Classical interpretations of wa ma binahuma???

24. Dark matter is critical to our existence – it helps control the exquisitely balanced expansion rate. “And yet, without the dark matter– the invisible stuff of the Universe– the Universe itself would be a very different place, and we would not exist. Does the dark stuff exist, in a sense, for our benefit?” Cosmic Coincidences, John Gribbin and Martin Rees, p. 28

25. It turns out that the Universe is essentially at the critical density – the ratio of Its actual density to the critical density, called Omega, is very near 1. Omega: Value of 1.02 +/- 0.02 http://facultystaff.richmond.edu/~ebunn/bayes/node4.html

26. One of the best ways to explain this is a theory called inflation, which requires the flatness of the Universe (proposed by Alan Guth of MIT around 1980). This theory also solves some issues with the standard Big Bang models. “There is, indeed, a theory (rather, a group of theories) that makes flatness a required feature of the Universe. Such models go by the name inflation, because they suggest that very early in its lifetime (during the first split-second) the Universe expanded by an enormous factor.” Cosmic Coincidences, John Gribbin and Martin Rees, p. 26 http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~afrank/A105/LectureXVI/CosmicTimeline.jpg

27. A New Discovery at the close of the Second Millennium: Dark Energy Measurements of the speed of recession of Type Ia supernovae revealed an amazing fact: The Universe is not only expanding, but the expansion is accelerating, not slowing down as scientists thought it had to be. This acceleration appears due to a mysterious energy that is called Dark Energy. “Dark Energy appears to be, based on the brightness of the most distant type-Ia supernovae, a mysterious force that is accelerating the expansion of the universe. These recent discoveries have provided good evidence that there is such an outward force on the universe (variously called the cosmological constant, "quintessence," or "dark energy"). “ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/010104a.html

28. Most recent estimates of the contents of the Universe http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/media/080998/index.html

29. وَالسَّمَاء بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ AND IT IS We who have built the universe with power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it. Az-Azariyat 51:47 • Three types of expansion: • The massive expansion of the period of inflation, just after the Big Bang • The steady expansion of the Universe thereafter • The “new” acceleration of the expansion secondary to dark energy • ??? Bi aydin http://www.redorbit.com/modules/reflib/article_images/6_5daa7ca55793bcf9bd03dd45c1a97f4f.jpg

30. Since we are so close to the critical density, it is conceivable that if this “dark energy” changes character, the Universe could begin to collapse on itself again – i.e. end in a Big Crunch.

31. يَوْمَ نَطْوِي السَّمَاء كَطَيِّ السِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ كَمَا بَدَأْنَا أَوَّلَ خَلْقٍ نُّعِيدُهُ وَعْدًا عَلَيْنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا فَاعِلِينَ On that Day We shall roll up the skies as written scrolls are rolled up; [and] as We brought into being the first creation, so We shall bring it forth anew a promise which We have willed upon Our­selves: for, behold, We are able to do [all things]! Al-Anbiya 21:104

32. A Journey into Gravity and Spacetime John Archibald Wheeler, p. 36

33. (Physics, 6th edition,Douglas Giancoli, p. 938) الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ الرَّحْمَنُ فَاسْأَلْ بِهِ خَبِيرًا He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between, in six days (periods), and is firmly established on the Throne (of Authority): Allah Most Gracious: ask thou, then, about Him of any acquainted (with such things). Al-Furqan 25:59

34. Conclusions: أَوَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوا فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَابَيْنَهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ النَّاسِ بِلِقَاء رَبِّهِمْ لَكَافِرُونَ Do they not reflect in their own minds? Not but with truth and for a term appointed, did Allah create the heavens and the earth, and all between them: yet are there truly many among men who deny the meeting with their Lord (at the Resurrection)! Al_Rum 30:8 “There is no better evidence to support the argument that the Universe has been designed for our benefit -- tailor-made for man…. If we modify the value of one of the fundamental constants, something invariably goes wrong, leading to a Universe that is inhospitable to life as we know it… The conditions in our Universe really do seem to be uniquely suitable for life forms like ourselves.” Cosmic Coincidences, John Gribbin and Martin Rees

35. Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day there are indeed Signs for men of understanding. • Men who celebrate the praises of Allah standing sitting and lying down on their sides and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth (with the thought): "Our Lord! not for naught hast thou created (all) this! Glory to thee! give us salvation from the penalty of the fire. • Al-Imran 3:190-191