And He is before all things,
and by Him all things consist.
Colossians 1:17
"A constant is a value that is added to make equations fit reality as determined by physical measurements. An example is the gravitational constant, which is 6.67430(15)×10−11 denoted by the capital letter G in the formula F = [G x (m1m2/r2)].
When the calculations are completed, the formula correctly produces the value of force (F) no matter what the value of the two masses and the distance between them.
The cosmological constant problem in this case refers to the substantial disagreement between the observed values of vacuum energy density (the small value of the cosmological constant) and the much larger value indicated by quantum field theory.
*The problem is that the calculated energy in a vacuum that contributes to the cosmological constant is calculated to be between 50 and as much as 120 orders of magnitude greater than what is
actually observed.
To solve the problem, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Steven Weinberg proposed what Chown calls “a desperate explanation.” Specifically, he proposed that the value of the cosmological constant is different in different parts of the Universe. In most regions, the cosmological constant is so large that “it blasts matter apart, preventing it from forming galaxies and stars. We find ourselves in a region where the cosmological constant is small enough to permit the existence of stars because” it must be smaller for the reason that we have galaxies and stars in our part of the universe. Therefore, it must be different in our corner of the universe.
This is similar to claiming that the speed of light in a vacuum is different in different parts of the universe. In some areas it is 186,282 miles per second and in other areas, say, it is 896,367 miles per second. The cosmologists’ response to the cosmological constants problem is a similar escape strategy:
"Since few people are happy with Weinberg’s solution, the cosmological problem represents the biggest discrepancy between a prediction and an observation in the history of physics. The previous biggest concern was how an electron can orbit in an atom before spiraling into its nucleus. Theory predicted that atoms should collapse in a split-second, yet atoms are known to have persisted for the age of the Universe…. The discrepancy was resolved in the 1920s by a revolutionary new theory: quantum theory."
Chown concludes that
".....resolving the cosmological constant problem will require a revolution in physics. Specifically, a theory that unites quantum theory (the theory of the very small) with Einstein’s theory of gravity (the theory of the very big). Such a theory, dubbed quantum gravity, has so far proved elusive."
Modern Big Bang cosmology, in contrast to claims such as Stephen Hawking in his book Brief Answers to the Big Questions, admits that the orthodox view of the Big Bang is in big trouble. Hawking, although committed to Big Bang cosmology, advocates a very different mechanism, called ‘string theory’."
CEH
