Chapter twoEinstein…e ≠ mc2 When Heisenberg announced his uncertainty principle in 1927, it caused a nightmare for all 1 physicists in the world. This was because certainty, definite reliability and the absolute are the known qualities that all scientists, especially physicists, wanted to rely on and therefore have great aversion to the opposite. No theory is, however, carved in stone. Science is ruthless when it comes to testing all theories over and over. Einstein declared there was nothing in the universe that could travel faster than the speed of light. This axiom, resulting from his theory of relativity, has been the bedrock of modern physics since 1905. At least, the physicists could count on this very factor (the speed of light) to have stability. Most of the modern high-tech inventions depend religiously on this stable fact. Then again, life moves on with time, and so do learning, experimenting and creating. In 1905, there wasn’t any CERN or a gigantic particle accelerator, which is a huge particle physics 2 laboratory. With the employment of 3000 full time scientists and 7931 visiting scientists and engineers from 608 universities and 113 nationalities at CERN constantly doing high-energy physics experiments, Einstein’s iconic formula of e = mc2 is now being challenged. In just a bit over 100 years of faithful belief in the constant speed of light and that no particle (mass) can possibly move faster than the speed of light, this reliable fact has now become the past, and the familiar iconic equation may be transformed into e ≠ mc2. Then again, this is hardly a surprise. The universe is filled with intrigues. One minute we (scientists) think this is what it is, next minute she (the universe) drops us a bombshell and proves us wrong just like many other facts that later were proved wrong when better tools became available. In pre-scientific society, it was widely believed that the earth was flat or a round flat disc or a log floating in an ocean. Throughout most of recorded history, everyone Published by Werner Heisenberg in 1927, the uncertainty principle was a key discovery in the early development of quantum theory. It implies that it is impossible to simultaneously measure the present position while also determining the future motion of a particle, or of any system small enough to require quantum mechanical treatment. In other words, the more precisely one property is measured, the less precisely the other can be controlled, determined, or known. Consequently, Heisenberg concluded that there is no final certainty. CERN refers to The European Organization for Nuclear Research whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border. CERN's main function is to provide the particle accelerators and other infrastructure needed for high-energy physics research. Numerous experiments have been constructed at CERN by international collaborations to make use of them. 2 1 believed that the earth is the centre of the entire universe, which made a lot of sense, because everyone could plainly see it with their own eyes. Everything you see in the sky obviously revolves around the earth, and you don't have to be a great philosopher or scientist to see it. Following his observation of the ways maggots would seemingly generate out of animal carcasses, Aristotle (384-322 BC) put out the hypothesis about life spontaneously coming into being from inanimate matter like slime, mud, and earth when exposed to sunlight, a theory proved wrong as recently as the 1700s by Louis Pasteur and later Charles Darwin. Before the late 20th century, scientists strongly believed that the earth is constantly expanding or increasing in volume, which later was replaced by the much more sophisticated theory of tectonic plate movements. With modern high quality telescopes and greater imaging technology, the once Martian Canals (a network of gullies and ravines on Mars) turned out to be optical illusions caused by streaks of dust blown across the Martian surface by heavy winds. Of course, there will be many more facts and theories that will be challenged as time moves on. It isn’t a matter of ‘if’ but a definite ‘when’. Just like everyone else whose theories are subjected to challenge, so are Einstein’s. He had no way to know that the sub-atomic particles called ‘neutrinos’ would be the very element that disproved his Nobel Prize winning theory 106 years later. A neutrino is a subatomic particle with a small but non-zero mass (meaning having some mass). It is similar to the more familiar electron but does not carry an electric charge, which enables it to penetrate even the densest matter such as the earth’s crust with no interaction with other particles, just like light goes through fog. Recently scientists at CERN have launched a beam of neutrinos from CERN to Gran Sasso, a laboratory in Italy, over a distance of 732 km. Much to their amazement, they found that the beam of neutrinos arrived at the destination faster than they had expected. That is 60 billionths of a second (60 nanoseconds) faster which means the neutrinos run faster than the speed of light! How can this be possible? Light has no material particle; it is therefore moving fast at a definite speed of 186,000 miles/second – to earth anyway. For that reason, there should not be any mass that can possibly move faster than the speed of light, not until CERN’s recently-measured neutrinos, which still have some mass, came along! Of course, scientists do not make any definite conclusion from the first few experiments. But, after 15,000 times of repeatedly firing the beam of neutrinos from CERN to Gran Sasso in Italy through the earth crust – 11.4 km below the earth’s surface, the results remain the same every time. Not only that, when scientists at CERN asked the scientists based in a laboratory in Illinois to go through the experiment and verify the finding, the result was still the same. In a billionth of a second, a beam of light travels about one foot. So a difference of 60 feet a beam of neutrinos make in a second was something they cannot just ignore, not even for Einstein and his e = mc2. Recently, the scientists at CERN had no choice but to announce this astonishing scientific finding to the world. When this historic piece of scientific news was then released to the world media on the 23rd September, 2011, it had an effect similar to a 10 Richter scale earthquake, especially among those physicists who hate uncertainty! Some are pleased in the sense that this will open a new gateway to modern physics (a post-relativity era) which also means more Nobel Prizes for those who can explain ‘why’. But, to the majority of the physicists, this finding is yet another nightmare because it means that the entire foundation of modern physics might have to be revised. Every textbook would have to be rewritten, every experiment recalibrated. Michio Kaku, a currently renowned physicist, has said the following: Cosmology, the very way we think of space, would be forever altered. The distance to the stars and galaxies and the age of the universe (13.7 billion years) would be thrown in doubt. Even the expanding universe theory, the Big Bang theory, and black holes would have to be re-examined. Moreover, everything we think we understand about nuclear physics would need to be reassessed. Every school kid knows Einstein's famous equation E=MC2, where a small amount of mass (M) can create a vast amount of energy (E), because the speed of light (C) squared is such a huge number. But if (C) is off (unreliable), it means that all nuclear physics has to be recalibrated. Nuclear weapons, nuclear medicine and radioactive dating would be affected because all nuclear reactions are based on Einstein's relation between matter and energy. Reputations may rise and fall. But in the end, this is a victory for science. No theory is carved in stone. Science is merciless when it comes to testing all theories over and over, at any time, in any place. Unlike religion or politics, science is ultimately decided by experiments, done repeatedly in every form. There are no sacred cows. In science, 100 authorities count for nothing. Replicable experiments count for everything. To be honest, I have no interest in the current debate among the physicists about Einstein being right or wrong. The way I view his relativity theory, Einstein has already confirmed that there is no real certainty (no absolute ruling point in nature) and therefore we must measure things in a relative manner. Had Einstein been alive, he might greet this electrifying news with a chuckle instead of despair. Just like all scientific facts of today, it is just a matter of time before better tools are available, and the current theories will be proved wrong. This is the very reason why Einstein turned his back on his own quantum mechanics – the very content of uncertainty (probability), which turned out to be essential for modern technology; instead he was determined to pursue the doomed unified theory of which he wished to ‘read the mind of God’ who created this universe. Why? He had hoped that he could find something that was utterly final, certain and absolute – let’s call it ‘the ultimate truth’ for easy understanding – that he could entirely and wholeheartedly rest upon. This precise goal is the very part that makes me bow respectfully to the great man. There haven’t been any scientists since Einstein who have posed such challenging questions, such as; ‘What is the ultimate truth?’ Fundamentally, the great man wanted to know the ‘big picture’, the whole structure of life in relation to the universe; he had moved on from the ‘small details’ such as relativity, quantum mechanics and so forth. Although Einstein left this planet without finding the answer to his Theory of Everything (the unified theory), his questions about the existence of the absolute in nature still stands firmly in my heart, which is the inspiration for this book. Once again, regardless of what Einstein and Heisenberg said, I want to confirm that there is indeed a state of ‘the final certainty’, a perfect knowledge that has total security from error. I am convinced because I myself have had the experience of such wonderful knowledge and feel compelled to share this piece of good news with my fellow humankind so that individuals can find clarity of wisdom and eternal peace. ‘A complete lack of doubt’ is often viewed as undesirable by intellectuals, but in fact, having doubts, lack of understanding and confusion are mentally unhealthy and entail enormous mental suffering especially the doubt about our true self and human consciousness. This unhealthy state is the backdrop that drives scientists to perpetually search for something solidly reliable and certain with an underlying hope to be restful, content and happy. The hunger for reliable knowledge is now so great and so diverse that many have completely lost their primary intention and goal – being peaceful and happy. Scientists and intellectuals have been characterized as creatures akin to rabbits, who are constantly digging their rabbit holes for the sake of digging without the clear purpose of true happiness. Never before in the history of humankind have so many people had so much wealth, knowledge, information and so many tools at their disposal, yet at the same time, many people from all walks of life have been forced to go through mental turmoil and suffering in one way or another. Our gigantic pile of intellectual knowledge including scientific knowledge merely pacifies our greed for more material wealth but is in no way helping us to gain inner peace. Peace on earth is still far away. That’s why we should have respect for Einstein and his quest for the final certainty. Although his iconic theory might be written off due to this current finding, at least the great man didn’t lose his goal of searching for the ultimate truth – the same nature as ‘reading the mind of God’ in Einstein’s term – and the subsequent eternal peace. Without locating the ultimate truth (the final certainty), scientists will be constantly challenged by new findings – always have been and always will be! This is where I am standing: pointing out to humankind that there is indeed a state of a final certainty or the ultimate truth, upon which all people can truly depend. This ultimate nature is beyond the boundary of change and guarantees long lasting inner peace. The Buddha found this final certainty on the night of his ultimate enlightenment. This is the very element/state/nature (whatever one wishes to call it) that Albert Einstein hoped to locate but failed. The image below depicts the structure of knowledge between ‘the details’ that Einstein disliked and ‘the entirety’ of life in relation to the universe. All the intellectual knowledge including all scientific findings are merely examples of ‘the diverse small details’ fitting within the boundary of change, which I coin as ‘the prison of life’, whereas the ultimate truth is a unique element/state/nature which is totally beyond change and therefore absolute. The Buddha is the only teacher who has set a clear guideline as how to attain the ultimate truth which he called: Nirvana. To accommodate people of all interests and beliefs, I have given 28 terminologies to represent this final certainty, including my own coinage: the innocent perception. The clear means to the definite goal that the Buddha has given to humankind is the practice of the four foundations of mindfulness or vipassana, which I call bringing your mental self back home. Through this simple practice for humankind, one will be able to locate one’s own tiny standing point amidst this gigantic cosmos filled with infinite phenomena to be understood and knowledge awaiting to be learnt. Only then can we appreciate the genius the Buddha really was – being able to give us just ‘a small handful of knowledge; enough for us to find long lasting inner peace and clear wisdom. My entire work, as a follower of the Buddha’s teaching, is based on systematically and nonreligiously guiding people out of the prison of life by means of Bringing the Mental Self Back Home (BMSBH).
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