Why the universe was created? Part 2
In part 1 I discussed the creations of basic ingredients such as hydrogen, ammonia and methane which would be necessary to form first organic molecules which would in turn lead to the start of life. It required billions of years for this all to happen. And it happened at Universe level. But it would have still been a waste if condusive environment was not available. Such environment became or was made available on our tiny Earth.
Prerequisites for life available on Earth
For sustainability of life, a synchornized atmosphere working in perfect harmony was absolutely essential. Some of the major parameters were as follows:
Oxygen Level:
On the Earth, 21% of the atmosphere is oxygen. That precise figure is an Anthropic Constant that makes life on Earth possible. If oxygen was 25%, fires would erupt spontaneously, if it was15%, human beings would suffocate.
Atmospheric Transparency:
If the atmosphere was less transparent, not enough solar radiation would reach the Earth’s surface. If it was more transparent, we would be bombarded with far too much solar radiation. In addition to atmospheric transparency, the atmospheric composition of precise levels of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and ozone are in themselves Anthropic constants.
Moon-Earth Gravitational Interaction:
The tidal effects of the Moon-Earth Gravitational Interaction on the oceans, atmosphere, and rotational period would be too severe if the level of interaction were greater. If it was less, orbital changes would cause climatic instabilities. In either event, life on Earth would be impossible.
Carbon Dioxide level:
If the CO2 level was higher, we would all burn up. If the level was lower, plants would not be able to maintain efficient photosynthesis. As a result we would all suffocate.
Water Vapor Levels:
If water vapor levels in the atmosphere were greater, temperatures will become too high for human life. If they were less Earth would become too cold to support human life.
Why no life has been found elsewhere in the Universe?
It is true that start of life and its sustainability need very demanding requirements
but the basic elements required such as hydrogen are abundantly found in the universe. Our galaxy “The Milky Way” has over 400 billion stars, and roughly 40 billion of these stars are similar to our sun and roughly 4 billion of these sun-like stars have Earth sized planets in their habitable zones. So there should be life somewhere.
We humans have not been able to detect life elsewhere till now. This may be due to the weakness of our signals which are not able to travel such huge distances. But why nobody has been able to contact us assuming that many sun-like stars in our galaxy are billions of years older than our sun and if life existed around them, it should be very advanced by now and have means to reach us.
Fermi paradox
A lot of debate has gone on related to this subject.
It was started by Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi in 1950. So it has been given the name of The Fermi paradox.
It is the discrepancy between the lack of conclusive evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life and the apparently high likelihood of its existence. Those affirming the paradox generally conclude that if the conditions required for life to arise from non-living matter are as permissive as the available evidence on Earth indicates, then extraterrestrial life would be sufficiently common such that it would be implausible for it not to have been detected.
There have been many attempts to resolve the Fermi paradox, such as suggesting that intelligent extraterrestrial beings are extremely rare, that the lifetime of such civilizations is short, or that they exist but (for various reasons) humans see no evidence.
So according to our present knowledge which has failed to find life elsewhere, earth is the only place in the universe where life exists. There are some still unknown facts related to earth which are absolutely unique and we do not know them. So it can be said that the creation of the earth was the ultimate aim of the creator to start life. And we the human beings are the pinnacle of life, the highest form. It can be argued that humans may evolve into better species overtime. Theoretically, it may happen but there is no evidence till now.
So this can be said that the creator created the universe to create the human beings, the end product. That is why He gave so much importance to humans and send Prophets and messengers.
Relevant verses from the Holy Quran
Surah An Namal Chapter 27
Verse 61
Translation:
Who made earth a place to live, made rivers and streams and put mountains on it to make it stable? He separated water of two rivers. Allah did all these things. So, is there any one else to be worshipped except Allah? Absolutely not. And majority of them do not have knowledge.
Surah Ar Room Chapter 30
Verse 8
Translation:
Have they not pondered upon that Allah created sky and earth and whatever is in between according to a plan? And all these have a limited life span. And there are many who do not believe that they will be meeting Allah one day.
Surah Az-Zumar Chapter 39
Verse 5
Translation:
He created skies and earth with great wisdom. He wraps the day on the night and the night on the day. And He has assigned duties to sun and moon which they will perform till a fixed time. He is dominant and He is the one who forgives.
References:
- If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens … WHERE IS EVERYBODY?: Seventy-Five Solutions to the Fermi Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life, Second Edition, Stephen Webb, foreword by Martin Rees, Heidelberg, New York, Dordrecht, London: Springer International Publishing, 2002, 2015.
- Urban, Tim (June 17, 2014). “The Fermi Paradox”. Huffington Post. Archived from the original on April 2, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
- Witzany, Guenther (2016). “Crucial steps to life: From chemical reactions to code using agents” (PDF). BioSystems. 140: 49–57. Bibcode:2016BiSys.140…49W. doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2015.12.007. PMID 26723230. S2CID 30962295.