WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.179 Pastor Greg, and thank you. 00:00:02.419 --> 00:00:04.459 Thank you everyone for having me this morning. 00:00:04.580 --> 00:00:05.940 I'm really excited to be here. 00:00:06.620 --> 00:00:12.000 As Pastor Greg mentioned, today I'll be talking about my perspective in science and faith 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.960 and kind of like how I think about the work that I do. 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:20.660 And the way that I've organized the presentation this morning is essentially to present a little 00:00:20.660 --> 00:00:25.519 bit of physics and then kind of give you some examples of some of the grounding. 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:28.120 Oh, I realized that there's a microphone and I'm yelling. 00:00:28.120 --> 00:00:35.700 I'll give you some of the examples of the grounding Bible verses that I use when I'm sort of thinking 00:00:35.700 --> 00:00:39.620 about it and some of the ones that inspire me, even if they don't necessarily map one-to-one 00:00:39.620 --> 00:00:42.320 to the things that I'm studying. 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:49.219 And then I also, I kind of, as I was praying about it, I kind of also wanted to end with 00:00:49.219 --> 00:00:51.859 some of the ways that you can pray for Christians who are also scientists. 00:00:52.400 --> 00:00:54.460 So that's going to be sort of the conclusion slide. 00:00:54.460 --> 00:00:58.140 And then I welcome questions throughout and at the end as well. 00:00:58.259 --> 00:01:01.880 If anything is unclear or if you just have like spin-off questions, please let me know. 00:01:03.700 --> 00:01:11.599 So I begin with a picture of the Andromeda galaxy just as sort of a way to kind of demonstrate 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:15.019 why I get really excited about science and physics. 00:01:15.019 --> 00:01:22.179 One of my favorite Bible verses in the whole Bible is the first portion, actually all of 00:01:22.179 --> 00:01:24.920 Psalm 19, but especially the first portion where it says, 00:01:25.060 --> 00:01:28.640 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. 00:01:29.179 --> 00:01:31.879 Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. 00:01:32.039 --> 00:01:35.679 There's no speech, there's no language, and his voice is not heard. 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:43.540 And you can kind of just see both the, I like bright lights on dark backgrounds because 00:01:43.540 --> 00:01:45.020 it's sort of like the scintillating flash. 00:01:45.600 --> 00:01:50.300 But just to keep it moving with a little bit, this is one of the galaxies that's fairly close 00:01:50.300 --> 00:01:50.760 to us. 00:01:51.440 --> 00:01:55.040 There's a lot that we don't know about it, but it kind of encompasses both the things 00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:58.320 we can see as well as a lot of the stuff that we're trying to figure out. 00:01:58.460 --> 00:02:01.719 So one of the things I'll talk about is we think that there's a lot of missing mass 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:02.219 in the universe. 00:02:02.219 --> 00:02:08.099 So this disk that you see here is apparently surrounded by a large halo of invisible matter, 00:02:08.580 --> 00:02:10.280 and we're trying to figure out what that is. 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:14.280 And a lot of the candidates for that come from the things that we study in particle physics, 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:18.000 and we have to understand nuclear physics and a bunch of other things. 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:22.199 And we're just basically pulling a lot of different areas of study together in order 00:02:22.199 --> 00:02:24.000 to understand the universe that God made. 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:31.699 So I just wanted to sort of like recap a couple of things that Pastor Greg spoke about last 00:02:31.699 --> 00:02:32.000 week. 00:02:32.459 --> 00:02:35.959 And that is that the point of Genesis is really to tell us who God is and to outline the 00:02:35.959 --> 00:02:36.979 story of creation and redemption. 00:02:38.399 --> 00:02:43.179 And so one of the main ways that I think about Genesis is I think that it's accurate, and 00:02:43.179 --> 00:02:45.099 I think that what the Bible says is true. 00:02:45.839 --> 00:02:51.599 I also think that in this overarching story where you kind of go from the vast to zooming 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:56.939 in very quickly on a family and a person, Jesus, you skip a lot of details. 00:02:56.939 --> 00:03:01.699 And that doesn't necessarily mean the details aren't important in this particular instance 00:03:01.699 --> 00:03:06.979 because we use them to learn things about the world that we are basically given to Stuart. 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:12.240 And so for this reason, I get really excited, and I think that this is worth studying. 00:03:13.079 --> 00:03:18.659 When used correctly, the work that we do in physics provides knowledge leading to goods 00:03:18.659 --> 00:03:22.319 and services that aid the flourishing of mankind, all of whom are made in God's image. 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:28.439 This is even true of things like cosmology and astrophysics and particle nuclear physics 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:32.379 because a lot of the devices and things that we build and the techniques that we develop 00:03:32.379 --> 00:03:38.740 in trying to answer these very basic questions get used in other places, whether it's medicine 00:03:38.740 --> 00:03:40.859 or defense or just iPhones. 00:03:40.860 --> 00:03:45.960 all of these things, they benefit from each other. 00:03:46.100 --> 00:03:53.020 I'm not necessarily saying that understanding the Andromeda galaxy will lead to the next tech 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:57.820 upgrade tomorrow, but a lot of these things do kind of learn from one another. 00:03:58.500 --> 00:04:05.100 I also think that it provides insight into the nature of God, who is the creator, just in 00:04:05.100 --> 00:04:10.320 terms of glory and majesty and bigness, as well as attention to detail and looking at the very, 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:17.899 very small, which the enormous and the tiny are really intimately connected in the fields 00:04:17.899 --> 00:04:18.459 that I study. 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:23.800 And so that's another thing that makes me sort of like just really excited as I think about 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:23.980 it. 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:29.339 And also, when you look at this and you kind of like begin to ask these questions and look 00:04:29.339 --> 00:04:34.060 out, you can really begin to, especially if you're a Christian, just marvel at the creativity 00:04:34.060 --> 00:04:36.060 and the power of God. 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:41.420 And I think that in a lot of cases, it has caused people who are not Christians to stop 00:04:41.420 --> 00:04:42.540 and rethink their perspective. 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:47.079 And so I think that this is really, really interesting. 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:52.540 However, when used incorrectly, you know, you can have a lot of problems that arise from 00:04:52.540 --> 00:04:58.480 people using things that are developed to enslave, harm, damage other people in the earth 00:04:58.480 --> 00:04:59.459 that we're responsible for. 00:04:59.459 --> 00:05:00.899 It can lead to pride. 00:05:01.399 --> 00:05:05.459 It can lead people to worship the creature itself instead of the creator who made it. 00:05:05.919 --> 00:05:11.639 And so I think that part of our role as believers is to understand the development and the use 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:15.240 of science and its practical applications and to be able to discuss these things and to 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:16.819 act and use it responsibly and ethically. 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:24.579 So I also wanted to point out and remind everyone from last week that there are varying viewpoints 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:30.060 among Christians on the interpretation of the Genesis creation account and that these different 00:05:30.060 --> 00:05:32.540 viewpoints can coexist among faithful believers. 00:05:33.819 --> 00:05:37.860 And so kind of where I fall tends to be in the old earth. 00:05:38.139 --> 00:05:41.000 I do believe there was a specific creation of Adam and Eve. 00:05:41.339 --> 00:05:42.740 I do believe that God made the universe. 00:05:42.740 --> 00:05:49.240 I also do think that the scientific data, I think that physics is credible and I think 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:53.500 that we learn a lot and that what we have put together so far coming from a lot of different 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:57.199 places is accurate and something that we're still thinking about but should not be dismissed. 00:05:59.100 --> 00:06:03.980 So I kind of wanted to, this is a little bit hard to see unfortunately, give kind of a broad 00:06:03.980 --> 00:06:06.720 overview of just what the standard cosmological model is. 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:13.260 At the end I have one that's kind of curtailed and might be a bit easier to see. 00:06:13.960 --> 00:06:23.240 But what this is supposed to illustrate is a sort of time dependent going from my left to 00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:30.180 my right overview of the development of the universe from the beginning to today. 00:06:30.180 --> 00:06:38.740 So there was some sort of event about 14 billion years ago that led to some sort of 00:06:38.740 --> 00:06:44.620 creation and the appearance of matter and energy, space, and time all at once. 00:06:45.460 --> 00:06:47.879 Everything expanded really rapidly after that. 00:06:49.019 --> 00:06:54.699 You, at some point, I'm going to skip a lot of details, somewhere you started to have things 00:06:54.699 --> 00:06:59.620 cool down enough so that you could form from like the super subatomic particles like quarks, 00:06:59.620 --> 00:07:03.220 you could start to form nucleons, so things like protons and neutrons. 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:06.259 And you also have things continuing to cool down fast enough. 00:07:06.300 --> 00:07:08.360 You also have elementary particles like electrons. 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:13.519 Eventually things cool down enough so that the electrons can be captured by these sort of 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:15.100 early low mass nuclei. 00:07:15.780 --> 00:07:21.600 And once you have that, light stops scattering back and forth off of everything because now 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:22.399 it's neutral. 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:29.079 So now light is able to free stream and you, for the first time, basically start to have 00:07:29.079 --> 00:07:30.779 atoms in light. 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:36.319 Then everything, and so then you have sort of a, so about 300,000 years after the Big Bang, 00:07:36.679 --> 00:07:42.579 roughly speaking, you have sort of this production of just a wash of light. 00:07:42.579 --> 00:07:45.779 We call this the cosmic microwave background. 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:51.919 And then at some point, you start to, well, and so that's the surface of the last scattering. 00:07:52.339 --> 00:07:54.159 You continue to have things move forward. 00:07:54.939 --> 00:07:56.419 At some point, stars begin to form. 00:07:56.539 --> 00:07:57.439 They all heat up again. 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:00.060 And then things start to cool down again. 00:08:00.159 --> 00:08:01.899 You form actual stars and galaxies. 00:08:02.659 --> 00:08:05.579 And then things continue to, the whole time things are spreading out. 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:06.479 Time is continuing. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:11.640 And then you eventually begin to have planetary clusters. 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:13.240 There's a lot of details that I skipped. 00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:18.360 There's a lot of physics that people are still trying to understand and figure out. 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:22.640 You know, well, maybe we'll get into some of that. 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:24.640 A lot of this is actually not my field. 00:08:24.819 --> 00:08:26.120 I will talk about my field in a minute. 00:08:26.640 --> 00:08:33.980 And so I kind of try to just give a picture because you can kind of see the progression here. 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:44.159 So in studying that, a lot of times what you're trying to do is, in putting the picture together, 00:08:44.740 --> 00:08:47.560 understand very specific questions along the way. 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:54.860 And so two of the questions that I'm actually studying deal with the nature and origin of matter and mass. 00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:58.320 And they also deal with these sort of origins questions. 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:06.620 But they're more specific than just, you know, things started, things spread out, things heated up, things cooled down. 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:14.300 And they're starting to ask questions like, well, okay, in particle physics, if you produce a particle, you also produce as any particle. 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:16.100 And they get produced in equal numbers. 00:09:16.540 --> 00:09:21.660 And so if that's the case, they should see each other, annihilate, you get energy, and then everything, you shouldn't really have any structure. 00:09:21.820 --> 00:09:24.800 We shouldn't really be standing here because everything that we see is made out of mass. 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:28.979 So why is it that most of the observable matter in the universe is actually matter? 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:30.519 Where did all the antimatter go? 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:32.879 It turns out there was this slight imbalance. 00:09:34.019 --> 00:09:36.620 And so we're trying to understand where that asymmetry came from. 00:09:36.979 --> 00:09:42.319 And so one of the ways you can get at that is perhaps addressed by one of the experiments that I work for. 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:51.780 Another question is, as I mentioned, when you look out at the sky, a lot of times you, well, there have been repeatable. 00:09:52.440 --> 00:10:01.620 And there's a lot of cumulative and very strong evidence that I'll describe in a minute that indicates that we actually aren't measuring all the mass that there is. 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:04.720 And I'll give specific examples of those in a second. 00:10:04.860 --> 00:10:06.780 And then the question is, well, where is all this mass? 00:10:06.800 --> 00:10:07.680 And what is it made out of? 00:10:07.680 --> 00:10:09.960 And why haven't we actually been able to interact with it before? 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:14.379 And so and it actually also plays a role in the development of the early universe. 00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:22.019 And so trying to answer these two questions gives you key insights into how this picture fits together better. 00:10:22.300 --> 00:10:25.519 And then we kind of go back and forth from there. 00:10:26.280 --> 00:10:33.660 And so you zoom in very quickly from thinking about these big picture questions to trying to answer one thing. 00:10:33.659 --> 00:10:40.100 And you build a lot of really high tech and elaborate equipment and collaborations in order to do so. 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:43.059 But a lot of times, again, it's not just bearing on this. 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:46.459 It gives us a better understanding of the world that we live in and that we deal with every day. 00:10:47.100 --> 00:10:54.559 So among the first questions, so the first question about the matter, antimatter asymmetry of the universe, one of the ways that we're trying to get at it is understanding a particle called the neutrino. 00:10:55.079 --> 00:10:56.240 We've seen neutrinos. 00:10:56.240 --> 00:11:15.860 We've seen a lot of experiments in the last couple of decades that I don't, unfortunately, have time to get into. 00:11:15.980 --> 00:11:16.840 You can ask me afterwards. 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:25.139 But those experiments are able to demonstrate that they have mass, and they've been able to demonstrate that they have mass splitting. 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:31.960 But they don't really tell us what the absolute scale of the mass is, and they don't really tell us whether the neutrino might actually be its own antiparticle. 00:11:32.780 --> 00:11:39.420 It actually has a special role in the standard model because it's neutral, and it's a particle called a fermion. 00:11:39.419 --> 00:11:50.879 And if it is its own antiparticle, then that could give us a clue into, like, maybe how matter antimatter asymmetry could have started, maybe some other symmetries that are in place that we haven't really developed before. 00:11:51.799 --> 00:12:01.259 So the way that we actually chose to look for this in the experiments that I work for is usually there's an experiment called two-neutrino double beta decay, 00:12:01.259 --> 00:12:12.259 where this nucleus that is specifically able to decay a particular way usually gives off two electrons when it decays and two neutrinos. 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:16.080 If the neutrino is its own antiparticle, you won't see the two neutrinos. 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:25.720 And instead of seeing, if you think about how much energy you measure by watching these detectors over time and given some certain amount, 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:28.519 you expect to see a certain number of particles at every energy. 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:31.120 So we generally, like, just plot this out. 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:38.799 If two neutrino double, we have seen two neutrino double beta decay in a lot of different elements, a lot being kind of a relative number. 00:12:40.220 --> 00:12:47.340 But if neutrino less double beta decay exists, what we'd end up seeing is, like, all the energy going to the electrons, 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:53.120 and it would give a little peek at the end point of the sort of spectrum that we draw out. 00:12:53.539 --> 00:12:55.840 And the issue is that this is a pretty big background. 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:57.480 No one's seen this yet. 00:12:57.860 --> 00:13:01.820 And so we have to really understand this, which we actually think we do pretty well, 00:13:02.160 --> 00:13:07.820 and then have a really huge detector and wait a rather long time to see if this peak develops. 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:09.560 So far, no one has seen anything. 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:13.519 The experiment that I work for is actually located in Italy underground. 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:26.000 And it's basically an array of crystals of that particular type of element located in this huge dill fridge that gets cold to about ten thousandths of a degree above absolute zero. 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:29.279 And so we're currently running and still working on this, 00:13:29.340 --> 00:13:33.600 but this is an example of one of the things that we're doing to kind of look for that particular question. 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:42.340 Another one that I actually have spent quite some time on in a couple of different experiments is this search for dark matter. 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:47.720 So this slide is kind of intended to give an overview picture of why we really, 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:51.300 over a long time, people ignored even the idea of dark matter. 00:13:51.680 --> 00:13:57.379 And it came back up about 30 years after someone first started, like, trying to get people to pay attention to it. 00:13:57.379 --> 00:14:09.019 And then it kind of became unavoidable because the issue is that when you compare astronomical observations to basically some of the calculations from two different types of observations, 00:14:09.159 --> 00:14:09.700 they don't match. 00:14:10.100 --> 00:14:20.539 One of the first places that came up was if you basically measure the amount of light that you can see from a galaxy in a telescope or, you know, telescope basically, 00:14:20.539 --> 00:14:28.379 and you kind of plot that out as a function of, like, the distance from the center of the galaxy. 00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:34.699 And then if you kind of predict what you would expect to see based on general relativity, 00:14:34.699 --> 00:14:41.279 which has been tested over and over and over again and works as well as anything that we've had been able to develop, 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:49.159 the mass that you see when you're dealing with general relativity should just kind of fall off. 00:14:49.159 --> 00:14:54.279 But when we measure the amount of mass, oh, sorry, actually, I should have explained a little bit more, 00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:58.579 the amount of light that you see, but then you also measure the speed of the stars going, 00:14:59.019 --> 00:15:05.959 so the amount of light that you see from the whole galaxy and then the speed of the stars that you measure as you go out from the center of the galaxy should match. 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:11.079 And you should be able to predict what that curve looks like as you go out, and that's the one that should flatten out. 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:18.179 And if you measure how much mass is in the galaxy and you measure the speed of the stars moving at the edge of the galaxy, 00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:23.639 apparently there's not enough mass to keep the stars on the edge of the galaxy bound together. 00:15:24.179 --> 00:15:26.759 And so this is something that's been seen over and over again. 00:15:27.839 --> 00:15:32.000 Again, people ignored it, and it's been seen not just in galaxies but in clusters of galaxies. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:38.799 And, again, what you end up seeing is that the amount of mass that we can actually visibly measure 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:45.539 is just not large enough to hold the things on the very edge of these systems to the system. 00:15:45.539 --> 00:15:49.319 And so the question is, well, how are they being bound? 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:50.559 What's this extra mass? 00:15:50.699 --> 00:15:54.799 So a lot of people have chosen the path of either saying there must be more mass, 00:15:54.959 --> 00:15:56.939 or maybe we have to change the rules of physics. 00:15:57.500 --> 00:16:01.480 Changing the rules of physics is a really big deal, and it has to work everywhere. 00:16:02.219 --> 00:16:08.879 And so far the people who have tried to go along that route haven't been able to demonstrate as strongly that that's the way to go. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:13.000 And as I mentioned, the rules that they're trying to change have been tested over and over again. 00:16:13.820 --> 00:16:17.600 And so the idea is, okay, well, we know we don't understand some stuff from particle physics. 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:23.360 Maybe there's new particles that we haven't seen yet that are contributing to this amount of mass. 00:16:23.620 --> 00:16:24.700 How do we figure this out? 00:16:24.759 --> 00:16:25.399 How do we see them? 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:27.379 And it's not just these curves. 00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:32.019 There's also things like if you measure the amount that light bends around huge masses. 00:16:32.019 --> 00:16:37.480 So this is called, like, X-ray measurements coming from faraway galaxies and faraway stars. 00:16:38.139 --> 00:16:51.039 And then you also measure sort of – so that's where you get – so this is a false color image that basically is showing sort of the concentration of where you would expect the mass to be. 00:16:51.419 --> 00:16:58.860 But then you also have, like, a lot of heat coming from the center of this galaxy, which is where most of – so these are the false color images. 00:16:58.860 --> 00:17:01.980 These are the X-ray images, and they mismatch. 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:06.500 And these are basically what this illustrates is, like, two huge masses moving against each other. 00:17:07.059 --> 00:17:11.759 The sort of normal matter is rubbing against itself and heating up. 00:17:12.059 --> 00:17:17.140 And then you have this portion that just seems to be going through without even seeing itself. 00:17:17.779 --> 00:17:18.860 And so this is another indication. 00:17:18.980 --> 00:17:22.680 Maybe this is some weird type of matter that doesn't interact with regular matter strongly. 00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:27.279 There's other ways that we kind of are also able to kind of pick these things out. 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:30.480 There's – remember that causing microwave background that I mentioned? 00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:41.440 You can look at the fluctuations that come from this and see sort of, like, at different length scales how much it fluctuates. 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:50.119 And this tells you important things about how early you could have certain amounts of mass and what would probably have happened to the universe at that point. 00:17:50.119 --> 00:17:58.959 And this indicates the need for some extra component early in the universe so that regular matter could start clumping together early enough to form galaxies. 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:08.919 You also have things like measuring the abundances of light elements in the early universe and constraints that you can place on that from a completely different area of physics. 00:18:09.659 --> 00:18:11.559 And you can only tweak that so much. 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:17.240 And so a lot of these things kind of go into looking for this picture of the fact that dark matter can exist. 00:18:17.379 --> 00:18:21.399 And then, as I mentioned, you know, we know that we're missing something for particle physics. 00:18:21.619 --> 00:18:25.960 There are all these theories that say, well, maybe there's this other symmetry or maybe this other thing is true. 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:30.019 These are some particles that would arise from that that we would not have been able to see yet. 00:18:30.019 --> 00:18:33.019 But if we build a detector, maybe we could find them because we know what we're looking for now. 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:35.799 So that's an example. 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:39.619 So I'm kind of going to move forward kind of quickly at this point. 00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:44.639 But a couple of the experiments that I've worked on that look for dark matter work in a couple of different ways. 00:18:44.899 --> 00:18:51.559 One of them is another set of really cold crystals where you're looking for a particle to come in and scatter from the nucleus and keep going. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:53.279 Also located deep underground. 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:58.980 Another one counts in the fact that maybe the dark matter does interact with at least light. 00:18:59.919 --> 00:19:04.740 And you can get it to convert two photons in a really strong magnetic field. 00:19:04.740 --> 00:19:07.160 And then we build a different type of detector to look for that. 00:19:07.500 --> 00:19:10.660 And that's one of the experiments that's actually located and running right now here at Yale. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:14.579 So again, these are small rather, well, not small. 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:16.559 These are actually very large efforts. 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:22.519 But they're trying to answer very specific questions that then point out towards the bigger picture. 00:19:23.700 --> 00:19:28.440 So I had a couple of things that people might consider about scientists. 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:31.099 Often a lot of people are trying to work together. 00:19:31.099 --> 00:19:36.599 And some of them, even if they aren't believers, are actually dedicated to seeking the truth with the tools they have available. 00:19:37.439 --> 00:19:40.659 And put a lot of time, thought, and energy and study into what they do. 00:19:41.859 --> 00:19:46.899 And so they are simple people in need of a savior. 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:52.539 But they are real people with lives, family desires, fears, goals, motivations, and feelings, whether they're Christian or not. 00:19:52.539 --> 00:20:00.440 And so I think that if we pray for one another, even if they don't recognize it, even if we don't recognize it, 00:20:00.500 --> 00:20:08.559 a lot of times what we are getting to see is firsthand both the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of the God who created the universe. 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:17.139 So I'd like to focus on, going forward, is actually Bible passages that have influenced me in my approach to work in science. 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:20.319 And among the first is Genesis. 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:22.720 So Genesis 1, 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:50.759 And to me, this is like giving, again, that big picture, not so much detail, but very clear statement that the universe had a beginning. 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:53.740 It was created, and it was created by God. 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:59.519 And so this is sort of a very important foundational thing. 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:07.180 Even if I'm trying to figure out how he did it, this is a key aspect of my view and work in physics. 00:21:08.019 --> 00:21:10.119 I also already mentioned Psalm 19. 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:14.140 So this is something that I get really excited about, as I mentioned. 00:21:14.140 --> 00:21:28.420 And it's one of the ones that, for me, points towards the value and even necessity, at least for my part, of studying the world that he made. 00:21:29.140 --> 00:21:37.020 And the fact that amongst all people and nations, everyone can look up at the sky, 00:21:37.019 --> 00:21:42.400 and they can see that there's something out there that's much bigger than them, and someone made it. 00:21:43.859 --> 00:21:45.619 I also really enjoy Psalm 100. 00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:49.019 This one is not necessarily so creation-specific, 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:55.759 but it is a reminder that God made us, and we belong to him, and that we have a responsibility to him. 00:21:55.819 --> 00:22:01.240 But also it's a psalm that's full of joy and full of excitement just at the fact of living. 00:22:01.240 --> 00:22:05.900 And so it's one of the ones that kind of reminds me of the lightness and creativity of the world that he made. 00:22:07.099 --> 00:22:09.740 Another one that actually does inspire me, 00:22:09.900 --> 00:22:14.839 there are a number of psalms that either have sort of very poetic descriptions of just the natural universe, 00:22:14.980 --> 00:22:16.680 which I also enjoy. 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:26.980 And then there are some that really speak of the constancy and the structured nature and law of God. 00:22:26.980 --> 00:22:31.880 And then there are some psalms that talk about the fact that God is the one who gives wisdom, 00:22:32.420 --> 00:22:36.579 and that, you know, as you seek him and ask him things, sometimes he will give you insights. 00:22:39.160 --> 00:22:43.759 And along those lines, one of my favorite verses from Proverbs is, 00:22:43.860 --> 00:22:47.339 it's the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter. 00:22:47.339 --> 00:22:57.480 And so it seems like a fun and royal challenge that we get to embark on to kind of study this out 00:22:57.480 --> 00:23:01.779 and try to dig deep and understand the structure and the nature of the universe. 00:23:03.259 --> 00:23:08.279 Along the lines of how I approach my work are Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:09.839 Trust in the Lord with all your heart. 00:23:09.919 --> 00:23:11.299 Do not depend on your own understanding. 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:14.319 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:21.720 And this both goes to humility in terms of holding things kind of loosely when you need to, 00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:29.799 but also trusting him in terms of just career and in terms of life in broad perspective. 00:23:33.299 --> 00:23:39.659 He is very generous in his provision and in the way that he allows us to, like, 00:23:39.659 --> 00:23:41.259 pursue the things that interest us. 00:23:41.259 --> 00:23:48.099 But he needs to be the one who's directing your work, your study, your time, your energy, your focus. 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:50.480 And then Proverbs 16, 3, 00:23:50.619 --> 00:23:53.200 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. 00:23:53.900 --> 00:23:59.319 And so one of the primary things that needs to be happening is that when you're doing all of these things, 00:23:59.740 --> 00:24:04.099 you really need to do them as unto him and to his glory and not just building your own kingdom. 00:24:04.099 --> 00:24:11.480 Another major set of scriptures, and I picked one out here that really inspires me, is the book of Daniel, 00:24:12.039 --> 00:24:18.539 especially the first three chapters and the description in chapter 6 and some of the other portions, 00:24:18.639 --> 00:24:25.119 but where it really describes Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 00:24:25.259 --> 00:24:28.859 as we know them commonly, being captured and going into Babylon, 00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:35.139 but then being selected from amongst their peers as people who were able to be taught the language and the tongue of the Chaldeans 00:24:35.139 --> 00:24:36.379 and who understand science. 00:24:36.639 --> 00:24:42.399 And basically they were brought from their homeland into captivity, 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:49.099 but then basically sent into the middle of this very intense, high-profile academic, 00:24:49.479 --> 00:24:52.559 but also political atmosphere where they had to perform. 00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:55.139 And they couldn't really do it in their own strength. 00:24:55.200 --> 00:25:00.740 And if you read the first chapter, you see that they were determined to honor God in their actions 00:25:00.740 --> 00:25:03.359 and in their life and in their lifestyle. 00:25:03.879 --> 00:25:07.139 And it's not so much the things that they did, it's their heart towards him, 00:25:07.139 --> 00:25:10.279 and he was the one who basically established their promotion in the kingdom. 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:16.379 And so that was too much to put on the slide, 00:25:16.380 --> 00:25:20.200 but one of my favorite things comes from the second chapter, 00:25:20.660 --> 00:25:22.940 where basically they've learned all this, 00:25:23.020 --> 00:25:25.920 they've kind of established, he's established their reputations, 00:25:26.040 --> 00:25:29.760 they've gotten set up, but now the king has had this crazy dream. 00:25:32.260 --> 00:25:33.240 Sorry, I heard a timer. 00:25:33.840 --> 00:25:35.220 The king has had this crazy dream. 00:25:35.560 --> 00:25:37.220 He doesn't really know what it means, 00:25:37.320 --> 00:25:39.840 but he's not telling his wise men what the dream was, 00:25:39.840 --> 00:25:42.180 either because he forgot it or because he doesn't want, 00:25:42.460 --> 00:25:45.180 well, the Bible specifically says he's not telling them 00:25:45.180 --> 00:25:48.100 because he needs them to tell him 00:25:48.100 --> 00:25:50.620 so that he knows they're not just making something up. 00:25:51.500 --> 00:25:53.560 But who's going to be able to tell you what you dreamed? 00:25:53.700 --> 00:25:55.180 So everyone's been sentenced to death. 00:25:55.259 --> 00:25:56.660 They get woken up in the middle of the night. 00:25:57.360 --> 00:25:58.580 The guy's banging on their door. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:25:59.920 Daniel's like, hold on a second. 00:26:00.519 --> 00:26:03.160 Give us, you know, however, a short amount of time. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:04.980 We'll figure it out. 00:26:05.120 --> 00:26:06.060 Don't kill everyone. 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:06.539 Just wait. 00:26:06.759 --> 00:26:10.620 So he and Shadrach, Meshach, and Mennigo go and pray. 00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:14.200 And the Lord actually shows him the dream 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:15.279 and the interpretation. 00:26:15.860 --> 00:26:17.620 And this is Daniel's, like, praise. 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:19.059 Daniel answered and said, 00:26:19.180 --> 00:26:21.299 Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:22.779 to whom belong wisdom and might. 00:26:23.180 --> 00:26:24.580 He changes times and seasons. 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:26.519 He removes kings and sets up kings. 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:29.080 He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those 00:26:29.080 --> 00:26:29.860 who have understanding. 00:26:30.500 --> 00:26:32.120 He reveals deep and hidden things. 00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:33.340 He knows what's in the darkness, 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:34.580 and the light dwells with him. 00:26:35.100 --> 00:26:37.480 So just the fact that all of this mystery 00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:39.680 and all of this stuff that we're trying to figure out, 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:41.360 God already knows what's there. 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:44.859 And just that imagery of the fact that the light dwells with him 00:26:44.859 --> 00:26:47.419 and the amount of attention that's being given these days 00:26:47.419 --> 00:26:49.599 to the nature and behavior of light 00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:51.099 and its interaction with matter 00:26:51.099 --> 00:26:53.179 is something that's really interesting to me. 00:26:53.579 --> 00:26:55.859 But also the picture that, you know, 00:26:55.899 --> 00:26:57.899 even if we're trying to, like, figure all of this out, 00:26:58.119 --> 00:26:59.179 the light dwells with God. 00:26:59.859 --> 00:27:03.479 And there's a lot behind that statement to me 00:27:03.479 --> 00:27:06.659 in terms of, like, things that it reminds me of for physics. 00:27:06.660 --> 00:27:10.920 But I think that even just in the context of this verse, 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:12.980 you can kind of see in this short package 00:27:12.980 --> 00:27:15.820 the fact that he knows everything, 00:27:16.420 --> 00:27:18.140 and he deserves all the honor. 00:27:18.940 --> 00:27:19.940 So there's more. 00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:23.200 I have focused on physics because I am a physicist. 00:27:24.180 --> 00:27:25.880 But there's, throughout the Bible, 00:27:26.120 --> 00:27:29.320 things that just kind of talk about nature as a whole, 00:27:29.380 --> 00:27:31.900 and in particular the type that has, like, 00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:34.000 life and movement and color 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:37.339 and all of the interplay and people. 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:40.460 And the book of Job has some descriptions. 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:43.980 Colossians talks about whatever you do, 00:27:44.339 --> 00:27:46.519 do it as I actually have written on my computer. 00:27:47.160 --> 00:27:48.140 Work at it with all your heart. 00:27:48.220 --> 00:27:49.700 It's working for the Lord, not for men. 00:27:50.519 --> 00:27:52.460 1 Corinthians and a lot of other epistles 00:27:52.460 --> 00:27:54.039 talk about the wisdom of God, 00:27:54.619 --> 00:27:55.420 the fact that, you know, 00:27:55.460 --> 00:27:57.559 you have the simple that confounds the wise. 00:27:57.759 --> 00:27:58.740 You have, you know, 00:27:58.799 --> 00:28:00.700 we're spending time and energy and effort 00:28:00.700 --> 00:28:03.539 to understand the very basic constituents of the universe, 00:28:03.539 --> 00:28:06.299 and we're every day walking on the complicated results 00:28:06.299 --> 00:28:07.339 of those interactions. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.359 And it's just amazing. 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:11.859 And his transcendence above his creation. 00:28:12.980 --> 00:28:13.240 Oops. 00:28:13.859 --> 00:28:18.559 So, as I wrap up and leave time for questions, 00:28:18.700 --> 00:28:20.240 I would like to leave this slide 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:22.000 about things you might consider praying 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:23.399 for Christian believers who are scientists. 00:28:24.059 --> 00:28:27.599 I think probably all of these apply to people in any field, 00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:28.759 and I would welcome people 00:28:28.759 --> 00:28:30.759 who have additional things to recommend. 00:28:30.759 --> 00:28:35.559 But boldness, both in their faith and in their work, 00:28:36.460 --> 00:28:37.680 and to be able to enjoy it 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:39.180 and to be able to, like, have confidence 00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:40.480 in what they're doing and presenting 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:43.599 and move with decision, 00:28:44.099 --> 00:28:44.500 excuse me, 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:45.859 humility, 00:28:46.339 --> 00:28:47.799 that, you know, 00:28:47.879 --> 00:28:48.180 that they, 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:49.900 even as they go out boldly, 00:28:50.279 --> 00:28:52.519 there's a God that they're submitted to, 00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:54.099 and there's a lot they don't know. 00:28:54.099 --> 00:28:56.359 So, that's two things right there 00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:58.240 that are encouraging to humility. 00:28:59.480 --> 00:28:59.879 Encouragement, 00:29:00.059 --> 00:29:01.019 because a lot of times 00:29:01.019 --> 00:29:02.359 that day-to-day grind gets hard. 00:29:02.519 --> 00:29:04.079 We talk about the big picture, 00:29:04.219 --> 00:29:06.119 and we think about these big questions, 00:29:06.259 --> 00:29:07.879 but really what tends to happen 00:29:07.879 --> 00:29:09.740 is you're dealing with paperwork 00:29:09.740 --> 00:29:11.319 and travel reimbursements 00:29:11.319 --> 00:29:12.619 and purchase orders 00:29:12.619 --> 00:29:14.000 and computer codes 00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:14.879 that won't compile 00:29:14.879 --> 00:29:16.299 or are doing the wrong thing, 00:29:16.299 --> 00:29:19.259 or broken experiments, 00:29:20.159 --> 00:29:21.559 lots of stuff, 00:29:21.659 --> 00:29:22.099 or funding, 00:29:22.299 --> 00:29:22.539 you know, 00:29:22.779 --> 00:29:23.539 whatever reason, 00:29:24.059 --> 00:29:25.359 or things that might even be happening 00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:26.279 outside of the lab. 00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:28.779 Again, people are not there 24-7, 00:29:28.940 --> 00:29:31.259 even though there's pressure to do so 00:29:31.259 --> 00:29:34.099 in some places. 00:29:35.619 --> 00:29:36.099 Rest, 00:29:36.399 --> 00:29:38.099 going right into that. 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:39.480 Creativity, 00:29:40.039 --> 00:29:40.480 integrity, 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:41.419 because, again, 00:29:41.500 --> 00:29:42.119 with the pressures, 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:43.279 a lot of times people 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:46.139 will succumb to doing things 00:29:46.139 --> 00:29:47.359 that just, 00:29:48.399 --> 00:29:49.660 minor or major, 00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:50.240 you know, 00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:52.279 it's not right. 00:29:53.339 --> 00:29:54.259 So, integrity, 00:29:54.500 --> 00:29:54.960 fearlessness, 00:29:55.879 --> 00:29:56.180 wisdom, 00:29:56.379 --> 00:29:56.759 understanding, 00:29:56.839 --> 00:29:57.299 and knowledge, 00:29:57.440 --> 00:29:58.740 much as God gave Daniel 00:29:58.740 --> 00:30:00.079 and Daniel 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:01.220 and Shadrach, 00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:01.539 Meshach, 00:30:01.619 --> 00:30:02.019 and Abednego. 00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:04.599 Love for their fellow believers 00:30:04.599 --> 00:30:05.579 and fellow scientists 00:30:05.579 --> 00:30:06.240 and colleagues. 00:30:06.500 --> 00:30:07.759 I think this is a really big point 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:08.779 because 00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:11.500 both when you're interacting 00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:13.039 within the body, 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:14.220 and when you're interacting 00:30:14.220 --> 00:30:15.519 with people outside of the body, 00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:16.920 there is sometimes 00:30:16.920 --> 00:30:18.099 a tendency to stridency, 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:19.399 which isn't helpful. 00:30:20.299 --> 00:30:20.559 And so, 00:30:20.619 --> 00:30:21.259 I think that, 00:30:21.339 --> 00:30:21.559 you know, 00:30:21.619 --> 00:30:22.399 the Bible talks about 00:30:22.399 --> 00:30:23.399 how they will know us 00:30:23.399 --> 00:30:24.119 by our love. 00:30:24.359 --> 00:30:24.599 And so, 00:30:24.660 --> 00:30:25.519 how we treat each other 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:26.619 is a really important thing, 00:30:26.740 --> 00:30:27.420 even if you have 00:30:27.420 --> 00:30:28.279 differing opinions 00:30:28.279 --> 00:30:31.720 on important issues. 00:30:32.440 --> 00:30:33.779 And how you treat people 00:30:33.779 --> 00:30:34.819 outside of the church 00:30:34.819 --> 00:30:36.359 will also be their impression 00:30:36.359 --> 00:30:37.099 in your witness. 00:30:38.039 --> 00:30:38.480 And so, 00:30:38.660 --> 00:30:39.859 being careful about 00:30:39.859 --> 00:30:40.940 both of those things 00:30:40.940 --> 00:30:41.920 will be helpful. 00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:44.279 a desire for God's glory 00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:45.660 because all of this 00:30:45.660 --> 00:30:46.560 that we are doing 00:30:46.560 --> 00:30:47.720 should not be just 00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:48.680 so that we get remembered 00:30:48.680 --> 00:30:50.140 maybe 50 years from now. 00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:51.360 Right? 00:30:52.519 --> 00:30:53.660 And a lot of times 00:30:53.660 --> 00:30:54.400 it's really easy 00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:55.900 to kind of get caught up 00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:56.320 in the moment 00:30:56.320 --> 00:30:57.259 and kind of get caught up 00:30:57.259 --> 00:30:58.080 with people need to know 00:30:58.080 --> 00:30:58.620 who I am. 00:30:58.740 --> 00:30:59.840 I need to get this right. 00:31:00.120 --> 00:31:01.180 I need people to come to me 00:31:01.180 --> 00:31:01.779 for the answers. 00:31:02.539 --> 00:31:04.400 And that's ultimately 00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:05.259 not what it's supposed 00:31:05.259 --> 00:31:05.900 to be about. 00:31:06.860 --> 00:31:07.700 Opportunities to witness 00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:08.259 faithfully 00:31:08.259 --> 00:31:09.340 to their colleagues 00:31:09.339 --> 00:31:10.279 can be tricky 00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:11.699 in professional settings, 00:31:11.939 --> 00:31:14.220 especially when there are 00:31:14.220 --> 00:31:15.619 different things in place. 00:31:16.019 --> 00:31:17.399 So just building relationships 00:31:17.399 --> 00:31:18.339 and opportunities 00:31:18.339 --> 00:31:19.220 to do that 00:31:19.220 --> 00:31:21.519 so that people do 00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:22.299 hear about Jesus. 00:31:22.659 --> 00:31:23.359 And because 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:25.859 we all live forever, 00:31:26.079 --> 00:31:26.659 right? 00:31:26.779 --> 00:31:28.119 But where we do, 00:31:28.679 --> 00:31:29.399 you have to, 00:31:29.579 --> 00:31:31.079 you have to tell people. 00:31:31.079 --> 00:31:33.679 But a lot of times 00:31:33.679 --> 00:31:35.519 the opportune time 00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:36.339 is just as important 00:31:36.339 --> 00:31:37.759 as kind of like 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:38.720 throwing it in their face 00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:40.839 and doing it poorly 00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:41.819 and God can use stuff 00:31:41.819 --> 00:31:42.699 but it's better to wait 00:31:42.699 --> 00:31:43.399 for His Holy Spirit 00:31:43.399 --> 00:31:44.000 and use wisdom. 00:31:45.619 --> 00:31:46.019 Protection. 00:31:46.399 --> 00:31:47.279 I think that this is 00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:48.460 in a lot of different areas 00:31:48.460 --> 00:31:50.159 for the same reasons 00:31:50.159 --> 00:31:51.359 as I was talking about 00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:52.439 for encouragement before. 00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:54.119 And to find their identity 00:31:54.119 --> 00:31:54.699 in Christ, 00:31:54.899 --> 00:31:55.179 again, 00:31:55.259 --> 00:31:55.839 for a lot of those 00:31:55.839 --> 00:31:56.379 other reasons, 00:31:56.439 --> 00:31:57.259 it's really easy 00:31:57.259 --> 00:31:58.199 to kind of get caught up 00:31:58.200 --> 00:31:59.000 and feeling like 00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:00.880 if you don't do 00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:01.680 this next thing 00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:02.980 then it's, 00:32:02.980 --> 00:32:03.319 you know, 00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:04.420 it's rough. 00:32:04.660 --> 00:32:04.940 And so, 00:32:05.120 --> 00:32:06.000 related to that 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:06.580 is balance, 00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:07.500 discernment 00:32:07.500 --> 00:32:08.259 about choosing 00:32:08.259 --> 00:32:09.200 the stuff that they do 00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:09.819 and to be led 00:32:09.819 --> 00:32:10.559 by the Holy Spirit 00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:11.340 in this as well 00:32:11.340 --> 00:32:12.100 as in other areas 00:32:12.100 --> 00:32:12.620 of their life. 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:14.420 And so, 00:32:14.920 --> 00:32:15.600 I, 00:32:15.900 --> 00:32:16.440 with that, 00:32:16.920 --> 00:32:17.700 will yield the floor 00:32:17.700 --> 00:32:18.720 and thank you 00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:19.240 for listening. 00:32:19.240 --> 00:32:19.319 Thank you. 00:32:20.100 --> 00:32:21.100 Thank you. 00:32:28.200 --> 00:32:58.180 Thank you.