The “Just So” Universe
The Fine-Tuning of Constants & Conditions in the Cosmos
by Walter Bradley
What does it mean on a human scale for an engineer to design a product? What would it mean on a grand scale to say that the universe is the product of an intelligent designer? And what evidence could support such a claim? What features of the universe suggest that a “home” has been carefully crafted for our benefit?
William Paley in his classic Natural Theology (1802) provided evidence from both the physical sciences and the biological sciences for a designed universe, but the strength of his argument for design was limited by the scientific understanding of his time, and was subsequently called into question by Darwin’s theory of evolution. However, discoveries in astronomy and cosmology in the last half of the twentieth century have provided extremely compelling evidence for a designed universe. Before we look at the evidence from cosmology indicating that our universe is indeed designed as a habitat for life in general and humans in particular, we need to clarify what we mean by design.
How Does an Engineer Design Something?
To understand what engineers do when they design products for consumers, consider first a simple example of how we guide physical events to accomplish a purpose. Suppose that I wanted to throw a water balloon from the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy to the plaza below, hitting a friend who is walking on the plaza (and missing other tourists). Using the equations Newton discovered for motion and for gravitational attraction, I could describe the descent of the water balloon to the plaza below with the following simple algebraic relationship:
H(t) = h0 – (G m / r^2 ) t^2 /2 – v0 t
Here G is a universal constant that gives the strength of the gravitational force of attraction, m and r are the mass of the earth and the radius of the earth respectively, and h0 and v0 are the height in the tower from which I shall throw the balloon and the vertical velocity with which I throw the balloon.
With these constants and initial conditions defined, I can then calculate the height of the water balloon. H(t) gives the calculated height of the water balloon as a function of time t from when I threw it. This equation may be used to guarantee that my balloon arrives at the plaza at just the right time to hit my friend. All I need to do is to determine at what time my strolling friend will be just below me in the plaza, and then I can use the equation to determine the initial velocity with which I need to throw the balloon. Just dropping the balloon is also fine—I just set v0 = 0 and solve for the correct time to drop the balloon. The precision with which I must specify the velocity of the thrown balloon depends on the mathematical form of the equation, the specified values for the universal constant G and the initial condition h0. With the simple mathematical form of the equation and the actual gravity force constant G and height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, hitting my friend should be relatively easy.
The three factors that are essential in predicting the motion of the water balloon illustrate the factors that are generally necessary to provide a purposeful outcome in engineering work: (1) the mathematical form that nature takes (as illustrated by the equation); (2) the values of the universal constants ( G in the equation); and (3) the boundary conditions (which include the height h0 of the tower from which I throw the balloon and the initial velocity v0 with which I throw the balloon). The terms m and r may be thought of as additional boundary conditions that are specific to the location of the tower on the surface of the earth (rather than some other location in the universe). The engineer has no control over the laws of nature and the mathematical form that they take. Neither does the engineer have any control over the universal constants such as the gravity force constant. The engineer can only set the boundary conditions, as when he draws up blueprints to specify exactly how a device will look when it has been fabricated.
Let us illustrate this design process with the requirements (or boundary conditions) that must be specified when an engineer designs an automobile. The engineer must very carefully prescribe the conditions under which the chemical energy in gasoline is released and converted to torque on the wheels of the car. Each dimension for each engine part is critical for the parts to work together harmoniously. The absolute size and shape of the parts (as distinct from the relative size to fit with each other) depend on the forces to be developed and transmitted, which in turn depend on the weight of the car and the speed it should achieve in service. The weight depends on the size, which in turn depends on the number of passengers plus luggage the car will carry. These factors then determine the size of the cylinders and pistons to be used in the engine and the rate of gasoline injected into these cylinders. The brake and suspension systems independently have to be scaled to fit the weight requirements, as do the specifications for the tires.
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