Scientific American for April 7, 2008 presented a suggested timeline for photosynthesis on Earth.
Photosynthesis evolved early in Earth’s history. The rapidity of its emergence suggests it was no fluke and could arise on other worlds, too. As organisms released gases that changed the very lighting conditions on which they depended, they had to evolve new colors.
Light of any color from deep violet through the near-infrared could power photosynthesis. Around stars hotter and bluer than our sun, plants would tend to absorb blue light and could look green to yellow to red. Around cooler stars such as red dwarfs, planets receive less visible light, so plants might try to absorb as much of it as possible, making them look black.
According to an article in Science Daily for June 3, 2007
String theory, simultaneously one of the most promising and controversial ideas in modern physics, may be more capable of helping probe the inner workings of subatomic particles than was previously thought, according to a team of Princeton University scientists.
When the world’s most powerful particle smasher starts up this summer, exotic new particles may offer a glimpse of the existence and shapes of extra dimensions, says a group of physicists.
Ancient light absorbed by neutral hydrogen atoms could be used to test certain predictions of string theory, say cosmologists at the University of Illinois. Making the measurements, however, would require a gigantic array of radio telescopes to be built on Earth, in space or on the moon.
A team of physicists and astronomers from the University of Sussex and Imperial College London have uncovered hints that there may be cosmic strings - lines of pure mass-energy - stretching across the entire Universe.
Mathematicians are using string theory to predict that other universes exist. However, physicists disagree with those predictions, because, they say, the predictions are not testable and are therefore not science.
That could change soon. An array of new devices—including new atom smashers, gravity detectors, spaceborne satellites, and buried detectors—could provide significant evidence that would support string theory. The rub is that all this new evidence, no matter how compelling, will still provide only indirect proof.The article, dated August 30, 2005 from Discover discusses some of the methods of testing string theory that are being considered.
Some of the most interesting parallels between science and religion are the parallels between a scientific theory known as an Ekpyrotic Universe and the Mormon view of creation. In my book on the debate between science and religion, I give a brief overview of an Ekpyrotic Universe, and I describe seven parallels between that scientific theory and Mormonism. In this post I will discuss two of those parallels, simple but elegant parallels that I find fascinating.
Very briefly, an Ekpyrotic Universe is a theory of creation that was derived from a mathematics discipline called string theory. According to an Ekpyrotic Universe, there are many dimensions and the cosmos that we see is only one of those dimensions. Nearby our universe is another universe. We don't see that universe because it is in a different dimension. Our universe is on a collision course with the other universe, and in about a trillion years, the two universes will collide, resulting in a terrific explosion, corresponding to the big bang. A new universe will be created by that explosion, and life will evolve on planet(s) in that universe. In another trillion years, that universe will collide with its nearby unseen neighbor, causing another big bang, and the cycle will begin again.
After a trillion years of expansion, the matter in our universe will be distributed throughout the universe, but the density of that distribution will be so small that the universe will be essentially empty of matter. The universe, however, will have high energy and great gravity, and it is that gravity that will bring the two universes together. The significant thing to remember from this overview is that at the time a big bang occurs, the universe will be empty of matter but full of energy. That is, the creation of a new universe, via a big bang, will be the result of energy.
The Ekpyrotic Universe was derived from string theory, and the basic concept in string theory is that all matter is composed of oscillating strings of pure energy.
So, we have a scientific theory that correlate creation with pure energy. How does this discussion relate to religion, you might ask? To answer that, let's turn to Genesis and read how God began his creation of the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Genesis 1:2-3)Notice that the earth was without form and was void or empty. Darkness was upon the earth. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light". Light is pure energy. So, let's re-read those verses from Genesis and substitute "energy" for "light" and "no energy" for "darkness". Let us also substitute "empty" for "without form, and void".
And the earth was empty and no energy was upon the face of the deep (on what would become the earth). And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be energy: and there was energy.Do you see the parallel? The heart of string theory is vibrating strings of pure energy. An Ekpyrotic Universe begins with pure energy. God began his creation by introducing energy into the creation-process. I expect that the people in the time of Moses didn't understand the concept of energy as we do. It was appropriate for Moses to phrase his revelation from God with the words "light" and "darkness", because the people could understand that.
From Genesis 1:2-3 we learn that the Lord's creation of the world began with light. Light is energy.And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
