Our Universe has a deep mathematical underpinning that defies probability. If we go by probability, then a messy Universe not permitting life has a bigger chance to be out there.
That it ceases to be, is rather a surprise. Instead, our spectacularly complex Universe is highly ordered and quite comprehensible in terms of the physical laws expressed by elegant mathematical equations from three dimensions to N dimensions.
The mathematical description of nature is remarkably precise. From stars to subatomic particles, the structure of our universe is fine-tuned by some fundamental numerical constants and quantities.
These include Higgs vacuum expectation value (v); mass of quarks (q), electron (e– ) and neutrino (), electromagnetic coupling constant (α); strong nuclear force coupling constant (αs); cosmological constant (Λ); scalar fluctuation amplitude (Q); the number of space time dimensions (3+1) and quite a few more.
What surprises the scientists is that each of these numbers is carefully dialed to an astonishingly precise value within an exceedingly narrow range that makes our existence possible and plausible. And this cannot be a mere chance or a happy coincidence. It is rather a mathematical miracle.
The layout of our Universe is so overwhelming that there must be some super intellect who has monkeyed with mathematics and physics in designing it. Nature is best understood in the language of Mathematics.
We live in a mathematically imbued Universe. Mathematics cannot work so well in describing the Universe unless it has been designed that way.
God is therefore the supreme Mathematician and before anything else, He exists. He is the mind at the center of all creation. That is why worshipping God essentially means to praise Him, glorify Him and thank Him for His marvelous job.
He may not necessarily need the services and sacrifices that we keep rendering to Him except for our own joy and satisfaction. Scientists have never aimed at dismissal of divine and atheism is not left with any more hardcore explanations.
Now let us come to some immediate mathematical earthly experiences. For most of us, mathematics is about numbers and symbols. It is also about shapes and geometry. It gives the measure and quadrature of everything around us.
For example, a book has a rectangular shape and has certain number of pages. A cylindrical container has a definite number of grains weighing some kilograms. So do we have some measure in terms of height and weight.
Mathematics models everything from cosmic phenomena to our daily routine. The human mind also works mathematically. We choose some discrete mathematical identifications like WhatsApp number, car number, house number, lane number, roll number or one’s serial number in the merit list.
We are reached through a PIN code, fax or a telex. Mathematics is a universal language. It enables us to identify and understand the geometrical patterns around us. For instance, whatever is thrown up, falls down by tracing a parabola.
All heavenly bodies are spherical and their orbits elliptical. All living and non-living beings zero down to electron/s which is a purely mathematical entity. All its properties can be parametrized. Its spin is a number, its charge is a number, so is its position and momentum.
For some enthusiasts, not only is our physical reality described by Mathematics but it is Mathematics and we may be a part of the larger Mathematical structure.
This may seem a bold claim but it’s relevance doesn’t diminish even if it is put in a subtle and humble way. The advanced Mathematics, clearly interprets the abstract but it is the logical and consistent thinking about various physical phenomena around us, which is at the base of mathematical modelling of such processes.
And physicists are nice at modelling as well as at Mathematics. The thought process leads to a theory or more so a model. As for instance, one first needs to understand why does light bend around the objects and then develop the necessary equations.
A hardcore physicist has to be a hardcore Mathematician but the reverse may not always be necessary. Understanding the laws describing the physical systems is primarily dependent on our level of conscience further paving way for calculations. A literary can take help from the following lines
khol aañkh zamīñ dekh falak dekh fazā dekh!
mashriq se ubharte hue sūraj ko zarā dekh!
is jalva-e-be-parda ko parda meñ chhupā dekh!
Open your eyes and look above. Look at the streak of the dawn. Look at the veiling of the vision. Keep thinking, keep sinking.
Dr. Qudsia Gani, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Physics, Govt. College for Women, Srinagar