Fine Tuning of the Universe - Lecture Series by Dr Gasser Hathout

In this five part sub-series, lectures 10-14, we explore the fine tuning of the Higgs boson. The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 marked one of the most significant and exciting developments in modern physics, ending a 50 year search for this elementary particle central to our understanding of how the universe is built.

Because it is quite involved, this topic is not normally part of introductory material on fine-tuning, but the journey takes us to wonderful vistas regarding what is really happening in our universe. We begin with the question of what is the Higgs boson, and how did it get introduced into the standard model of particle physics. To be able to answer this question, we end up asking other questions, such as whether mass is a fundamental property of elementary particles. Also, we end up exploring the concept of symmetry, and how this is a central theme in modern physics, and how it correlates with the Quranic concept that the universe has been created with "an inner truth." The discussion of symmetry is critical to quantum field theory, since the fundamental forces in the universe must possess what is known as a gauge symmetry.

From the discussion on symmetry, we come to understand the need for the Higgs boson, and why it was theorized to exist in the 1960's. Finally, once we understand why the Higgs boson is necessary, and what it is, we are able to explore the fine tuning involved in the mass of the Higgs boson, and how significant that is for the universe to be able to support life.

For the complete series of this lectures please go to: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlf1s6msls__N1aDeYXYcqN_gA0CHH0JI

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Fine Tuning of the Universe

The notion of Fine Tuning of the Universe is a set of recent and profound scientific discoveries -- spanning only the last few decades -- which has had an unprecedented impact on the debate about the relationship of science and faith. It stands as the strongest set of scientific arguments supporting the existence of God, and the notion of a purposeful Creation. It is a critical counter to a mental culture which tries to paint the picture that science has rendered the notion of faith obsolete.

What is Fine Tuning? To quote Luke Barnes, an astrophysicist at the Sydney Institute of Astronomy, it is the discovery that “Even the smallest changes to the laws of physics as we know them tend to make a universe which is completely unliveable. This is called the fine-tuning of the universe, and is frankly one of the most baffling facts in all of science!”

In this lecture series, we will explore some of these discoveries together, and see how they impact the debate about the relationship of science and faith.