Nothing exists in isolation. Everything today is a continuation of the past
as well as an indication of the future; everything around us is impacted by
distant things, and in turn influences other things in the distance. In order
to answer questions about mankind and human society, one must first
understand humanity and human history itself, as well as the environment in
which humans survive.
Section One: The Pursuit of Truth
In the thousands of years of recorded human civilization, truth is often mistaken
as fallacy, while fallacies are often regarded as sacred and inviolable
truths. The birth of a revolutionary truth must always weather a ruthless and
bloody storm of opposition: that has been the universal law throughout time.
Many scientific conclusions have led to tragic persecution and brutal
combat in the long course of history, but truth always wins out in the end.
Through the endurance of time, fact will always shine through the layers of
absurdity and make its brilliance known universally.
The path to truth is often filled with hardship. Three such examples are
introduced below.
One: The Story of Earth’s Relation to the Universe
Since the beginning of time, humans have been preoccupied with understanding
the earth we live on and the universe surrounding it. Due to the
limitations of the known world, for thousands of years after entering civilized
society, humans could only rely on their intuition and imagination to observe
the sun, moon, stars, earth, and sky and attempt an understanding of the
earth and universe.
“Geocentric” was a cosmology ical doctrine established in ancient Europe;
it was first proposed by the third-century BC ancient Greek philosopher
Aristotle. He theorized that the earth was the center of the universe, with
the moon, stars, and all cosmic matter orbiting around it. Aristotle was a
master of ancient Greek philosophy and a teacher to the famous Macedonian
king, Alexander the Great. His lofty status and seemingly reasonable explanation
might have been the reason this wrong theory dominated the Western
world for more than a thousand years. It is often through a series of “developments,”
misinterpretations, and accidental applications that falsehoods gain
and cement their dominance in the world.
The astronomer Ptolemy further developed and improved upon the
geocentric theory. He believed that Earth was located in the center of the
universe, with the moon, Mercury, Venus, the sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
ranging around it in successive order. According to him, these planets all
orbited the earth within their own trajectory at regular intervals.
All of the above views regarding the earth and its relation to the universe
fall within the realm or normal academia. According to the general
principles of scientific research, as long as there is sufficient basis, a new
correct scientific conclusion can overturn a previous wrong one without
much difficulty; however, once a scientific theory is deliberately exploited by
the dominant religious or political authorities, the situation becomes much
more complicated.
Christian doctrine took up the incorrect geocentric theory. According to
Christianity, God created Earth and the universe. The earth was the center of
the universe, and everything in the universe, including mankind, was created
by God. During the dark medieval times, Christianity firmly imprisoned
people’s belief systems, not allowing any doubt or rebellion against predetermined
Christian ideology. This allowed the geocentric theory to dominate
cosmology virtually unchallenged.
The first person to offer substantive challenge to the geocentric theory was
Copernicus. Nicholas Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland, on February
19, 1473. He studied law, medicine, and theology at university, but his
interests lay in astronomy. In his spare time, Copernicus would observe and
study astronomy. Coupled with his reflections on the universe, he proposed
the heliocentric theory and dedicated his life to completing the astronomical
masterpiece, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. This work stated that
Earth was not the center of the universe but just an ordinary planet. The
center of the universe was the sun, followed by Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,
Jupiter, and Saturn, in that order.
Today, we can see that Copernicus’ argument is not the ultimate truth
either, but it was a crucial first step on the path to truth and a complete
denial of the geocentric theory. More importantly, the heliocentric theory’s
denial of geocentric theory would move beyond an astronomical debate to
evolve into a challenge of Christian religious theology. The revolutionary
consequences inspired by the heliocentric theory would trigger a chain reaction
across a series of other fields. This was absolutely unacceptable to the
Christian church.
On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres was published after Copernicus
had been bedridden by a stroke. With trembling hands, he caressed this masterpiece
for which he’d struggled his whole life, and he died not long after.
It was the genius, atheist, Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno who developed
Copernicus’ theory. Bruno was not an astronomer; he used his own
philosophical speculations to propose the idea of an infinite universe, further
developing the Copernicus theory. Bruno believed that the sun was not static
but constantly moving, and that the sun was not the center of the universe
either. He believed that there were an infinite number of worlds outside the
solar system, and the universe—being unified, material, and infinite—could
not have a center.
Bruno’s ideas infuriated the Catholic Church, and the inquisition held a
seven-year interrogation against him. Bruno was indomitable and insistent
upon the truth, even in prison; he was ultimately sentenced to death by
burning. On February 17, 1600, Bruno was burned at the stake in Rome’s
Campo de’ Fiori.
Brutality, bloodshed, and violence can never stop people’s pursuit of
truth, as evidenced by one of the most outstanding pioneers of modern
science: Galileo. Through astronomical observation, Galileo concurred with
the Copernicus theory and published the book Dialogue Concerning the Two
Chief World Systems in 1632. This book was soon banned by the Roman
Catholic Church. Galileo himself was tried in Rome and sentenced to life
imprisonment in 1633.
The period in which Bruno and Galileo were sentenced by the church was
the darkness before the dawn for Europe. The fourteenth-century Renaissance
movement, originating in Italy, sought to organize ancient Greek and Roman
works as cultural weapons against religious theology. The movement took up
a human-centered humanism ideology to confront the God-centered religious
ideology, opening the way for modern ideological liberation.
It was the dedication in the pursuit of truth and fearless sacrifice for righteousness
demonstrated by men like Copernicus, Bruno, and Galileo that
woke the dawn of the new world. From the seventeenth to the eighteenth
century, the Western Enlightenment movement started in Britain and France
and expanded to Germany, the Netherlands, and many other countries. The
Enlightenment movement used rationalism as an ideological weapon, with
its spearhead directly pointed towards feudal autocratic rule and religious
theology. It opposed religious superstition in favor of promoting the spirit
of science and opposed authoritarian dictatorship in favor of democracy
and freedom. The Enlightenment movement even advocated for a rational
society free from religion—a secularization of human life. It was the effort
of Enlightenment thinkers that uncovered the path to science and reason
for all humanity and removed the shackles of religion from the pursuit of
truth once and for all. And then there was the American Revolution and the
French revolution . . . and so scientific research suddenly saw the light.
It was the power of truth that drove the world to momentous change.
Two: The Story of Earth
The earth is home to man. Our ancestors hunted, gathered, and farmed here
day in, day out. It is Earth—the home our survival depends upon—that
provides a habitat for humanity within the vastness of the universe. And thus
humanity has endured from the beginning of time until today, evolving from
apes to Homo sapiens, from barbarism into civilization.
However, the surface of the earth we live on is far from fixed and eternal;
it consists of separate plates that constantly drift and change. From the formation
of the earth until this day, this surface has undergone much change.
About two hundred million years ago, Earth was one supercontinent encompassing
all lands. What is today the east coast of South America was connected
to the west of Africa; North America was adjoined to the west of the
Eurasian continent; Australian was a peninsula off the east of Antarctica; the
Indian subcontinent was all the way in Antarctic, thousands of miles away
from Southwest China; and China’s Tibet was bordered by vast seas. This was
not the first time a supercontinent existed on Earth. Another supercontinent
had formed about seven hundred million years ago, but the shapes and locations
of the landmasses varied.
The landmasses on Earth have been separating and uniting throughout
time. Just as brothers who must go their separate ways once the time comes,
this supercontinent finally broke apart, the landmasses starting their separate
journeys, two hundred million years ago. The Americas drifted westward,
away from Europe and Africa, while the Indian subcontinent broke off from
the Antarctic continent and traveled north until it bumped into eastwarddrifting
Asia, forming the magnificent Himalayas in the process. Australia
left Antarctica shortly after the Indian subcontinent and traveled north, and
it maintains a northward voyage until this day.
Today, the Americas continue to drift westward with the Atlantic Ocean,
expanding at a rate of one to four centimeters per year. In fifty million years,
the Atlantic will have widened by more than one thousand kilometers. At the
same time, the Asian continent is drifting eastward and the Indian Ocean
is also enlarging. Under attack on both the east and west side, the Pacific
is becoming narrower; eventually, it will no longer be the largest ocean in
the world.
As the African continent continues to move north, the Mediterranean
will become an inner lake and eventually disappear. The stubborn Indian
continent will remain firmly pressed against Asia, causing the Himalayas to
rise at a rate of one to five centimeters a year. In some tens of thousands
of years, Mount Everest will be more than ten thousand meters in height,
further cementing it as the world’s highest peak.
After swallowing the Mediterranean, the African continent will continue
its “northern expedition,” eventually hitting Europe and creating a tall uplift
along the African-European continental margin. The Alps will gain in height
as well; however, the African continent itself will face large internal divisions.
The Great Rift Valley will rupture completely, East Africa will begin an eastward
drift, and a new ocean will be produced.
This almost fairytale-esque story is the theory of plate tectonics, which
originated from the continental drift theory proposed by German scientist
Alfred Wegener. In 1910, when Wegener was lying in bed sick, he was
inspired by the world map in front of him. He was fascinated by the similarity
of the landmasses on the two sides of the Atlantic, as the protrusion on one
side perfectly fit into the concave of the opposite side. With such consistency
in shape, could it have been possible that these two continents were once
connected? With this idea in mind, Wegener began a series of studies. He
not only conducted comparative studies of the continental strata on the two
sides of the Atlantic, but he also researched the consistency of African and
Brazilian paleontology, eventually producing the theory of continental drift.
Wegener’s theory was almost unanimously opposed by geophysicist everywhere.
People laughed at his “great poetical dream” and regarded him as an
ignorant grandstander lacking basic knowledge of Earth science. Wegener’s
ideas were deemed to be simply ridiculous and completely unjustified.
Wegener was extremely marginalized and shunned in academia; this exclusion
and contempt even affected the small number of people who expressed
recognition or sympathy to his theory. During that time in the United States,
you could not become a university professor if you subscribed to the theory
of continental drift, and you would also face endless irony and disdain. In
such an environment, even those who wholeheartedly supported continental
drift theory could not express it out loud—this was a rare phenomenon in the
United States, where democracy and freedom were such important values.
For a long time, the theory of isostasy held dominance in geology circles.
It theorized that the earth’s crust moved in an equilibrium of alternating
rising and sinking movements that relied mainly on vertical movement and
only minimally on horizontal movements. Therefore, the continental drift
movement was undoubtedly a fundamental negation of isostasy theory,
openly challenging existing geological theories and authorities.
Wegener was alone in his battle; even his famous meteorologist father-inlaw
held continental drift theory to be mere caprice. But Wegener persisted in
his academic beliefs and was committed to proving continental drift theory
in every way possible.
In 1930, the fifty-year-old Wegener met a tragic death in Greenland while
attempting to find further evidence to support his theory. The continental
drift theory faded into obscurity along with its founder.
It was only in the 1950s that breakthroughs in paleomagnetism research
finally validated his theory. When magma goes from hot to cool in its solidification
process, it gains magnetism from the earth’s magnetic fields. Rocks
from different times magnetize in the same direction. Since rocks can be
dated, the magnetization direction of rocks across different time periods can
also be determined; thus, the different locations of different regions at different
times can be determined as well.
In the 1960s, scientists conducted differential research into seabed rocks
and terrestrial rocks in conjunction with research into submarine magnetic
anomalies, eventually finding evidence of subsea expansion. Wegener’s continental
theory finally became recognized as truth instead of “absurd heresy.”
Both Wegener and his theory were vindicated in the academic community.
Scientists established the theory of plate tectonics based on Wegener’s theory,
marking a geological revolution and the advent of a new era in Earth science.
Three: The Story of the Origin of Humanity
When it comes to the origin of humanity, almost every nation has developed
its own interpretation over time. Most of these explanations state that
humans are created by deities and are accompanied by numerous folktales
and legends. When the “God created man” story became a theological doctrine
of the prevalent religious power, however, it became uncontestable, as
any challenge to theological doctrine in a religion-centric world could mean
imprisonment, or even death.
British naturalist Charles Darwin and biologist Alfred Russel Wallace
were both revolutionary figures in the impetus to overthrow the “God created
man” ideology. Darwin in particular cast unprecedented doubt on the creation
theory through his detailed research and rigorous scientific analysis.
In 1831, the British Navy ship Beagle was set to embark on a scientific
investigation of South America. Its main task was to conduct hydrological
mapping of the east and west coast and islands of South America, as well
as record a time for completing an around-the-world voyage. The ship was
missing a naturalist with geophysical knowledge, so Darwin was suggested
due to his interest in botany and geology, even though he was not a geologist.
This voyage took nearly five years, stopping at many places around the
world. While managing geological inspections and collecting data, Darwin
discovered many occurrences that contradicted the creation theory.
On the South American Pampas grasslands, Darwin often observed a
kind of bird that could not fly, called the rhea. These birds lived in environments
similar to that of African ostriches, but although rheas were similar in
body structure to ostriches, they were not identical. If God decided to create
these beings, wouldn’t one be enough? What point was there in repeating
the process?
What struck him as even more odd was his experience while investigating
the Galapagos Islands; each island had their own unique creatures. These
islands were very close to the South American continent, and the islands’
creatures were obviously different yet still clearly genetically related to the
creatures living in South America. Even among the islands, though each
island’s creatures were significantly different from each other, they still shared
obvious genetic traits. This phenomenon made it possible for people to
imagine that such creatures shared the same origin and developed differently
in diverse environments—so species were not necessarily immutable. This
ideology was undoubtedly incompatible with the “God created all things,
and all things are eternal” belief.
Upon arriving in Brazil, Darwin was mesmerized by the variety of plant
life, the beautiful leaves and flowers in the Brazilian forests. All this natural
splendor dazzled Darwin and caused him to question if God had really
created such diverse marvels one by one, all by himself.
After Darwin returned to the Britain, he started thinking in-depth about
his voyage and studying domestic animals, ultimately forming the concept
of evolution and publishing his far-reaching book, On the Origin of Species,
in 1859. In this book, Darwin systematically expounded on his theory of
evolution. He believed that all creatures were capable of evolving; some evolutions
were heritable, and some were not. Evolution was caused by changes
in the living environment and the use of organs; individuals evolved to better
suit the environment had better chances of surviving, and organs used more
were gradually developed. For example, wild ducks have stronger wings than
domesticated ducks because they fly more, while domesticated ducks have
stronger legs because they walk more.
Darwin believed that there was a surplus in nature, and that organisms
reproduced in far greater numbers than necessary for survival. Only those
individuals who evolved to best adapt to the environment survived and
produced offspring, while less suitably evolved individuals were eliminated.
Under natural conditions, evolution is a need for survival and reproduction.
Animals compete for food and mating opportunities, while plants compete
for sunshine and nutrients. They are all evolving through such competitions.
In Darwin’s mind, a primitive ancestor could produce a variety of species
each with their own traits. Different individual hybridizations and isolated
geographical environments all contribute to the formation of new species
and varied traits. All creatures within the same genus share a genetic connection,
just as different foliage on a tree connects to the same trunk.
Shortly after the publication of On the Origin of Species, Darwin’s follower,
Thomas Henry Huxley, published Man’s Place in Nature in 1863. In 1871,
Darwin published The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, in
which he enumerated many facts to scientifically prove that humans were
evolved from animals and shared “kinship” with animals, thus pointing out
man’s position in nature. Darwin’s assertion completely denied the religious
doctrine of “God created the world and man.” These two books once again
caused a sensation. They told people that there was no Creator, that the
world evolved according to its own laws, and that species evolved from other
species from one common ancestor, producing a variety of complex biological
species, including humans.
Darwin and Huxley’s arguments caused great waves and infuriated the
religious community. One debate on creation versus evolution went down
in history. On June 30, 1860, the British Association for the Advancement
of Science arranged a debate on creation versus evolution theory. Due to
physical discomfort, Darwin did not participate in this debate. Attending
on his behalf was staunch Darwinist and quick-thinker Huxley; on the other
side of the debate was eloquent Oxford Bishop Wilberforce, a man renowned
for his religious attainments. This debate is known in history as the “Oxford
Evolution Debate,” and it took place in the Oxford University Museum. The
sensitive nature of the theme attracted a large volume of listeners; the venue
was packed with over seven hundred attendees.
Wilberforce spoke first. Playing on the religious feelings of the people, he
carried out a deeply provocative attack: “Mr. Darwin would have us believe
that every animal, every reptile, every fish, plant, fly, and fungi descended
from the first living creature that could breathe. This is a blatant denial of the
will of God. Can we allow such betrayal of orthodox religion?” Wilberforce
quickly turned his glance to Huxley and asked, “Mr. Huxley, do you consider
yourself descended from an ape through your grandmother or your grandfather?”
This clearly humiliating provocation caused the audience to burst
into laughter.
After hearing Wilberforce’s speech, Huxley quickly realized that
Wilberforce did not know what evolution was, nor had he seriously read On
the Origin of Species. Huxley calmly stood up after the crowd had quieted and
spoke: “I have come to defend science, and I believe that no prejudice can
take away the prestige of my respected party.” He then plainly explained the
fundamentals of the theory of evolution, pointing out that this was the result
of twenty years of observation on Darwin’s part, not fabrication, and that it
reflected the objective laws of the biological world. Then Huxley said, “On
the question of humans originating from monkeys, it is not as superficial
and literal as the Bishop understands it to be; it just means that humans
are evolved from animals like monkeys.” After further illustrating Darwin’s
views in a more comprehensive manner, Huxley turned his head and started
straight at Wilberforce, replying, “[A] man has no reason to be ashamed of
having an ape for his grandfather. If there were an ancestor whom I should
feel shame in recalling, it would be a MAN, a man of restless and versatile
intellect, who, not content with a success in his own sphere of activity,
plunges into scientific questions with which he has no real acquaintance,
only to obscure them by an aimless rhetoric, and distract the attention of
his hearers from the real point at issue by eloquent digressions, and skilled
appeals to religious prejudice.” The audience responded with warm applause
to Huxley’s brilliant retort.
The Oxford Evolution Debate had great repercussions. It helped people
to clearly understand the absurdity of creationism and the scientific nature of
the Darwinian evolution theory. It was evolution that removed the shackles
of feudal theology from the field of natural science, allowing it to embark
upon a path of independent development. Simultaneously, the theory of
evolution further shook the rule of religion through obscurantism, liberating
people’s minds and defending the dignity of truth.
The pursuit of truth is a demanding process; it requires a certain spirit
and a type of courage. Daring to challenge traditional ideas, daring to contest
authority, daring to face persecution: these are all premises for the birth of a
revolutionary truth.
This book bases its research on the pursuit of truth and the respect for
reality. This author is determined to go forth undeterred, with no regrets or
fears, because he firmly believes that the conclusions of this book are fundamentally
related to the fate and future of humanity.
Section Two: The Beginning of the Universe
One: The Universe Started with “the Big Bang”
Nowadays, any ordinary person knows that the sun we rely on to survive is
just another ordinary star in the Milky Way, and that Earth is just another
planet of the sun. Before the 1920s, however, the horizon of astronomers was
confined to the Milky Way, as if the Milky Way was the entire galaxy. The first
person to discover galaxies outside of the Milky Way was American astronomer
Edwin Hubble. In 1925, he discovered the Andromeda Galaxy near the
Milky Way through astronomical observation, marking the first extragalactic
galaxy (i.e., a galaxy outside the Milky Way) observed by humans. In later
observations, Hubble found that there were far more than one or two galaxies
outside the Milky Way. Ten years after the discovery of the first extragalactic
galaxy, the scope of astronomical observation expanded to a range of five
hundred million light-years; that is the distance light travels (300,000 km per
second) in five hundred million years. At the time, this observation distance
seemed to be sufficiently large.
After observing numerous extragalactic galaxies, astronomers discovered
that almost all of them were moving away from us, and the further those galaxies
were, the faster they were moving away. For example, the Virgo Nebula
is moving away from us at a rate of 1,000 kilometers per second; to the
astronomers then, this was simply incredible.
Why are these galaxies moving away from us? Where does our universe
come from, and where is it heading? Many scientists have approached these
questions from different perspectives. In 1927, Belgian astronomer Georges
Lemaître suggested that all material of the universe could be traced back in
time to an originating single point; he called this point the “Cosmic Egg.”
When the Cosmic Egg suddenly exploded, the explosion material formed the
stars. Today, the Big Bang theory of cosmic formation is accepted by most
scientists, and this theory is being constantly perfected.
The universe was formed 13.8 billion years ago; of course, this is only
a rough estimate. Different scientists have varied understanding of this
number, but the differences are not significant. Therefore, it does not prevent
our discussion. This time can be confirmed in at least three ways. The first
method relies on the observation of galaxy retreat speed. If we rewind 13.8
billion years, the universe can be attributed to one originating point. The
second mode focuses on the study of the universe’s oldest stars and the star
clusters they form. Upon further inference, their ages are all close to 13.8
billion years. These are the first generation of stars formed in the universe.
The third approach is centered around the decay of atoms; it uses the law of
the atomic half-life to test the age of the oldest existing atoms.
The most common description humans use to describe cosmic origin
states that the universe began with a primitive atom. This atom was much
smaller than the atoms we refer to today; it had a diameter of only 10-33
centimeters, a high temperature, and large density. In specific numbers, this
atom has a temperature of 1032 K and a density of 1093 grams per cubic
centimeter. This primitive atom suddenly exploded 13.8 billion years ago.
The space it created through that explosion is the universe; the debris it produced
are the galaxies, stars, and various substances in the universe today.
However, the above description is not completely accurate. Our cosmology
today is based on general relativity and quantum mechanics. Based on
today’s scientific theory, we can trace the formation of the universe to 10-43
seconds after the Big Bang. This period is called the Planck time. The abovementioned
figures are the cosmic scale, temperature, and density at this time.
Using this state of time as the origin of the universe is actually very arbitrary;
since there had to have been a “zero-point” and a singularity point before this
time, we are merely unable to describe the universe before Planck time with
existing cosmic theory.
It is not easy to truly understand the description of the universe. It first
demands that we surrender our observation of the things around us and
adopt a completely different way of understanding everything in which we
exist and perceive constantly.
From a geometric point of view, a point is zero-dimensional, a line is onedimensional,
a surface is two-dimensional, and a cube is three-dimensional.
This is something we learn in junior high. We can easily imagine the shape
of a point, a line, a surface, or a cube. But space is four-dimensional; we can
perceive it, but we cannot imagine what it looks like. Of course, there will be
many people who do not agree with this argument. They might ask: Hasn’t
time always flowed naturally? Isn’t the universe the area we see? People have
these doubts because they are confused by their personal experiences.
According to existing understandings of cosmic theory, time and space
came into existence at the moment of the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago,
and so time has flowed until the present and the universe has been constantly
expanding to this day. Surely someone will ask: Even if there was no matter or
life before the Big Bang, there must have been time . . . right? The answer is
no. Time started with the Big Bang; there was no time before that. If the Big
Bang created the galaxies and matter, surely there was empty space before the
Big Bang—how else did the debris from the Big Bang disperse? The answer
is once again no. Space came into being at the moment of the Big Bang; the
volume of space is determined by the volume of the universe’s expansion.
Someone might ask again: What is outside of the universe? What connects
to the edges of the universe? The answer is that the universe only has size; it
has no edge and does not touch anything. (There are scientists who believe
that there are other universes outside of our universe, but we cannot see them
since space is four-dimensional.)
When we observe the galaxy through a telescope, we discover that the
further away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away from us—that is not to
say that we are the center of the universe. As a matter of fact, we would reach
the same conclusion observing the universe from any planet in any galaxy.
Just as when we blow balloons we might observe on any point on the balloon
that the further away a point is the faster it is moving away. Observations
made on any fixed point give the illusion that the observer is at the center. In
reality, every point is just an ordinary point.
The explosion 13.8 billion years created the epoch. At the beginning of
the Big Bang, the four natural forces we know today (strong interaction, weak
interaction, electromagnetism, and gravitation) were unified. As the universe
began to cool and expand, these four forces started to separate. At the same
time, the asymmetry between matter and antimatter began to appear; matter
outweighed antimatter by a tiny portion. These were the “Dark Ages” of
the universe; in this dark space, particles and antiparticles annihilated into
photons, producing energy. This annihilation included neutron-antineutron
annihilation, proton-antiproton annihilation, electron-positron annihilation,
and neutrino-antineutrino annihilation. Today, light fills the entire universe
mainly as a product of the early Big Bang period, while the matter that
remains from this large annihilation is our cosmic galaxy.
Three minutes after the Big Bang, the temperature of the universe fell to
one billion K. During this time, protons and neutrons combined to form
nuclei; this process lasted about an hour. When the universe’s temperature
dropped to one hundred million K, the nuclear synthesis ended. According
to theoretical calculations, among the products of the nuclear synthesis,
hydrogen accounts for ¾, helium takes up ¼, while tiny amounts of lithium,
beryllium, and boron account for less than one millionth of the whole. These
theoretical figures have received initial confirmation through astronomical
observations today.
During this time, the universe was full of photons, but it was not transparent
due to the large number of free electrons also existing in the universe.
These electrons blocked the path of photons. About thirty million years later,
the temperature of the universe had dropped to 3,000 K, electron movement
was less intense, and it was possible for hydrogen nuclei to capture one
electron and turn into hydrogen atoms, for helium nuclei to capture two
electrons and form helium atoms, and for lithium nuclei, beryllium nuclei,
and boron nuclei to all capture corresponding electrons and form atoms.
Without the electrons blocking their paths, photons were liberated and lit up
the universe, ending the Dark Age. Concurrently, the universe moved from a
radiation-based era to a matter-based era.
In the 1960s, while debugging the radio astronomical telescope, two
engineers at the Bell Labs—Arno Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson—
discovered that a very “cold light” occupied the universe sky. This “light”
encompassed every star and every galaxy, filling every corner of the universe.
It was not visible with optical telescopes but could only be observed through
radio telescopes; its corresponding temperature was 3 K. We know that 0 K
is absolute zero, measuring -273 ⁰C. This is the theoretical minimum temperature,
and 3 K is exactly the theoretical calculation of the temperature of
waste heat produced by the Big Bang. That cold light that filled the universe
is the original light remnant of the Big Bang; it is the remains of the photons
from the Dark Age of the universe. Since 13.8 billion years have passed and
the universe has undergone a great expansion, the initial photons are now
scattered throughout the universe and have become very sparse. Only a few
hundred photons exist in every cubic centimeter, which equates to 3 K in
temperature. Evenly spread across the entire universe, this light is called
“Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation.” These two engineers’ accidental
discovery proved to be the most powerful proof for the Big Bang Theory, and
the two were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978 for that reason.
At the same time the universe was expanding from the massive force of
the Big Bang, atoms were being brought together by gravitational force to
form huge clouds. Two hundred million years after the Big Bang, these atom
clouds had finally been compressed tightly enough so that stars could be
born. At this time, the universal temperature—that is, background radiation—
had dropped to 30 K. The universe’s sky had changed from the earlier
yellow and red to the darkness we see today, with dots of stars twinkling in
the distance. Galaxies began to form as well; 13.8 billion years after the Big
Bang, the universe is still continuing its outward expansion.
Two: The Universe and the Milky Way
There is no question that the Milky Way is also a product of the Big Bang, yet
unlike the cosmic Big Bang theory, there is no consistent view regarding the
formation of the Milky Way. The general belief is that a large cloud of atomic
gas gathered due to gravitational force and formed a relatively enclosed and
independent space shortly after the universe was created. Under gravitational
force, a number of smaller enclosed and independent air masses formed
within this large enclosed air mass; these smaller air masses became more
and more dense, and their internal temperatures rose higher and higher.
About two hundred million years after the universe formed, they ignited
their own hydrogen nuclei one by one, producing enough heat to set the air
masses aflame and form the first generation of stars. That original gas cloud
encompassing hundreds of millions of stars evolved into one giant galaxy: the
Milky Way.
According to research today, the Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy
comprised of a large number of stars. Some people compare it to the discs
athletes throw, since it is also round, thin, and convex in the center. Along
the diameter of this “disk,” we call the center the Galactic Center, and the
convex part surrounding the center the Galactic Bulge, with the galactic disk
and halo ranging around it.
The Galactic Center of the Milky Way is flat and spherical in shape,
measuring 16,000 light-years in diameter and about 13,000 light-years in
thickness. It is densely populated by stars and is filled with dense interstellar
matter and nebula. According to observation, there is a supermassive black
hole in the nucleus area, supported by the existence of strong cosmic ray
radiation, which is evidence of black hole phagocytosis.
The area around the center is semi-densely populated by stars and called
the galactic disk; it measures 100,000 light-years in diameter, with a thickness
of about 3,000–6,000 light-years. It is thicker near the center and thinner
around the edge. The spherical shape surrounding the galactic disk is called
the halo; it is about 100,000 light-years in diameter and is sparsely populated
with stars, most of which are older and mineral-weak. Within the halo, some
stars have aged to the last period of their star-life, and some of the larger
ones even scatter their heavier elements through supernova explosion. These
scattered elements land on the disk and become the “material” that form new
star systems.
The galactic disk has a spiral arm structure that extends from the inside
out, approximately symmetrical to the Galactic Center. The spiral arm contains
more young, bright, metal-rich stars with denser galaxy dust, and it is
also where stars are born. The Milky Way galactic disk has four spiral arms:
the Norma and Cygnus arm, the Sagittarius arm, the Scutum-Crux arm, and
the Perseus arm. At present, our solar system is located in the Orion arm,
which is a minor spiral arm. The sun is 27,000 light-years away from the
Galactic Center and slants about twenty-six light-years north off the surface
plate; it revolves around the Galactic Center at a rate of 220 kilometers
per second. Even at such high speed, one full rotation around the Galactic
Center takes approximately 250 million years; thus, we call 250 million years
one galactic year.
When we observe the sky with the naked eye, we cannot see the spiral
nebula of the Milky Way, nor the spiral arm structures. In a clear summer
night sky, all we can see is a bright river of stars stretched across the sky. This
is because we are situated in the galactic disk and can only observe a side
view of the Milky Way, so it will always look ribbon-shaped to us. There is a
brighter, denser area near Sagittarius—that is the nucleus of the Milky Way.
In gross estimation, there are about two hundred billion stars in the Milky
Way (some scientists believe the number to be much higher—as much as two
thousand billion galaxies) and around 300 billion galaxies in the universe.
This is an extremely vast number. With so many stars and galaxies out there,
it is hum
