Just Six Numbers by Martin Rees Reviewed
The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe Examined and Explained
Mar 9, 2009
Just Six Numbers - The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe (Published by Basic Books, Copyright 2000 by Martin Rees, ISBN: 0-465-03672-4) is an examination of the six most important numbers in cosmology and physics. Were any of these six numbers to be "tuned" differently, the universe as it is known would be very different than what humans are accustomed to. Change any of the six constants by a significant margin and human life or even the universe itself would not be able to exist.
Difficult Concepts
Rees explains that the six numbers he deals with in the book, namely N, E, Omega, Lambda, Q and D each represent a crucial mathematical constant in the fabric of the universe.
- N "measures the strength of the electrical forces that hold atoms together, divided byt the force of gravity between them."
- E "defines how firmly atomic nuclei bind together."
- Omega "measures the amount of material in our universe."
- Lambda represents the strength of an anti-gravity force that "controls the expansion of our universe."
- Q represents the ratio of gravity to the amount of energy required to overcome it at a galactic scale.
- D represents the number of dimensions that make up the universe.
The reader can be forgiven for having difficulty envisioning these numbers as important, as they generally have little to do with human scaled activities. The numbers that govern the universe do so at macro or microscopic scales. The first chapter of the book deals with how humans interpret such inhuman scales and the numbers and concepts that govern them, giving the reader the grounding knowledge necessary to understand what follows.
The Beauty of a Tuned Instrument
Rees spends the next ten chapters examining the numbers in question, challenging the reader to imagine a universe in which each is tuned differently, forcing the universe into ever more bizarre permutations, most of which preclude the development of life as humans understand it. In many cases, a slight variance in one or more of the six numbers would create a universe doomed to a violent death by compression or a lingering one of lifeless expansion.
Explaining the Appearance of Design
Many proponents of so-called "Intelligent Design" point to these six fixed numbers as an indication that there is some form of intelligence behind the shape of the universe. Rees acknowledges that appearance but offers another possible interpretation for the appearance of design. Admittedly, there is no evidence to back up his claim that the known universe is but one in a multiplicity, perhaps infinite, of universes that combine the six cosmological constants in infinite and unimaginable ways.
Just Six Numbers is a fascinating glimpse into the unimaginable forces that invisibly govern the universe.
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