Scientists at the Swiss CERN facility have created a few days back, what is known as "anti-matter" and held it stable for over several minutes. For most of us in this world it hardly matters (no pun intended), right? In a way, no!
The above finding goes against the grain of conventional wisdom held over many decades that any anti-matter would instantly react with matter (ingredient of everything we perceive in this world) and result in destruction of the matter. Also anti-matter was long believed to be just a concept than reality. This was precisely because Paul Dirac's theories predicted equal amounts of matter and anti-matter in the universe. Such a scenario would ensue that all matter reacts with all anti-matter and annihilate themselves instantly leaving only energy in the form of light and other electromagnetic radiation (alpha, beta, gamma and other rays). Then why do we see the existence of matter all around including ourselves?
Based on the successful production of anti-matter recently, it is now believed that the genesis of this entire universe may have begun with a quantitative asymmetry between matter and anti-matter. That by a chance event (or for us believers, by a greater force of Nature), there must have been a "little more" matter than anti-matter, thus resulting in the creation of the Universe as we know it. Rest as they say is a long history.
Now just hold for a second! We have heard so many times that Nature loves symmetry. We see it in the way all materials are created - a symmetrical arrangement of atoms known as crystals or crystalline structures. We also see so much of symmetry - from heavenly bodies to planetary orbits to flora and fauna. We perceive symmetry as beauty and perfection. Look at some of the most beautiful faces of our times - Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Grace Kelly, Catherine Deneuve, Aishwarya Rai..... The symmetry of their features is striking!
And the Laws of Thermodynamics state that left to itself, most things tend towards symmetry and order to reduce or conserve its energy. Nevertheless, all this symmetry is only at the surface. It is well known that materials are packed with defects and flaws that break down the order and symmetry. Ironically, this asymmetry is what renders them useful by making them pliable, shapeable, and even amenable to human inventiveness. All useful things that we see such as machines, automobiles, electronic and electrical parts exploit the defects or the inherent asymmetry of materials. Is this then a paradox or just a lovely little irony of Nature?
So is there no such thing as perfection in this Universe? Am reminded of the short story by R K Narayan titled Such Perfection. The protagonist in this story is Soma, a sculptor and a perfectionist, who sculpts the most perfect idol of Shiva. Not minding the exhortations that such perfection is not for this mortal World, he goes ahead and gets the idol consecrated only to trigger immediate deluge and destruction of the village. The chaos quells when by some unexplained coincidence of events, a little piece of the toe of the idol accidentally chips off thus making it a bit imperfect.
Is there an uncanny resemblance of this story to the events that followed the Big Bang? Is it possible that all the "Bangs" that preceded the one we were born out of were so perfect that it quietly died out as flashes of light till the one that somehow had an asymmetry that resulted in matter being created?
This brings us to the most important point of this post. I have always been mystified by the representations of the images of Hindu Gods and their links to known and emerging scientific knowledge. The image of Ardhanaareeshwara, a half man-half woman depiction of Shiva and Shakti for example, represents the oneness and interchageability of energy and matter, as postulated by Einstein in his famous "E equals emcee square" equation (energy is the product of mass and square of the speed of light - E=mc^2). Shiva is known to represent matter and Shakti, as the name implies, energy.
Also look at the basic concepts of Vaastu, the architectural code for perfect energy balance. The underlying premise of Vaastu is not perfect symmetry but a perfect balance between symmetry and asymmetry!
Coming back, many other Hindu idols are perfectly symmetrical representations but with a small asymmetry - look at images of a very symmetric Ganesha with only the trunk curling asymmetrically to one side. Other images are similar in symmetry but with an asymmetry in the form of what the various hands of the deities hold. Finally, look at the image of the Dancing Shiva or Nataraja. There is so much symmetry in that image and then there are significant asymmetries in the way the legs and hands are represented in a frozen posture of the cosmic dance. Is this the mystery then about the Dancing Shiva? That the cosmic creation, sustenance and the eventual destruction happens through asymmetry that leads to creation of matter and consequently the Universe? Then will the eventual destruction happen when His pose returns to one of perfect symmetry? We will never find out but can only theorise and uncover the undiscovered....
Sreeram
The above finding goes against the grain of conventional wisdom held over many decades that any anti-matter would instantly react with matter (ingredient of everything we perceive in this world) and result in destruction of the matter. Also anti-matter was long believed to be just a concept than reality. This was precisely because Paul Dirac's theories predicted equal amounts of matter and anti-matter in the universe. Such a scenario would ensue that all matter reacts with all anti-matter and annihilate themselves instantly leaving only energy in the form of light and other electromagnetic radiation (alpha, beta, gamma and other rays). Then why do we see the existence of matter all around including ourselves?
Based on the successful production of anti-matter recently, it is now believed that the genesis of this entire universe may have begun with a quantitative asymmetry between matter and anti-matter. That by a chance event (or for us believers, by a greater force of Nature), there must have been a "little more" matter than anti-matter, thus resulting in the creation of the Universe as we know it. Rest as they say is a long history.
Now just hold for a second! We have heard so many times that Nature loves symmetry. We see it in the way all materials are created - a symmetrical arrangement of atoms known as crystals or crystalline structures. We also see so much of symmetry - from heavenly bodies to planetary orbits to flora and fauna. We perceive symmetry as beauty and perfection. Look at some of the most beautiful faces of our times - Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Grace Kelly, Catherine Deneuve, Aishwarya Rai..... The symmetry of their features is striking!
And the Laws of Thermodynamics state that left to itself, most things tend towards symmetry and order to reduce or conserve its energy. Nevertheless, all this symmetry is only at the surface. It is well known that materials are packed with defects and flaws that break down the order and symmetry. Ironically, this asymmetry is what renders them useful by making them pliable, shapeable, and even amenable to human inventiveness. All useful things that we see such as machines, automobiles, electronic and electrical parts exploit the defects or the inherent asymmetry of materials. Is this then a paradox or just a lovely little irony of Nature?
So is there no such thing as perfection in this Universe? Am reminded of the short story by R K Narayan titled Such Perfection. The protagonist in this story is Soma, a sculptor and a perfectionist, who sculpts the most perfect idol of Shiva. Not minding the exhortations that such perfection is not for this mortal World, he goes ahead and gets the idol consecrated only to trigger immediate deluge and destruction of the village. The chaos quells when by some unexplained coincidence of events, a little piece of the toe of the idol accidentally chips off thus making it a bit imperfect.
Is there an uncanny resemblance of this story to the events that followed the Big Bang? Is it possible that all the "Bangs" that preceded the one we were born out of were so perfect that it quietly died out as flashes of light till the one that somehow had an asymmetry that resulted in matter being created?
This brings us to the most important point of this post. I have always been mystified by the representations of the images of Hindu Gods and their links to known and emerging scientific knowledge. The image of Ardhanaareeshwara, a half man-half woman depiction of Shiva and Shakti for example, represents the oneness and interchageability of energy and matter, as postulated by Einstein in his famous "E equals emcee square" equation (energy is the product of mass and square of the speed of light - E=mc^2). Shiva is known to represent matter and Shakti, as the name implies, energy.
Also look at the basic concepts of Vaastu, the architectural code for perfect energy balance. The underlying premise of Vaastu is not perfect symmetry but a perfect balance between symmetry and asymmetry!
Coming back, many other Hindu idols are perfectly symmetrical representations but with a small asymmetry - look at images of a very symmetric Ganesha with only the trunk curling asymmetrically to one side. Other images are similar in symmetry but with an asymmetry in the form of what the various hands of the deities hold. Finally, look at the image of the Dancing Shiva or Nataraja. There is so much symmetry in that image and then there are significant asymmetries in the way the legs and hands are represented in a frozen posture of the cosmic dance. Is this the mystery then about the Dancing Shiva? That the cosmic creation, sustenance and the eventual destruction happens through asymmetry that leads to creation of matter and consequently the Universe? Then will the eventual destruction happen when His pose returns to one of perfect symmetry? We will never find out but can only theorise and uncover the undiscovered....
Sreeram
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