Understanding the Universe: From the Small to the Big

Introduction

• We are composed of very small things in a vast universe.
• The complexity of our world challenges our understanding.
• The focus will be on how we came to understand both the big (universe) and the small (atoms).

Personal Background

• Speaker grew up in IESA, Finland: limited daylight, often looked at stars.
• Stars demonstrate the vastness of the universe.
• Naked eye can see about 10,000 stars, which is comprehensible.

Growth of Astronomical Understanding

• Early telescopes revealed over a million stars, initially thought to be the limit.
• Discovery of spiral nebulae led to the revelation of galaxies.
  • Henry Leavitt's work showed those were galaxies, not just smudges in photos.
• Edwin Hubble confirmed their distance, leading to the understanding of hundreds of billions of galaxies.
• Current estimate: 7 x 10^22 stars in the universe (equivalent to all sand in deserts x 10,000).

The Role of Einstein

• Einstein's theory of relativity changed our understanding of space and the universe.
• Universe has been expanding for 13.8 billion years, originating from a very small point (the Big Bang).
• Einstein's equations are fundamental, even used in technology like GPS.

Atoms and Energy

• Atoms initially considered smallest units; however, advancements showed they contain even smaller components (nuclei).
• Marie Curie’s radium discovery highlighted energy release from atomic reactions.
• Rutherford discovered the nucleus, leading to quantum mechanics.
• E=mc²: small amounts of mass can be converted to energy.

Transistors and Complexity in Technology

• Development of transistors in 1947 marked the beginning of digital computing.
• Transistors can be made extremely small (e.g., modern transistors are 20 nanometers).
• There are now more transistors than stars in the universe.

Complexity of Biological Systems

• Human DNA complexity revealed: 98% previously thought to be junk is crucial for cellular control.
• Understanding biological systems is much more complex than anticipated (comparable to CERN's Large Hadron Collider).

Challenges of Increasing Complexity

• Our systems (finance, energy, health) are becoming more interconnected and complex.
• Fragile systems can lead to rapid failures (e.g., 2008 financial crisis, 2010 flash crash).
• Global connectivity increases the speed at which problems can escalate (e.g., pandemics).

Solutions and Opportunities

• There are opportunities in embracing complexity and finding resilience in systems.
• Decentralized systems (e.g., solar power, Bitcoin) may offer more stability.
• Leveraging collective intelligence and crowdsourcing for complex problem-solving (e.g., gaming platforms for scientific research).

Conclusion

• Embrace complexity but seek simplicity in solutions.
• Growing up mirrors the process of adapting to complexity in life.
• Adventure begins when we face and embrace the unknown.