Is God in Physics? Fine Tuning Scrutinized

Then Isaac Newton in 1687 showed that planets move due to the same forces we experience here on earth. If things could be explained with mathematics, to many people this called into question the need for a God.

But in the late 20th century, arguments for God were resurrected. The standard model of particle physics and general relativity is accurate. But there are constants in these equations that do not have an explanation. They have to be measured. Many of them seem to be very fine tuned.

Scientists point out for example, the mass of a neutrino is 2X10^-37kg. It has been shown that if this mass was off by just one decimal point, life would not exist because if the mass was too high, the additional gravity would cause the universe to collapse. If the mass was too low, galaxies could not form because the universe would have expanded too fast.

On closer examination, it has some problems. The argument exaggerates the idea of fine tuning by using misleading units of measurement, to make fine tuning seem much more unlikely than it may be. The mass of neutrinos is expressed in Kg. Using kilograms to measure something this small is the equivalent of measuring a person’s height in light years. A better measurement for the neutrino would be electron volts or picograms.

Another point is that most of the constants could not really be any arbitrary number. They are going to hover around some value close to what they actually are. The value of the mass of a neutrino could not be the mass of a bowling ball. Such massive particles with the property of a neutrino could not have been created during the Big Bang.

The fine tuning argument also says that the universe must be fine tuned to have exactly the properties that it has. The problem with this statement is that it presumes a narrow definition of life based on on anthropic view of the of the kind that we see on earth. Even if a universe with different constants could not support life as we know it, it does not mean that the laws we have are the only ones conducive to life.

For example, if the strength of electromagnetism was slightly larger or smaller, it would mean that atoms would be slightly smaller or larger, respectively. Atoms could probably still form. Life could probably still exist, but it would just be different.

Most scientists believe that in order to have life in any universe, complex chemistry is necessary because life needs complex bio chemicals. In order to have this kind of chemistry, larger atoms such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and iron are required. This means that stars have to live for at least a billion years so that these elements can be forged inside them.

In a 1983 paper, Press and Lightman showed that much of the gross properties of the universe can be estimated from the values of just four fundamental constants - the strengths of the electromagnetic and strong nuclear interactions, and the masses of the electron and proton.

Physicist Victor Stenger did a study in 2000 where he varied these 4 constants to see what the potential universes would look like. He found was that over half the universes would have stars that live at least a billion years.

Another theory says that the constants we have are due to the probability inherent in the laws of quantum mechanics. At the big bang, cosmologists believe that the laws of quantum mechanics became applicable. If this is true, then the wave equation of the universe decoherred or collapsed randomly in such a way that the constants were set from the very beginning. And each universe may have had different initial conditions leading to different sets of constants. If enough universes form, you’re bound to get one with life like ours.

No known principle rules out the existence of multiple universes. In fact, we would need to hypothesize a new principle in physics to rule out all but a single universe.

What looks like fine tuning may really be due to our ignorance of the underlying mathematics that would explain these constants. The sun is not fine tuned for our eyes. Our eyes are fine tuned for the sun. Similarly, the universe is not fine-tuned for humanity. Humanity is fine-tuned to the universe.
#finetuningargument
#doesgodexist
You could argue that if God is not in the constants, then he must be in the laws of quantum mechanics and general relativity. After all, if the universe follows fundamental laws, there must be a law giver. But the problem with this argument is that you are replacing something like the laws of physics that may be eternal, with something else that is eternal but more complicated - God.

God may or may not exist. But he probably would not emerge from the constants of the universe.

[WalrusRiderEntertainment]

God or no god, our very existence is incredible and worthy of praise and gratitude

[omolemophaoe]

Funny how whenever the topic is about Newton they always show a falling apple

[tarkinapa]

You didn't disable comments on this video? You're a brave man, Arvin.

[CommodoreFloopjack]

I love his little tag line: "The answer is coming up right now." These videos are absolutely fascinating to me.

[MrPlayaVerde]

For years I've been watching physics videos by many renown physicist and cosmologists and I love them all, but no one explains things better than you. Thank you.

[chalcedonv]

Nice work, my friend. Not easy to treat this argument and avoid arguments/words/sentences that may be perceived as disrespectful by some. I think you succeeded.

[Outspoken.Humanist]

Fascinating. And exactly the information i was seeking. I particularly enjoy your non-confrontational, non-aggressive manner.

[ricardodelzealandia]

By God, you're a great communicator Arvin.

[timo]

OK but the real question from this video: what did the cat do to you?

[Desert_Man]

"God" is everywhere humans look because they interject "him" into everything, but it need'nt be so. Funny seeing religious people's triggered, non-evidence-based comments on an evidence-based video. Wrong crowd, people 😂

[Limbaugh_]

I can’t wait to go to college and be like the only Christian getting a physics degree 😂

[HerbertDuckshort]

It’s like trying to take a photo of your own camera in a locked room with no mirrors.
We are intrinsically part of what we’re trying to investigate.

[jeffamos]

You said there is more then one way to skin a cat. Well my cat said there are 9 ways to skin a human

[richardvernon]

I always learn a lot from your videos, Arvin, and enjoy them very much. in this video, because you are a scientist, no doubt, I believe you are tipping the argument in one direction. The fine tuning argument is not the anthropic argument. It is about the the formation of basic matter that would be able to form more complex structures. There are about 26 measurements in play here, after all. One that was not mentioned, the cosmological constant, from my layman's understanding, is off by 120 orders of magnitude from theorist prediction when measured. It is such a tiny amount above 0 that any change, regardless of the size of the scale{Lebron explanation} is a total deal breaker for anything but an inert universe. I wish we had the technology to dig deeper but for now, I am a solid agnostic. After-all, when I hear the more detailed descriptions of the multiverse or many worlds theory, they make the intelligent prime mover argument seem just as reasonable as the ones that are described and totally not tested. Anyway, thanks for making the world a better place with your efforts to educate, you're great at it.

[swxqt]

Here’s a simpler way to explain the fine tuning problem: if the universe couldn’t support life, we wouldn’t be around to tell.
Nuff said.

[josephsmith]

I love your videos. You deserve as much recognition as big science channels like vsauce and kurgestagt. Always interesting to listen to and never avoid tough questions which nobody knows the answers to.

[TheBruces]

I took your advice and watched and enjoyed this. I have been using The Great Courses for years and have about 50 courses in my digital library. I seek knowledge at every level every day. One thing I can say is that the more I learn the more I realize I don't know, in many cases nobody knows.

[ghytd]

I listen to ALOT of videos on the subjects you cover Arvin, and everytime I listen to your videos, I learn a nuance that I had not heard before.
You're becoming a hero to me.
Thank you.

[luisfilipe]

The problem with the multiverse theory is that there’s no evidence of multiple universes. It’s just as much a statement of faith as believing in God but a lot less likely

[LostAnimal]

This is one of the best video on this topic. And I think this 2 sentences are the most important ones to understand this topic.
1) (10:53) "What we see could be a form of natural selection similar to evolution, if enough people buy lottery tickets, someone is going to win eventually." - Maybe if our Universe had different constants, there could be life that is even more complex and more advanced, something non imaginable to us in this Universe.
2) (12:27) "The Universe is not fine-tuned for humanity, Humanity is fine-tuned to the Universe." - Exactly!