Physicists Want To Create A New Universe In The Lab
The deeply controversial proposition that one day physicists could feasibly create an entire universe, complete with intelligent life, in the context of a laboratory has long been considered to be an impossibility by most of the scientific community.
However, several scientists now believe that the possibility of the creation of a laboratory-based universe is closer than ever and perhaps, some have suggested, physicists must pause to consider the serious ethical implications involved before this ambitious project becomes a reality.
In 1991, the cosmologist Andrei Linde ruffled a lot of feathers when he submitted a draft article to the journal Nuclear Physics B. Entitled ‘Hard Act of the Universe Creation’. In this article, he outlined that possibility that scientists could one day create a universe in a laboratory and that this universe could come to evolve into an entirely new cosmos populated with its own stars, planets and intelligent life.
How To Create A New Universe
Linde’s article proved to be highly controversial among a number of circles. In particular, a quip at the end of the article that our own universe could have theoretically been created by an alien ‘physicist hacker’ was deemed to be a ‘dirty joke’ by some, and to some religious people was deemed as essentially offensive as it implied that God did not create the universe.
However, Linde was not the first person to submit the notion that humanity could one day create an entire cosmos in a laboratory. Back in the 1980s, another cosmologist named Alex Vilenkin at Tufts University in Massachusetts presented the mechanism by which a universe could be created. He said that the laws of quantum mechanics seemed to suggest that a universe could be created when there was no time, no space and no matter because of the theory that pairs of particles can spontaneously pop out of space. Vilenkin suggested that this meant that a small bubble of space could burst from nothing at all and that it could then be manipulated to inflate to a cosmic scale. The conclusion to Vilenkin’s theory was that the Big Bang could have theoretically been created from nothing.
Naturally, these theories led to other scientists beginning to wonder whether the laws of quantum mechanics could be utilized by human beings to create a universe of their own. One of these scientists was a physicist named Eduardo Guendelman who is based at Ben Gurion University in Israel. Currently, he is engaged in the research which could form the foundations of the theory that could bring an entirely new, human-created universe into existence.
Given the vast scale of such a project, it is natural that many people have raised concerns about the potential ethical and theological implications. However, Guendelman said that the moral issues of potentially creating intelligent life did not concern him. He said that it was akin to having children and knowing that they would live in a world that was full of suffering as well as happiness.
Other physicists engaged in the same kind of research such as the theorists based at Nobuyuki Sakai of Yamaguchi University in Japan say that the feasibility of the project must properly be examined before the ethical implications are thoroughly considered.
At this current time, it appears that the only people truly concerned with the moral implications of this kind of project are the philosophers such as Anders Sandberg at the University of Oxford who has argued that the creation of intelligent life forms, in whatever method that scientists may choose, requires them to assume a moral obligation towards their creations.
At this current time, the possibility of the creation of a universe in a laboratory is remote. Physicists believe that the cosmos would have to be created in a design specific laboratory and use instruments similar to that of the Large Hadron Collider, only of significantly more power. The creation of a universe would also require the existence of the seed particle referred to as the ‘monopole’ by theoretical physicists. The theory is that if the monopole is allowed enough energy that it would inflate and then come to bend the fabric of space and time. This would generate the creation of a tiny black hole and the mouth of a wormhole. Within that wormhole would be the gateway to a rapidly expanding and brand-new universe. However, at this time there is no proof that the monopole exists outside of theoretical discussions.
While the possibility of this project turning into a reality seems remote to most physicists, it appears to be absolutely impossible to Don Page. Page is a renowned physicist and a devout evangelical Christian, best known for his collaboration with Stephen Hawking on the nature of black holes. Page says that the most important thing to note is that God created the universe from absolutely nothing – thereby eliminating the theories of quantum mechanics which suggest that the universe was brought into existence by processes of physics. Therefore, the discussion of the creation of the universe seems to be completely irrelevant and presents no problem to his Christian faith.
Only time will tell whether Page is correct or the lofty ambitions of his colleagues will eventually come to fruition. If the latter is the case, then it remains to be seen as to what incredibly complex moral issues will arise from this deeply controversial area of theoretical physics.
In his most sternly worded warning to date, Japan’s defense minister, Itsunori Onodera reportedly stated on Monday that the threat from North Korea was now both “unprecedented” and “imminent.”
The Japanese defense minister in a somber mood
Speaking with his counterparts from the US, Defense Secretary James Mattis and South Korean Minister Song Young-moo, Onodera asserted “The country (North Korea) has steadfastly improved its nuclear and missiles capability, ” before pushing home his point by adding, “The threat posed by North Korea has grown to the unprecedented, critical and imminent level.”
His comments came at the 4th ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting plus, which includes defense ministers from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States, which is currently being held in Angeles City, The Philippines.
Just a day after a snap election in Japan in which Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe crushed his opposition, securing a strong mandate for his hard line against North Korea and allowing him some maneuverability in his attempts to push through revision of his country’s pacifist constitution further after already changing the rules to allow Japanese troops to fight abroad and pushing through a new antiterrorism legislation, Onodera has given the clearest signal yet that Japan’s patience with the rogue state has finally run out.
Mr Onodera’s remarks, were more outspoken than the comments from Mr Song, who simply said that “North Korea’s provocative behaviour is becoming worse and worse”, whilst Mr. Mattis reiterated the US criticism that North Korea “threaten regional and global security”, and highlighted further, the renewed attempts by Tokyo to bring about a swift and decisive conclusion to what action must be taken next to bring stability back to northeast Asia.
Kim Jong Un Inspecting his nuclear weapons
North Korea’s latest nuclear provocation took place on September 3rd in which it detonated a hydrogen bomb, which by using the subsequent earthquake it triggered, appeared to be it's most powerful to date and followed on from the testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile which flew 1,677 miles and reached a maximum height of 341 miles directly over northern Japan.
The increasing number and frequency of nuclear tests and the testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles flown directly over Japanese territory come despite ever more restrictive sanctions imposed by the UN and the international community and have only helped to increase the allies resolve, pushing them into ever more threatening rhetoric and saber rattling.
Jimmy Carter to Return?
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported over the weekend that the former US President Jimmy Carter has offered to travel to North Korea on a peace mission to attempt to diffuse the situation on behalf of the current Trump administration.
The 93-year-old former president, who has visited North Korea twice previously to conduct negotiations said he has spoken to the national security advisor, HR McMaster and told him that “I was available if they ever need me,” however until this point had not been asked to go.
So as the wailing of emergency sirens echo across Japan as they prepare for a nuclear attack, just what will be the next move by the allies when Donald Trump visits the region next month, and should it be the North Koreans who need to be practicing their nuclear attack drills?
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