The Essence of Light

How the universe started from the beginning? The latest science confirmed there was a beginning in this universe. Science still cannot explain with convincing theories how that could have happened. How can physical material come into existence from nothing if there was a beginning? Before the beginning of the physical universe, there was nothing based on the latest science modeling, including the “Big Bang” theory.

However, the Bible told us that God already existed before the beginning of the universe. God is Spirit, who is in the spiritual dimension and above the physical dimensions. Only a spiritual being of God, who exists from eternal past to eternal future and beyond the limitation of time dimension, can have the mighty power and wisdom to bring forth something physically from nothing.

This is a logical argument that all existing physical things, including life, have to come from something physical. For instance, in the natural realm, men and women come from their father and mother, who also come from their parents, and so on. If there is nothing physical at the beginning, nothing physical can follow based on human reasoning.

Only if there was Spirit—above time and space, and not limited by physical things—could the heaven and Earth start and exist as we see it today. The Bible clearly reveals this amazing truth to us about God’s creation.

Besides needing the important spiritual dimension for light that brings forth spiritual life in Christ’s followers, physical light is essential for all physical life to grow on Earth. From plant and animal life to human life, physical light is needed to make food and vitamins so all life can survive within the food chain and cycles.

That could be the reason light first appeared in Genesis’ creation account through God’s Word. “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”[1]

Physical light by itself also possesses two amazing natures: particle and wave. Through the work of Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Louis de Broglie, Arthur Compton, Niels Bohr, and many others, current scientific theory holds that all particles exhibit a wave nature, and vice versa.[2] This phenomenon has been verified not only for elementary particles, but also for compound particles like atoms, and even molecules. Macroscopic particles’ wave properties, because of their extremely short wavelengths, usually cannot be detected. We can calculate the wave equation to determine its frequency or wavelength based on the velocity of the wave: V = f * l

Where V is the velocity of the wave in m/s; f is the frequency in Hz and l is the wavelength of the wave in m. Waves can have constructive interference or destructive interference, which are characteristic of waves. This phenomenon can form standing waves, harmonic noise cancelation, etc., using different phase conditions of the wave.

In 1905, Albert Einstein provided an explanation of the photoelectric effect that shows light has the nature of a particle. He explained that the electrons can receive energy from an electromagnetic field (including light) only in discrete units (quanta or photons): an amount of energy E that was related to the frequency f of the light by E= h*f where h is Planck’s constant (6.626 × 10−34 Js).

Only photons of a high enough frequency—above a certain threshold value—could knock an electron free. For example, photons of blue light have sufficient energy to free an electron from metal, but photons of red light do not. One photon of light above the threshold frequency could release only one electron.

The higher the frequency of a photon, the higher the kinetic energy of the emitted electron, but no amount of light below the threshold frequency could release an electron. This represents the quintessential example of wave-particle duality. Electromagnetic radiation propagates following linear wave equations but can only be emitted or absorbed as discrete elements, thus acting as a wave and a particle simultaneously.[3]

[1] Genesis 1:3–5

[2] Walter Greiner (2001). Quantum Mechanics: An Introduction. Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-67458-0Walter Greiner (2001). Quantum Mechanics: An Introduction. Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-67458-0

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave-particle_duality Accessed on July 17, 2019

I will discuss more about True Love and Light in my next blog!

Note: Excerpt from my book A PHYSICIST’S PERSPECTIVE ON GOD

Part 4: THE WISDOM COMMUNICATED THROUGH DIVINE NATURE

Ch. 10 : Love and Light