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Posted: March 12th. 2000
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In the short amount of space provided here, I cannot possibly endeavour to explain the theories of modern physics with sufficient detail to fully appreciate the wonder it offers a physicist like myself. What I do endeavour to accomplish, by touching on a few relevant points, is to inspire Pagans to explore in greater depth the fascinating world of modern science as it holds so much in common with an Earth-based spiritual tradition like our own.

Fritzjof Capra wrote the first major (and arguably most popular) examination of the interaction of spirituality and physics, The Tao of Physics. Much has changed both in physics and in spirituality since the publication of that book, but it still emphasizes the most important and most overlooked trait of all great scientists and theologians; an open mind.

Too often we fall into the trap of accepting rote facts and belief systems without question. Newtonian physics was believed to be universally applicable for nearly 300 years until Albert Einstein proved it to be merely—well, relative. Around the same time, Max Planck founded, unwittingly, the modern theory of quantum physics which has provided us with a veritable zoo of subatomic particles. Technically speaking, despite observational evidence to support both theories, we cannot see any way they can both be simultaneously true just as general relativity and Newtonian physics both seem to contradict each other (it speaks to the scale of the object being studied—general relativity, or GR as physicists often call it, deals with the largest scale of objects, Newtonian physics deals with 'human' scale objects and quantum physics deals with the smallest scale objects). A quiet revolution in physics has developed on and off in the last half century that may indeed provide a bridge between these theories (and, in fact, all theories) providing us with a unifying theory; essentially a theory of everything.

This is an intensive area of research in theoretical physics today. Unfortunately, scholars and academics, no matter their area of research, often fall into the trap of making such research inaccessible to the general public despite the possible socio-economic implications some of this research has (and then we wonder why the general public tends not to support funding of such endeavours). In the case of modern physics and its most appealing "theory of everything" (often referred to as superstring theory, or string theory for short.) the implications for a variety of spiritual paths is tremendous. In fact, Pagans, Buddhists, and Hindus (the traditional Earth based religions that deal with energy fields) are not the only ones who find this relevant. The theory has profound cosmological implications for Christians, Jews, and others as well as it would explain everything about the universe.

So what is string theory and how does it affect us as Pagans? Well, first I would like to review some basic science that most of you will remember from high school if you rack your brain. All matter, from humans to rocks to air (yes, air is matter) in any of its four possible forms (solid, liquid, gas, and plasma—yes, like earth, water, air and fire) is made up of molecules that are constructed of a mix of atoms. Each atom has specific characteristics that identify it as a particular element (e.g. oxygen, lead, iron, plutonium, etc.). These atoms are made up of three types of particles—protons, neutrons, and electrons—in a setup not unlike our solar system. The protons and neutrons are held together in the nucleus with the electrons orbiting around the nucleus. The number of particles present determines the element (e.g. an oxygen atom has a different number of particles than an iron atom).

Now, quantum physics says that each of these particles (except the electrons) are constructed of even smaller particles. For instance, a proton is made up of quarks and gluons - the gluons holding a specific number of quarks together to form the proton. On top of quarks and leptons (of which electrons are a type) there is a veritable zoo of other elementary particles floating around, not always necessarily associated with an atom, such as W bosons (or Z bosons), gravitons, and neutrinos.

Nature is seen as having four main forces - gravity, the strong force, the weak force, and the electromagnetic force (you could arguably align these with the four elements of Paganism as well). To have a "theory of everything" we need to show how these four forces interact in unison. Quantum physics (through various quantum field theories) unifies three of these forces, but not gravity. It also predicts that gravity, the weak force, and the strong force all have a messenger particle; a particle that carries the information of the force.

Because of the emphasis on particles, quantum physics is fundamentally discontinuous and arose originally from Planck's idea that energy could only be exchanged in discrete packets called quanta, making energy transfer in quantum physics discontinuous. In other words, you can't have a single stream of energy—energy must be transfered in individual packets, or quanta.

Einstein's relativity was a far more elegant (well, that's my opinion anyway) view of the universe. It basically described a smooth energy distribution in the universe and a view that space and time were both dimensions and should be treated as similar. Near large gravitational fields, space-time was warped and curved. Einstein likened living in such a universe to a two-dimensional being living on the surface of a cube. The being (often called a flatlander) could not experience height but could experience depth and width. While walking across a corner of the cube, because they could not comprehend the height dimension, they would only "feel a force" pulling them in a different direction. In that way, Einstein viewed all the forces of nature as some sort of warp in the fabric of space-time caused by the existence of another dimension that we cannot perceive.

Then along came a man named Werner Heisenberg who said that the mere fact of observing an event alters the event. So, his uncertainty principle, as it is known, says that we can never know the speed and location of a particle simultaneously. Einstein, who labored for years to describe a purely geometrical universe, famously referred to Heisenberg's theory as God "playing dice" with the universe and was slow to accept it. The discontinuous nature of quantum physics also disturbed the continuous nature of relativity and Einstein's dream.

Now both Einstein's geometrical description of a curved space-time, as well as the theories of quantum physics, have been proven to hold true in a variety of instances (generally, relativity is used to describe the largest scale structures in the universe while quantum physics describes the smallest). But energy transfer in relativity is generally continuous while it is not in quantum physics. So what's the deal here?

Well, string theory (short for superstring theory, a theory of quantum gravity, of which there are more than one ), which has been slowly built and rebuilt over the last fifty years or so, says that all of the mess of subatomic particles floating around are merely tiny fluctuations on cosmic loops or strings of energy. What distinguishes each particle is that it fluctuates at a different frequency or has a different resonance. It's somewhat analogous to dropping a pebble in a calm pool of water. The fluctuations on the surface caused by the pebble would be, in a way, the particles. The biggest difference here is that the pool is three dimensional while a string is two-dimensional (neglecting time) - hence the name 'string.'

In addition to that, string theory also gives rise to 10 or 26 total dimensions (actually, there are other numbers predicted, but 10 and 26 are the most prevalent. Edward Witten, arguably the brightest physicist alive, has actually found an 11th dimension, though that is transparent to our argument here.). As humans we are essentially designed to experience a maximum of four dimensions— height, depth, width, and since Einstein's revolution, time.

Imagine, if you will, a four-dimensional creature (such as us) coming along and plucking a flatlander off of the cube they lived on. To a flatlander both on the cube as well as the one plucked off it, this would seem very strange indeed. To the flatlander still on the cube, he would see his friend vanish into thin air while the one plucked off it would suddenly be in another dimension entirely looking back at the cube. In a similar way (minus the giant multi-dimensional ogre like us), some people have theorized higher dimensions may be accessible. However, most string theorists believe most of these higher dimensions are curled up into a microscopic ball.

This presents one of the most difficult problems in string theory. Experimental probes of these dimensions, as well as of other aspects of string theory, require energy levels on the order of what is called the "Planck energy"—the energy of vibration of the average string in string theory. Let's just say this is not likely to be attainable in the near or even distant future (if ever). As a theory, however, it seems to offer the best opportunity to unite relativity and quantum physics.

So where does all this fit in with Pagan spirituality? Well, personally, I am a Druid. In Druidry, there is an all encompassing energy in the universe called awen (ah-OO-en). This is like the water in the pebble and pool analogy. All matter is merely a fluctuation of this energy. So in essence, awen is like a manifestation of the cosmic energy or group of cosmic strings. Deeply rooted in the essence of Pagan spirituality is the idea of developing a relationship or connection with the energy of life around us. Scientifically, the physical manifestations of this energy are the tiny fluctuations we call strings. Some physicists who truly feel a connection to their work may have a similar relationship, though they may not consider themselves to be Pagan or even spiritual. But the essence of physics can be deeply spiritual to those who take the time to explore it in depth.

On the issues of reincarnation and divination I confess that I must tread lightly. However, so little is understood about the soul and the mind, it is possible to imagine a scenario where some mental signature from an individual is maintained in certain energetic frequency distributions that are passed on to another person later in time through some subatomic energy packet exchange or the maintenance of some vibration or resonance that stores information. In this way, reincarnation might be viewed as more of a deja vu phenomenon simply by the repetition of a combination of vibrations or fluctuations in subatomic energy transfer, but I stress that this is merely a theory and certainly is not a proven (or even studied) one.

Divination is a thornier issue as this violates a fundamental tenet of science—causality. Despite suggestions by some scientists that time travel (and this also means information traveling in time) is possible and despite experimental and theoretical oddities such as quantum tunneling, wormholes, and quantum computing, divination still violates causality. Not wanting to venture into shark infested waters at the moment, I will leave it at that. I will, however, state that in most modern physics, some experimental evidence shows that time is not as we seem to think it is. To us time appears linear and symmetric—i.e. it follows a definite pattern. However, some events (e.g. K-meson decay) are time-anti-symmetric and can appear to violate our ordered picture of the universe. In addition, anti-matter can be described in two ways—one being that it is matter of the same mass moving backward in time (essentially, it is matter with the same gravitational signature with opposite electric and atomic charges). In fact, if time is merely another dimension it would appear to be logical to be able to move in multiple directions within that dimension. For instance, given our above description of anti-particles (anti-matter), these objects can be described as moving backward in time. With the effect of quantum tunneling, where a particle can appear to move a distance in space during zero time, it might be possible to move "sideways" in time as well.

As Pagans, we need to approach these theories carefully. As theories, they are open to change and disproval. As a scientist, I must say that it is distinctly possible that all of this could be proven untrue at some future time (though my own instincts seriously doubt that happening). The problem with spirituality and science is that common ground is rarely sought. Spiritualists need to be open to scientific knowledge (witness the latest evolution debate) and try not to be selective in their acceptance of it, while scientists need to realize that there certainly can be a mystical, mysterious quality to the universe. Theoretical physicists, in theory, should be mostly open to this considering the amount of bizarre and mind-blowing things we run across on a daily basis. Our penchant for sometimes being too academic may be an over-compensation for the fantastic oddities we encounter.

With that said, I encourage both sides to seek to understand the other and maintain that which is mostly important to common understanding - an open mind.

A suggested reading list:

For General Audiences:

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory; Brian Greene, 448 pages 1 Ed edition (February 1999), W W Norton & Co

Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps and the Tenth Dimension; Michio Kaku, (March 1995), Anchor Books/Doubleday

The Inflationary Universe: The Quest for a New Theory of Cosmic Origins; Alan H. Guth, Alan P. Lightman, 358 pages (March 1998), Perseus Press

The Tao of Physics : An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism; Fritjof Capra, 366 pages Revised edition (September 1991), Shambhala Publications For Mathematical Audiences:

A First Course in General Relativity; Bernard Shutz, 376 pages (February 1985), Cambridge University Press

General Relativity: A Geometric Approach; Malcolm Ludvigsen, 206 pages 0 edition (June 1, 1999), Cambridge University Press

Cosmological Physics; John Peacock, 694 pages (December 1998), Cambridge University Press

Gravitation; Charles W. Misner, John Archibald Wheeler (Contributor), Kip S. Thorne (Contributor), 1279 pages (September 1973), W H Freeman & Co

Quantum Field Theory of Point Particles and Strings; Brian Hatfield, 734 pages, (1992), Addison Wesley

Ian T. Durham

ABOUT...

Location: , USA

Bio: Ian T. Durham is a physicist and writer. His research lies in modern cosmological theories including string theory and general relativity where he is most interested in wormhole topology, black holes, neutron stars, stellar structure, and communication using string theory. He has studied engineering and physics as well as philosophy and mathematics and, before he hits forty, would like to have finished his doctorate in physics. In addition he and his wife own and run their own research and education company. They perform educational outreach programs in a variety of areas and perform research in the sciences, engineering, fine arts, and history. He has been writing poetry for more than twelve years and has recently started writing fiction. His autobiographical one-act play has been produced once at the University at Buffalo and a second production is in the works. He is a practicing Druid and can be found online at http://www.durhaminc.comhttp://www.durhaminc.com.

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