Some physicists have the job to come up with ideas (or theories) of how the universe works. They use some form of mathematics to express their ideas. Other physicists have the job to find out whether those mathematical equations really fit what happens. I want to write about one scientific theory of how the universe works, because it’s really cool and fits with the book of Genesis in many ways.
This mathematical theory says (essentially) that in the beginning, God was balancing the universe like a pencil on its tip. At that instant, there were no atoms, nothing had any form, and everything was void.
Then God breathed, and the pencil of the universe started to tip over.
God had made a bunch of types of particles, according to this theory – potential bits of atoms, for instance – one of which was very different from all of the rest. Physicists like to call that kind of particle the “God particle”. As the Lord let the universe tip over, the existence of the God particle caused all of the other particles to become the way they are now. Most of the particles took on form and became atoms (and the rest of the physical universe). Others were what we call light.
For every particle, God seems to have made the potential for an opposing particle, one with equal but opposite qualities. The two opposing sets of particles are called matter and anti-matter. One thing scientists are trying to explain is why there is more matter in the universe than anti-matter. In order to account for that difference, the universe must be imbalanced, like that pencil I mentioned. Also, the matter in the universe must disintegrate over time, which means that our universe cannot (mathematically) be eternal. Cool, huh?
As for the God particles, physicists haven’t seen any of them yet. They have to be there, according to this theory. If we could build a detector with just the right technology, then perhaps we would see a God particle.
It’s intriguing that God might have made one kind of particle without which nothing would have any substance. It’s also intriguing that He would have made that particle invisible to us. No wonder it’s called the God particle! Everything hinges on its existence.
