When we question the reality of the universe, the first thing that comes to most people's minds is whether matter really exists. Is everything we see with our eyes, touch with our hands and feel the weight of really “solid”? Or is it the reflection of a truth on the surface? Scientific data show that as we descend to the smallest building blocks of matter, reality is far more different and astonishing than we imagine.
A scientific discovery made in November 2018 revealed a rather striking picture on this subject. The research focused on protons, one of the fundamental building blocks of the universe. As far as we know, protons are made up of quarks. Quarks, on the other hand, are regarded as the smallest known building blocks of matter. Yet what is astonishing is that only 1% of the proton's mass comes from quarks. So where does the remaining 99% of its mass come from?
Dr. Yi-Bo Yang, who conducted the research, and Andre Walker-Loud of Berkeley Laboratory explain the answer to this question: 99% of the proton's mass arises from the quantum forces that hold the quarks together, in other words, from the complex interactions of quarks and gluons. In other words, your body, the objects you use, the stars and everything in the universe are not actually made of “solid” matter. Everything is a manifestation of the energy that exists in quantum fields.
The Size of the Atom
If the nucleus were the size of a marble, the atomic electron cloud would extend to a distance of approximately 100 meters.
Let us pause for a moment and try to understand this fact. When we think of matter, we generally trace a path extending through molecules, atoms and nuclei, and ultimately down to quarks. Quarks are the most fundamental building blocks known to us. Yet when we go deeper than quarks, we encounter quantum fields. Here, there is another particle that holds the quarks together and is constantly moving inside the proton: Gluons. Gluons are, in a sense, referred to as “virtual” particles because their existence is momentary, temporary and constantly changing. At intervals as short as a trillionth of a second, they weave the fabric of the universe. With such a rapid cycle of coming into existence and disappearing, reality is reshaped at every moment. We, in turn, are within this constantly changing process, renewed at every moment.
God has revealed to us in the Qur'an:
“… Every day He is engaged in some affair…” (Surat ar-Rahman, 29)
God's creation is continuous and uninterrupted. Even at the most fundamental level of matter, there is a new creation, a new formation at every moment. In other words, reality is not static and unchanging as we perceive it; it is a process brought into existence anew at every moment and constantly renewed.
So how does this 99% of the mass come into being scientifically? Research shows that four main elements contribute to the mass of the proton:
- Quark Condensate (~9%): Inside the proton, there is a “sea” formed by up and down quarks and virtual strange quarks. This condensate is the only contribution, in other words, the only component, that would disappear if the quark masses were zero.
- Quark Energy (~32%): This is the kinetic energy of the quarks inside the proton.
- Gluon Field Energy (~37%): This arises from the kinetic energy of gluons.
Gluon Anomaly Contribution (~23%): This arises entirely through quantum effects and is related to the QCD (Quantum Chromodynamics) mass scale. It consists of contributions from the condensates of all quark types.
What is noteworthy here is that even if the volume of all the up, down and strange quark masses were zero, more than 90% of the proton's experimental mass would still exist. In other words, almost all the known mass in the universe arises from the dynamics of quarks and gluons. The essence of matter is, in fact, energy and a state of constant movement, constant formation, in other words, creation.
God is the possessor of a power Who does not create matter as a fixed entity, but brings it into existence anew at every moment and sustains it with a new creation at every moment. Even at the most fundamental level of matter, it is possible to see the traces of this creation. Reality is not static and unchanging as we perceive it; it is a process created anew at every moment and constantly renewed.
Scientists use a special calculation method they call “lattice QCD” to understand these extraordinarily complex processes. You can liken this to a carpet being woven knot by knot: Quarks and gluons constantly move within an invisible network, forming the mass of the proton. Every knot represents an energy fluctuation, a moment of creation and disappearance… And this process is so rapid and continuous that we perceive it as a fixed reality. Yet everything emerges anew and is created anew at every moment.
Let us consider an example from daily life: When we watch a movie, the successive frames change so rapidly that our eyes perceive them as a single flowing image. Yet every frame is a separate moment. Just like these movie frames, the reality of matter is a process that is rewritten at every moment, yet appears continuous and fixed to us.
This scientific fact is in perfect harmony with the verse in the Qur'an that says, “Every day He is engaged in some affair.” God's creation manifests itself anew at every moment, even at the most fundamental level of matter. In the quantum world, particles and fields are in a state of constant change and formation; this change is so rapid and continuous that physicists resort to very small units such as “Planck time” to describe the timescale of these processes. In other words, even in the smallest units of time in the universe, matter and energy are constantly rearranged, as if created anew at every moment. God's creation is refreshed and renewed at every moment, everywhere and in everything.
“Have they not seen how God brings creation out of nothing, then reproduces it? That is easy for God." (Surat al-Ankabut, 19)
