Nature in her divine wisdom conceals the enormity and complexity of physical reality. May be so that humans do not get overwhelmed and scared. Many believe this to be the raison d’être why we humans started worshiping her, the origin of all religion.
The reality that is presented to us as a direct experience of our senses is a very simplified and truncated one. The complex and vastness of physical reality is best depicted in Hindu mythology by Lord Krishna’s revelation of such a divine vision to Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita.
This truncated reality is somewhat like what will be perceived by a tribal boy of Andaman Nicobar who never had an opportunity to attend school or college. His entire physical world is limited and confined to what he can see with his bare eyes or touch with finger or the sound he can hear with his ears.
He only knows the colours of rainbow he occasionally observe in the sky, when raining. He knows about twinkling stars, the moon some time full but then changing shapes and once a while not appearing at all. He has also noticed after long gaps that some time a dark shadow appears on the moon but then it gradually disappear. He has also observes that the bright sun also get a dark shadow sometime complete. Whenever such dark shadow appear on moon or sun he and his tribal men get frightened and expecting a natural calamity move to safer places in the forest.
He has also heard the thunders of clouds during rainy season and bright lightning in the sky. He has also seen some trees catching fire due to lightning fall. His mentors have told him that when the sky god gets angry due to us not following certain customs that such a phenomenon occurs. He is quite satisfied with this explanation.
He has also notice that in the forest there are many different plants and these plants have medicinal and healing values. He thinks that the ocean that surrounds his island and the sky up extend endlessly.
Modern Science over 100’s of years especially in last two centuries have been able to extend the reality much beyond a tribal boy could imagine and directly experience with his senses.
Ask a right and meaningful question Nature is kind enough to respond candidly without bias, this is what scientist calls an Experiment. All scientific facts are acquired and accumulated through such a tedious process only. The personal beliefs of a scientist play no role in this.
Models qualitative as well as quantitative are developed based on such facts. Predictions are made based on these models, these predictions are then put to new and modify experiments and model is thereby improved.
In direct experiences beyond that of sense perceptions have been made available by inventing more and more instruments. The most common being telescopes, microscopes and different types of detectors. We have Telescope to look far beyond what our bare eyes can see in the sky. We have Microscope which helps us observe those bacteria which one cannot just with eyes. In fact Optical Telescope and Microscope have become so common place that we even forget that they are instruments to help us go beyond our senses. We have detectors that can detect X-Rays, Microwaves which we cannot directly see.
Today we know of vast reality that extends far beyond that presented by a common instrument like Telescope, Microscope, and Spectroscopes working in optical range.
Humans are secretive about their affairs; we promptly apply for a Patent if happens to get some tiny bit of useful idea. Nature, however, is very generous she doesn’t mind giving us clean air to breathe, clean water to drink for free. Ask any frank question, answer will be equally frank, unlike us. She has no secrets to hide but they are locked in codes which are not easy to decode. Usually she is giving away smilingly whatever natural resource you ask for. But if humans get greedy she may get angry even violent. Landslides, deluge may follow on earth. Even planets, stars may get devoured.
Humans claim that they are peace loving although it is not borne out by data. We have fought two world wars which many believe were not needed in the first place. Whether in Europe or Middle East or Asia battles and wars have been very common. Nature has no revulsion to violence she never claims to be peace loving. Stellar Winds, Stars collision, even galaxies interacting with one another producing spectre of high energy radiations violent explosions are common in remote parts of our universe.
Humans over centuries have been able build up a catalogue of her basic temperament the so called Laws of Physics. While, we know to a great extent the way nature behaves but still we have no clue as to why it behaves that way. Conservation of energy, momentum, charge, constancy of velocity of light c are many such building blocks of nature.
The three articles that will follow this introductory one will describe in a popular way
a) Reality beyond Telescope: the Stars and Galaxy
b) Reality under Microscope: Molecular and Cell Biology
c) Reality beyond colours of Rainbow: the ElectroMagnetic Spectrum and the Ubiquitous Photon .
Sugandh Sharma is a Major in Biology. Ashish Kumar Gupta is a IT Professional. V K Tandon is Ex-Faculty IITR.