Matter from nothing

[marli]

Empty space (nothingness) is made up of matter and antimatter, and theoretically can be separated into such (though we don't have the kind of power needed to do it.) It is thus completely possible for God to create matter from nothing, and yet logically explain it. But what did He do with the antimatter? Is there any implication of the existence of such in Scripture?

 

[Null-Geodesic]

You are confusing virtual particles via the Uncertainty Principle with baryongenesis.

 

[lucaspa]

Empty space (nothingness) is made up of matter and antimatter, and theoretically can be separated into such (though we don't have the kind of power needed to do it.) It is thus completely possible for God to create matter from nothing, and yet logically explain it. But what did He do with the antimatter? Is there any implication of the existence of such in Scripture?

Empty space contains matter. Itis not "made up of matter and antimatter". Spacetime is a separate entity from matter/energy.

The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation is the light emitted when the matter/antimatter annihilated each other shortly after the Big Bang. There was a slight -- 1 part in a billion -- assymmetry between the amount of matter and antimatter. What we have left is the 1 in a billion excess of matter. If you add the photons in the CMBR, there are a billion photons for every particle of matter in the universe. Just what it should be.

 

[gluadys]

You are confusing virtual particles via the Uncertainty Principle with baryongenesis.

Could you clear up the confusion please?

 

[herev]

Well, I don't know what anybody's talking about, but somehow I keep comeing back for more!

 

[lucaspa]

Well, I don't know what anybody's talking about, but somehow I keep comeing back for more!

In the OP, marli is referring to virtual particles. "empty" space -- vacuum -- really isn't empty. Paticles are popping into existence all the time, lasting for a short time -- 10^23 seconds -- and popping out of existence again. I have heard it that virtual particles come in matter-antimatter pairs, altho the experiments I have seen don't confirm this.

Anyway, the particles "borrow" energy from the vacuum. E = mc^2. So, the borrowed E can make some m. But, since it is borrowed, the energy is paid back and the matter disappears again.

Now, Hawking proposed that, around a black hole, when the matter-antimatter pair popped into existence, that sometimes the antimatter particle would be captured by the black hole but the matter particle would not. Thus, black holes would radiate -- seemingly emit matter and photons. I think radiation from black holes has been confirmed by observation but I'd have to double check that.

Now, if energy is added -- say, via a particle accelerator -- then the virtual particles are given enough E to make them permanent.

Some of the calculations indicate that the entire universe might be a quantum fluctuation. The positive energy of matter and the expansion is balanced by the negative energy of gravity, so the net energy of the universe is zero. The universe may be the ultimate in virtual particles and the ultimate free lunch. Of course, if that is the case, then the universe is uncaused and not created.

I can't think of anything in scripture that could be misinterpreted to be antimatter.