Bible Versus Astrophysics: Why Are Biblical Claims Scientifically Inaccurate ?
The Bible claims that in the beginning God spoke light into existence as the first act of the six day creation. On the fourth day after He had created dry land, oceans, and plants, and stars, he created two great lights, one to rule the day (the sun) and the other to rule in the night (the moon). But is this sequence of events true, accurate and defendable? Is there evidence to back up these claims? This essay shall address the issue of stars and our sun and how they generate the heat and light that we experience here on earth, and compare it to what the bible says about these objects. Due to editorial constraints, this essay is not a complete expose of all the currently known facts on this subject. Readers are referred to astrophysics and particularly stellar evolution and stellar nucleosynthesis for a comprehensive and exhaustive description of the state of knowledge on this topic.
First of all the sun is not a light, as claimed in the Bible, it is a star like any other star we see when we look up into the sky at night. The fact that our earth is so close to it makes it appear to be a different kind of object from our point of view. If we were to travel far away enough from our solar system we would see the sun twinkle like any other star. A star is a ball of gas, predominantly hydrogen and helium that is undergoing a self-sustaining thermonuclear reaction. The by-products of this reaction are the energy we call heat and light. Stars form when clumps of hydrogen gas (the most abundant substance in the universe) in nebula clouds coalesce due to gravity. As the mass of the clumps of gas increases so also does the pressure, and at some point the individual atoms smash into each other to set off a self- sustaining nuclear reaction, a process called nuclear fusion. This phenomenon has been exploited by humans to produce the hydrogen bomb, a thermonuclear device many thousands times more powerful than the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The mass of the gas at the time the self-sustaining nuclear fusion begins is the determining factor of how long the reaction will be sustained, in other words how long the star will live or last. Stars of average size like our sun burn for around 10 billion years. Much larger stars burn much faster and die after a few million years when all the hydrogen and helium gas has been consumed. So what exactly are the specific processes that cause the heat and light we experience from the sun? This is a question that has been studied for almost three hundred years, however it was not until the early 20th century that some major gains were made in understanding the life of stars, a field of study now called stellar nucleosynthesis.
Before we delve into the specific processes that produce the energy we experience from the sun, let us define certain relevant terminologies.
Nebula cloud This a cloud of hydrogen gas, helium gas, some other ionized gases, and some dust. They are abundant throughout the universe. It is clumps and high pressure regions within nebulae that condense to form stars, the left over dust from such an event may form planets. Proto-star This is a star in which the nuclear reactions have started but have not a reached a stage where they are self-sustaining. Based on the prevailing conditions some proto stars do not make it to maturity. A fully formed star like our own sun is called a main sequence star, where the nuclear reaction sustains itself for billions of years. Supernova When a massive star consumes all its fuel (hydrogen and helium) and can no longer sustain the fusion of the heavier elements that have accumulated in it s core, the star collapses in on itself. This collapse causes shockwaves that cause a giant explosion of the star. This is called a supernova. In a supernova the contents of the star are scattered into space where they may recombine with other nebulae to re-form new stars and possibly planets. This is how all elements except hydrogen and helium became distributed throughout the universe. Proton The atom is the smallest indivisible unit of matter that can exist independently. In the core of the atom is its nucleus (plural nuclei), this is where the mass of the atom is concentrated. The nucleus consists of even smaller particles called protons and neutrons. A proton has a positive electrical charge whiles a neutron has no electrical charge. The difference from one element to another is the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom, for example hydrogen has just one proton, whereas iron has 26 protons in the nucleus, that is why iron is much much heavier than hydrogen. Photon Energy emitted by an atom is emitted in discrete packets of energy called a photon. An example is light energy that we see. Isotope Atoms of the same element all have the same number of protons but may have different numbers of neutrons. These are called isotopes. For example normal carbon has six protons and six neutrons in the nucleus, but another type of carbon called carbon-14 has six protons and eight neutrons in the nucleus, so we say carbon-14 is an isotope of carbon. Most isotopes which have more neutrons than the normal atom are radioactive and may be dangerous to humans.
The processes which go on in stars and enable to them produce light and heat energy are summarized as follows.
1.The Proton-proton chain reaction This is the major process generating heat and light in ordinary average stars like our sun. It was first speculated by British physicist Arthur Eddington in 1920, but it was not until 1929 that is was clearly understood as published by German physicist Hans Bethe, for which he received the Nobel Prize. In the first step, two hydrogen atoms fuse to create one atom of deuterium (an isotope of hydrogen), releasing one positron, one electron neutrino, and 0.42 mega electron volts of raw energy. The positron is an antimatter electron. In step 2, this positron then annihilates with any pre-existing electron releasing two gamma ray photons and 1.02 mega electron volt (MeV) of raw energy. After this the deuterium atom formed in the first step reacts with another hydrogen atom to form helium-3 (an isotope of normal helium), a light isotope of helium, releasing a gamma ray photon, and 5.49MeV of raw energy. From here three branches of reactions may occur based on the prevailing temperatures in the star. These are called pp1 branch, pp2 branch, and pp3 branch. In our sun at least 86% of the time the pp1 branch occurs. At the end of the applicable branch the proton-proton chain reaction is complete. ?pp1 branch: This reaction occurs at temperatures of 10 to 14 million degrees Kelvin. Here two helium-3 atoms combine to form one helium atom (normal one), two hydrogen and 12.87 MeV of raw energy. ?pp2 branch: In this branch we have helium-3 fusing with helium to form one Berylium which decays to a Lithium atom and releases 0.861 Mev of raw energy. The Lithium subsequently fuses with existing hydrogen to produce 2 helium atoms. ?pp3 branch: This branch occurs in much larger stars and is not relevant to our sun as it requires temperatures in excess of 23 million degrees Kelvin. It basically involves Beryllium from pp2 branch undergoing radioactive decay releasing a large amount of neutrinos. This is actually how astrophysicists are able to tell if a star is about to become a supernova, an important topic we shall discuss in another essay. So totaling the energy released from step one through pp1 branch we started with two hydrogen atoms and ended with a total of 19.8 MeV of energy released. If we apply Avogadro?s Number, (secondary school chemistry) 1 gram of hydrogen will give us the energy of 9.44 billion 100-watt light bulbs. Currently based on the mass of our sun, it has another at least 5 billion years supply of hydrogen to keep burning, after which it will extinguish and die.
2.Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen Cycle (C-N-O cycle) This process occurs in stars of at least 1.3 times more massive than our sun. The details were worked out in 1938 by Germans Carl von Weizsacker and Hans Bethe. Here four hydrogen atoms fuse, using carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotopes as the catalyst, to produce one alpha particle, two positrons and two electron neutrinos. The positrons will almost instantly annihilate with electrons, releasing raw energy. The neutrinos escape from the star carrying away some energy.
3. The triple alpha process Once all the hydrogen is consumed stars have no option but to begin fusing the next lightest element from hydrogen which is helium, but because helium is more massive it requires more energy to fuse and produces even more energy than fusion of hydrogen. In the case of our sun this process will begin in about 6.5 billion years from now. The sun will swell up and become what is called a red giant. The new ambient temperature in our solar system will be too hot for life as we know today to survive. On earth the atmosphere and oceans will boil away and all life will become extinct. The reaction involves three stages where two heliums fuse to form one berylium, which then fuses with one helium to form one carbon atom, one electron neutrino, and one positron. The positron and neutrino annihilate and the net energy released is 7.25 MeV. This process was worked out by British physicist Fred Hoyle who was actually a creationist. This process is the source of all carbon atoms in the universe. One may argue that as far as life is concerned this may be the most important stellar process in the universe. As we know living beings are predominantly carbon, without this process there would be no carbon and no life in the universe, at least life as we on earth know it. All carbon was formed by the triple alpha process, not the big bang as many believe. This is why Fred Hoyle rejected the big bang theory because he thought that since the triple alpha process could propagate almost perpetually he believed that the universe was eternal. Later evidence has however shown that the triple alpha process is in fact consistent and not contradictory with the big bang model.
4. Carbon burning This form of nuclear reaction takes place only in stars at 5 times the mass of our sun. It involves carbons fusing to forge heavier elements such as Neon, Magnesium, Sodium, and Oxygen.
The following processes are limited to stars at least 8 times more massive than our sun. These are responsible for the creation heavy elements and metals in the universe, all of which are forged in stars, and not one atom of them came from the big bang.
5. Neon burning In stars at least 8 times the mass of our sun after carbon burning, neon burning proceeds where neon interacts with gamma ray photons to produce more raw energy, oxygen, magnesium, and more helium.
6. Oxygen burning This takes place in even more massive stars where oxygen fuses to form Silicon, Phosphorus, and Sulfur, releasing helium and raw energy.
7. Silicon burning In this brief process which occurs prior to a supernova, Silicon reacts with helium to form Sulfer and Argon, some of which react with more helium to form calcium, titanium, chromium, iron and nickel.
8. R-process This process occurs in core-collapse supernovae and is responsible for the creation of approximately half of the neutron-rich atomic nuclei that are heavier than iron. The process entails a succession of rapid neutron captures on seed nuclei. This was worked out by Seus and Urey in the United States in 1934. Urey later used this theory to demonstrate exactly why we have the heavy metals e.g. gold etc in the minute proportions they are present in the universe today. For this work he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Now the r-process is due to rapid capture of neutrons, in some cases the neutron capture is slow, this is called the s-process and is responsible for the creation of the elements, Bismuth, Polonium and Lead.
9. P-process The p-process occurs in core-collapse supernovae resulting in the creation of atomic nuclei heavier than iron. This process was worked out by Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler, and Hoyle in 1957. Hoyle, the creationist, subsequently received the Nobel Prize in physics.
10. Rp-process The rp-process or rapid proton capture process, consists of consecutive proton captures onto seed nuclei to produce heavier elements. It occurs along with the s process and the r process. However the details and veracity are still the subject of on-going research.
11.Others And there are other theories still in the works for explaining specific occurrence of certain substances and energy from stars beyond the general ones which have been studied in detail and presented in this article. However due to the fact that they are still on the drawing board, readers are encouraged to do their own research on them.
The Challenge of Biblical Claims So at this point we may now go back to the original premise of this essay. Are the biblical claims therefore correct and informative? Are the sun and the moon lights as claimed by the holy texts? Is the Genesis account that the sun and moon were created after plants correct as narrated? The answer to all these questions is an emphatic NO. They are all false claims based on scientific illiteracy. So the question remains, why are lies, falsehood, and inaccuracy written in the book of a supposedly omniscient creator being? The answer posited by most of the faithful is that the bible is not a science book. So does that mean therefore it can contain scientific lies? Others say there was no way God could explain such details to ancient peoples because even today most modern people still don?t understand it. Then that means God is not omnipotent, if true it means God has limitations, he is not omniscient. And if that is true then he is not God at all, and therefore no God exists, at least not one that can be demonstrated.
Is the sun and solar system and earth a perfect creation? No, not at all. Looking at what lies ahead when the sun enters the red giant phase and violent destruction and annihilation of all life on earth that will occur with it, one can hardly wonder why an omniscient being made such a poor design. Well, it is because there is no design and no designer, this is purely physics at work here, no gods are even necessary
We can also assess the claims that on the third day of creation plants were formed. This is false because as we have learned that would not be enough time for the first stars to form, burn for millions or billions of years, die, explode, and scatter their contents including the vital carbon into the cosmos to be then used to form the building blocks of life as we know it. Again an omniscient God is being portrayed as an uneducated ignoramus, why?
It is now time for the faithful to provide some of the answers to these very important questions. As always readers are encouraged to provide their comments, and counter claims.
kwaku ba, October, 2010
