Cosmologic philosophy: fine tuning and the electron (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, September 14, 2024, 16:58 (6 days ago) @ David Turell

Has to be just as it is:

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/electron-mass-vital-life-in-universe/?utm_sourc...

"All told, it takes at least 26 separate fundamental constants to describe the Universe that we presently understand, and we have no idea why these constants have the values that they do. If some of these constants were either too small or too large, our Universe as we know it would be impossible; our very existence is evidence that the laws of nature must be consistent with our existence being possible. If gravity were a little bit stronger or weaker, stars, galaxies, planets, and life would still exist. Same with:

"the strengths of the other forces,
the masses of the quarks,
or the value of the speed of light.

***

"...if you tried to tinker with the mass of the electron in this fashion, the possibility of life arising swiftly vanishes.

"If you were to raise the mass of the electron by too great of an amount, atomic and molecular transitions would become impossible under conventional conditions, even in direct sunlight.

"Similarly, if you were to lower the mass of the electron significantly, even weak, low-energy interactions would prevent us from having stable atoms or molecules of any type for very long.

"It’s only with the value of the mass of the electron our Universe actually has, or at least with that mass falling in a very narrow range, that life, organic molecules, or even complex chemistry of any type remains possible.

***

"In other words, if the electron has a significantly higher rest mass than it does, the chemistry-based reactions that power all biological processes on Earth would be extraordinarily rare, as the energetic events that occur in the Universe — the shining of stars, geothermal heat, volcanic eruptions, etc. — would only rarely even be able to cause an atomic or molecular transition. Without those, no sorts of complex chemistry, chain reactions, or biological processes would be able to reliably occur, much less occur readily and ubiquitously. A Universe where the electron was heavier than it is, even by a factor of 10 or so (and perhaps even less), would be incapable of supporting life as we know and understand it.

"The opposite problem would arise if the electron were too light. Just as a heavier electron would mean a smaller, more tightly bound, and more challenging-to-excite (or ionize) atom, a lighter electron would translate into the opposite set of conditions: a larger, more loosely bound, more easily excited (or ionized) atom. As in the case of a heavier electron, this wouldn’t apply only to hydrogen, but to any and all atoms.

"Now consider that the average energy of a visible light photon — the kind produced by the Sun and all stars undergoing nuclear fusion in their cores — is around 2 or 3 eV. If we reduced the mass of the electron even by a factor of five, to just 20% of its present mass, then instead of atomic or molecular transitions occurring frequently in direct sunlight, atomic and molecular bonds would be routinely destroyed, as those atoms and molecules would be ionized completely, simply by exposing them to light.

"Sunlight has the power to create but also to destroy. It’s only because the mass of the electron falls into that “sweet spot” where atomic and molecular transitions are routinely stimulated by, but where those bonds are not broken by, the energy of direct sunlight that so many reactions, including photosynthetic ones, are possible and routine: on our world and within our Universe.

***

"...the building block structures of the small-scale objects in our Universe, i.e., atoms, are extremely sensitive to the mass of the electron. If everything else remained the same but the mass of the electron were at all substantially different from the value it possesses today — whether significantly lighter or heavier — complex chemistry and life processes would be all but forbidden. Too light of an electron would lead to a Universe where atoms and molecules were too easily destroyed, and where even visible light would “cook” anything that attempted to form. Too heavy of an electron, and atoms and molecules couldn’t leave the ground state, unable to undergo the types of transitions that all chemical and biological reactions depend upon.

"Life is certainly possible within our Universe and with the constants that we have. But if the electron’s mass were altered only slightly — either heavier or lighter — the Universe would be a whole lot lonelier."

Comment: of course, we would not be here if things weren't exactly as they are. But here we learn of another fine-tuning point in the construction of our universe that provides for life to appear. I've not included all the background physics in the article. Support for design.