An amazing time machine...

In the world of physics, scientists have spent years trying to figure out how it is that we've come to be in our present state of existence. No other true science is able to delve as far back in time with some of the most astonishing discoveries, predictions, and revelations. In fact, all other fields of science, when looked at in their most elemental form are fundamentally rooted in physics too. So in essence, it could be said that everything we know about our physical existence can eventually be traced and correlated to the science of physics. All of the forces in the Universe interact with everything that is, in order for everything to be.

The moment in which everything started, what could be considered in the scientific world as the moment of creation, has been given the name as "The Big Bang." Scientists, in their hunger to understand how the Universe has come to exist as it is today, developed what is called The Big Bang Theory. In this theory, some of the greatest minds of all time have slowly contributed discoveries which have revealed what the original conditions, or state of things, must of been in order for our Universe to be what it is now. A great deal of debate has always been present in these discoveries and somewhat amazing conclusions, since in order to mathematically prove them to be right, scientists must first be able to accurately estimate the age or our Universe and then figure out all of the things that needed to happen from that moment on in order for it to look and behave as it does today. Currently, the most scientifically based research has estimated the Universe to be 13.75 billion years old, give or take 0.17 billion years. Every time new research makes a discovery in which any of the parameters used to calculate the age of the Universe changes, the estimate of how long ago The Big Bang occurred also changes.

When astronauts had the first peak at our planet from their perspective of being out in space, the description was given that Earth seemed as a big blue marble floating in space. Our planet is estimated to be 4.54 billion years of age, which means it has only existed for the last one third of the existence of the Universe in itself. What impresses me the most about all of these age calculations and discoveries is their state of flux. Depending on the research you will find estimates for the existence of humans on Earth, anywhere from 2.5 millions years ago, to a mere 12 thousand years only. What this probably tell us is that as smart as we think that we are, we still have plenty to learn. Just less than 15 years ago, even though scientist were pretty sure that our solar system could not be the only star containing planets they did not have any means of proving it. From zero extrasolar planets, as of March 2010 the count is at 431 planets proven to exist outside of our solar system. Originally, scientist believed that our Milky Way galaxy was the only one in the Universe. Today, it is known that in the observable universe there are probably more than 170 billion galaxies. These galaxies come in many sizes and shapes, which in turn contain as little as 10 million stars, and as much as 1 trillion stars orbiting their center. Our own Milky Way galaxy is believed to contain something like 100 billion stars.

Because our Universe is believed to be expanding since its first moment of existence, The Big Bang, the probable size of our Universe is is measured in units that reflect the amount of time that it takes light to travel in one year called a light year. What we are able to observe is called the observable cosmos, but the size of the Universe cannot simply be defined by what our limited abilities are able to see. Instead scientist believe that the size of the entire Universe includes much more space and the entire cosmos has a volume of at least 439 quinquatrigintillion cubic light years (this is the number 439 followed by 108 zeros). This my dear friends is a very, very large number.

On a clear and dark night if you are able to get away from all of the light pollution that our cities create, the night sky comes to life full of tiny shinny points of light. Your eyes, once accustomed to darkness, will absorb the fundamental particles of light called photons, which were released by ancient stars mostly from our own Milky Way galaxy. The closest star to us is called Proxima Centauri and its photons took at least 4 years to reach your eyes. If Proxima Centauri would suddenly disappear, you would not be aware of it until 4.2421 years after it happened, since that is how long it would take its last photons to arrive here on Earth. This is why looking into the night sky is considered as looking back in time.

Yesterday, as I drove home after work and was pulling into my driveway I found my son and one of his friends sitting on the ground of the stone paved walkway entrance to my front door, guitars in hand playing and singing songs. The view lifted my heart, my spirits, my emotional well being. To make things better the tune that they were playing and singing at the moment was "Cat's in the Cradle," an old folk rock song originally written by Harry Chapin's wife, Sandy Chapin, as a poem from the album Verities and Balderdash, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in December of 1974. Most of us have heard this song in which a father is always promising his child that he will spend more time with him, but his hectic life keeps all of the promises unfulfilled. Eventually, the son grows up and when the father finally asks the son for time, the son replies with the same answer he heard so many times coming out of his own father's lips revealing that life father like son he grew up to be just as his dad. Music, just like those tiny spots of shinny light in the sky, is like an amazing time machine. Just hearing my son singing this song took me back in time to when I was a young teenager hearing the melody over the radio and wondering what kind of a father I would grow up to be eventually. My dad was a good man and dedicated father. I have a vast pool of memories to access at will which like stars in the sky travel in time to remind me of what my childhood was like as I grew up. My father was not a perfect man, no father is, but I remember him much more for his loving heart than I do for any of his imperfections. I carry in my mind, as much as in my blood, the good genes of parents that have done everything in their power to make me feel as if I am the most important part of their lives. In fact, my mother still does so in every chance that she has to share with me. Her love is so powerful that I cannot remember a moment in my life in which I actually felt totally alone. Without a doubt in my mind, heart, and soul, I can safely say that my entire family, including my brother and sisters are like stars so bright that contrary to the stars in the sky, I am completely able to see them even during daytime too. Throughout my life they have all shined unconditionally regardless of their own personal circumstances. What a beautiful example I have had to learn from and to emulate.

My life will not be measured in billions of years as those of the planets, stars, galaxies, and the Universe. In fact, I feel blessed every day that I wake up in the morning with air in my lungs, my heart beating, and my mind alert to what surrounds me. As amazing as physics and all of the above discoveries that I mentioned might seem, nothing compares to the knowledge that I hold in my mind and heart of the unwavering love that I feel towards my children. If the Universe on its own is capable of persisting and enduring the passage of time in the scale of billions of years, I have absolutely no excuse as a sentient being, with free will and the ability to make choices, to not put in every effort I am capable of in becoming a good father. I am glad my sons are exactly the way they are, full of wonder, and love, but also many times impulsive and even reckless. Do I wish that they get past this stage? Of course I do, mostly so that I can watch they bloom into great men. However, I have learned that life is full of amazing wonders, and if the Universe is able to create 439 quinquatrigintillion cubic light years of space out of nothing, I think I should be able to create enough space in my life for my kids just the way they are today.

Dad