AboutJames Gort Expertise Questions on observational astronomy, optics, and astrophysics. Specializing in the evolution of stars, variable stars, supernovae, neuton stars/pulsars, black holes, quasars, and cosmology.
Experience I was a professional astronomer (University of Texas, McDonald Observatory), lecturer at the Adler Planetarium, professor of astrophysics, and amateur astronomer for 42 years. I have made numerous telescopes, and I am currently building one of the largest private observatories in Canada.
Publications StarDate, University of Texas, numerous Journal Publications
Question Hello James,I am an young earth creationist so you know I think the big bang is a fairytale.My two questions are thus.As you know the First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy and matter cannot be naturally created or destroyed,so if there is no God which many big bang scientists think how did the universe come to be?And if some say matter and energy are eternal then why is the universe experiencing heat death?The big bang contradicts both laws of thermodynamics.Also if evolution and the big bang wre true how do explain the retrograde axial rotations of Venus and Uranus?And why aren't most of the planets made up of hydrogen and helium as the sun?
Answer Hi Kevin,
First, you may be surprised when I tell you that I'm a creationist also. I don't know of too many true scientists who don't see an "intelligence" (i.e., creator) at work in putting together the universe and its natural laws. In fact, all of physics is geared (IMHO) at trying to understand the "Mind of God". Where you and I MAY differ is the timeframe - some creationists put the universe at 6000 years old. I believe there is too much evidence which suggests the universe is MUCH older than that.
I do believe that scientific evidence points to the evolution of stars and planets from dust and gas. However, the process of condensing from a diffuse cloud to form a planet or a sun is an example of disorder becoming more ordered. In other words, entropy decreasing. The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of a system (or the universe) - left to itself - always increases. An old car, left to itself, will eventually rust away and become a mass of constituent metal. It will never become a shiny racing machine, unless an intelligence (i.e., human) intervenes. So it is, I believe, with the universe.
That said, I am not a big fan of the Big Bang either. I am not discounting it, saying it never happened - I (and no one else) just doesn't know! However, it has major problems which HAVE NOT been adequately addressed. You point out two "potential" problems as you see them - the retrograde motions of some planets and the heavy element constitution of the planets. It so happens that both of these are easily answered by science. Planets may be retrograde because they were either captured bodies after the solar system was formed, or a larger body could have entered the solar system, disturbing their orbits. And regarding their composition - it can be shown with statistical physics that gas must have a certain temperature, density, and mass to collapse - and the large mass required would be enough to create a star. A smaller amount of gas would never collapse by its own gravity (the thermal motions in the gas would be enough to prevent its collapse), so gas (by itself) would never form a small planet. Gas could (and does) form larger planets, such as Jupiter and Saturn. Only heavier elements (such as iron or carbon) could have enough mass in a small cloud to collapse by self-gravitation.
Those "problems" are easily taken care of. But there are other problems with the Big Bang which cannot be so easily solved. I recommend that you pick up a copy of "Seeing Red" by Halton Arp, a very eminent astronomer. He points out a few of the contemporary problems with the Big Bang, and offers well thought-out alternative explanations. A similar book (less scientifically rigorous, but nonetheless interesting, and also by a theoretical physicist) is "Reinventing Gravity" by John Moffat. The problems with the Big Bang are too numerous for me to go into here, but those books do a good job of pointing them out.
Finally, you ask "how did the universe come to be"? I am sure you won't be surprised to hear that I have no answer to that, and I'll wager that no one does. The best I can do is to say that at the very early universe, known laws of physics break down - thermodynamics (probably) does not apply.
Physics tries to understand the universe and its laws. Prior to the universe coming to be is beyond the scope of experiment, and so can never (IMHO) be verified. You'd only get guesses. But those guesses wouldn't be physics - they'd come from philosophy or theology.
Hope that helps understand a most mis-understood area of science - an area which no one currently has all the answers.
