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He is Allah - the Creator, the Maker, the Giver of Form. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Everything in the heavens and earth glorifies Him. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise. (Surat al-Hashr: 24)
The electric charge they carry obliges electrons to obey certain laws of physics. One of these laws of physics is that "same electrical charges repel each other and opposite charges attract each other".
First, under normal circumstances, the electrons, all negatively charged, would be expected to repel each other by obeying this rule and shoot away from the nucleus. Yet, this does not happen. If the electrons were scattered from the nucleus, then the universe would consist of idle protons, neutrons and electrons wandering in the void. Second, the positively charged nucleus would be expected to attract the negative charged electrons and the electrons would stick to the nucleus. In that case, the nucleus would attract all the electrons and the atom would implode.
However, none of these things occur. The abovementioned extraordinary escape velocities of the electrons (1,000 km/sec), the repelling force they exert on each other and the force of attraction the nucleus exerts on the electrons are based on such precise values that these three contradicting factors perfectly balance each other. As a result, this outstanding system inside the atom runs without falling apart. Even if a single one of these forces impinging on the atom were a little bit more or less than it has to be, the atom would never exist.
In addition to these factors, if the nuclear forces keeping protons and neutrons in the nucleus together did not exist, protons having equal charges could not even come close to each other, much less bond together in a nucleus. In the same manner, the neutrons would never be able to stick to the nucleus. As a result, there would be no nucleus and therefore, no atom.
All these fine calculations are indications that even a single atom is not idle but acts under the perfect control of Allah. Otherwise, it would be inevitable that the universe we live in would end before it started. This process would backfire at the outset and the universe would not form. However, Allah, the Creator of everything, the Omnipotent and the Almighty, established extremely precise equilibriums inside the atom just as He established all the balances in the universe, thanks to which the atom continues to exist in perfect order.
Scientists have spent their best efforts over the years to unravel the secret of this balance established by Allah, and have ended up with merely appointing certain names to observed phenomena such as "the electromagnetic force", "the strong nuclear force", "the weak nuclear force", and "the mass attraction force". Yet, as mentioned in the introductory part of the book, no one has given a thought to the question "Why?" Why do these forces act at certain intensities under certain rules? Why do the domains that are governed by these forces, the rules they obey, and the intensity of these forces have such great harmony?
Scientists were desperate in the face of all these questions because all they can do is guess at the order in which the events take place. Their research, however, gave rise to an indisputable reality. Every point in the universe reveals the intervention of an Owner of intellect and will Who does not leave even a single atom idle. There is a single power that holds all forces together in harmony, and that is Allah, Who holds all the power and might. Allah manifests His might wherever He wills whenever He wills. The entire universe from the smallest atom to the endless galaxies is able to continue its existence only by Allah's will and preservation.
In the Qur'an, Allah states that there is no power but Him and He announces the punishment of those who, unaware of this, assume that the powerless beings (animate or inanimate) He created have power and strength independently of Him, and attribute divine characteristics to them.Oh, that those who do evil had but known, (on the day) when they see the punishment, that power belongs wholly to Allah, and that Allah is severe in punishment! (Surat al-Baqara: 165)
So far no scientist has yet been able to explain the cause and source of the forces in the atom and therefore in the universe, and why certain forces come into play on certain occasions. What science does is only to make observations, take measurements and designate "names" for them. Such "namings" are regarded as great discoveries in the world of science. In fact, what scientists do is not an attempt to form a new equilibrium in the universe or build a new system but just an effort to comprehend and unravel the secret of the evident equilibrium in the cosmos. What they mostly do is simply observe one of the countless wonders of Allah's creation in the universe and assigning a name to it. Scientists detecting a superior system or structure created by Allah are awarded various scientific prizes, honoured and admired by other people. In this case, the one who really should be honoured is, without doubt, Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Who brought that system into being when it was not, furnished it with exceedingly delicate balances, and endlessly creates extraordinary miracles the like of them.
It is Allah Who created the seven heavens and of the earth the same number, the Command descending down through all of them, so that you might know that Allah has power over all things and that Allah encompasses all things in His knowledge. (Surat at-Talaq: 12)
| ACCELERATED PARTICLES Accelerators and Colliders Studying the particles that are the building blocks of matter is possible by investigating particles that are millions of times smaller than the atom. Research on these extremely minute particles may only be carried out using very enormous and complex particle physics experimental apparatuses. Such highly complex experiments can only be controlled with extensive use of computers. High-energy particle physics is a field of science that studies the building blocks of matter and the interactions between them. Recent experiments carried out by the help of new high technology allow us to rapidly expand our knowledge on the composition of matter. Research on particle physics is conducted in particle accelerator laboratories kilometres in diameter. In particle accelerators, charged particles – mostly protons and electrons – are accelerated to great velocities in an electromagnetic field and directed into a cloud chamber. The accelerated particles are then made to collide with either fixed targets or with each other. The particles shattered as a result of these collisions are examined by various detector systems. The accelerator and detector technologies, whose sophistication increasingly progressed from the 1950's on, made very high-energy collisions possible. The study of these collisions by advanced detector systems gave way to the discovery that protons and neutrons, known as the basis of matter, have a sub-structure composed of particles called quarks. Measurements made at high energy levels gave scientists the opportunity to study the composition of matter at distances as small as one hundredth of the radius of the proton. Accelerator laboratories are found only in a few centres in the world as their foundation and operation are very costly. The most important ones are CERN (Geneva), DESY (Hamburg), Fermilab-FNAL (Chicago) and SLC (California). High-energy physicists participate in experimental studies in these centres in large groups and study the secrets of the atom. Among these laboratories, the SLC is 3 km in diameter and CERN 27 km. However, the champion in the competition for size is the US project SSC which is being constructed in the centre of Texas in the USA, with a perimeter diameter of about 85 kilometres. The cost of the machinery increases in direct proportion to size (For SSC, this figure will be approximately 6 billion dollars).20 |
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| CERN’s physicists carry out experiments using several enormous underground particle accelerators, the largest of which is 27 km (17 mi) in circumference.The CERN particle physics laboratory is an international research centre located on the Swiss–French border and formed by a membership of 19 European nations. The research subject of this laboratory is the basic structure of matter and the main particles forming this structure. About 3,000 physicists, engineers, technicians and administrative personnel are employed in the laboratory, which is visited by over 6,000 member physicists for research purposes. | |
Orbits of Electrons
Tens of electrons, which spin and orbit in an area unobservable even by the most powerful microscopes, create an extremely complex traffic inside the atom as we mentioned earlier. This traffic, however, is so orderly as to be incomparably more orderly than the most systematic city traffic. Electrons never collide with each other, because each electron has a separate orbit and these orbits never coincide. There are 7 electron shells around the nucleus of the atom. The numbers of electrons in these seven electron shells that never change have been specified by a mathematical formula: 2n2. The maximum numbers of electrons that can be present in each electron shell around the atom have been fixed by this formula. (The letter n in the formula shows the electron shell number).
 ELECTRONS IN THE SERVICE OF MANKIND Electricity is one of the most important parts of our life. We apparently cannot do anything without it. Our lives are tied to electricity when we eat, watch TV, go from one place to another or do cleaning. We push a button and everything around us is lit up. We push another button and all electrical devices start working. This form of electricity we use each moment of our lives is called the electric current. What make this current possible are the electrons we have been reviewing since the beginning of this book. Electricity is the charged current formed as a result of the movement of negative (-) charged electrons and ions. Devices like television and the refrigerator in ordinary use draw 1-2 ampere electricity. So, what does this amount mean? A current of 1 ampere per second means the transmission of 6 billion times a billion electrons from a given section per second. This figure is one million times more for a bolt of lightning. |
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 Electrons follow an extremely complex orbit within the atom. Although a much more crowded environment than city traffic is formed in such a small place, not even one accident takes place. |
...Allah has appointed a measure for all things. (Surat at-Talaq: 3)
.He created everything and determined it most exactly. (Surat al-Furqan: 2)
Everything has its measure with Him, the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible, the Most Great, the High-Exalted. (Surat ar-R'ad: 8-9)
As for the earth, We stretched it out and cast firmly embedded mountains in it and made everything grow in due proportion on it. (Surat al-Hijr: 19)
The sun and the moon both run with precision. (Surat ar-Rahman: 5)
He erected heaven and established the balance. (Surat ar-Rahman: 7)
As the verses reveal, Allah, the Lord of all the worlds, is He Who creates everything in perfect proportion, measure and order. This proportion and measure cover the entire realm of beings from the smallest sub-atomic particle to the gigantic celestial bodies in space: solar systems, galaxies and everything between them. This is the outcome of the endless and infinite might, knowledge, artistry and wisdom of Allah. Allah introduces His attributes to human beings in the perfect measure, order, and equilibrium in the beings and systems He creates. He displays His endless power before our very eyes. This is the truth to which all scientific research and calculations must lead man. Wave or Particle?
When electrons were first discovered, they were thought to be particles like the protons and neutrons found in the nucleus. In the experiments that followed, however, it was discovered that they display wave characteristics like light particles, that is, photons. Subsequently, quantum physicists came to the conclusion that every particle is simultaneously a wave form with its own distinct frequency.| SIGNS FROM THE QUR'AN When studying the subject of electron shells, one must also think over a verse pointing to this subject in the Qur'an. There are 7 electron shells around the nucleus of the atom. On each shell are electrons in fixed numbers. Could it be that the expression "the seven heavens" used in the Qur'an to describe the layers forming the heavens, may also be pointing to the orbits electron shells that are as if the heavens of the atom? He Who created the seven heavens in layers. You will not find any flaw in the creation of the All-Merciful. Look again – do you see any gaps? (Surat al-Mulk: 3) This figure never changes. It never becomes 6 or 8. Here, the really miraculous thing is that this figure of seven electron shells is in total harmony with the verse. |
To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth. When He decides on something, He just says to it, 'Be!' and it is. (Surat al-Baqarah: 117)
The World Full of Colour Whose Gates are Opened by Electrons
Have you ever thought what it would be like to live in a world without colour? Try to visualise your body, the people around you, the seas, the sky, trees, flowers, in short, everything in black. You would never want to live in such a world, would you? What makes the earth colourful? How do the colours, which make our world so extraordinarily beautiful, come into being?
Certain characteristics present in the nature of matter allow us perceive objects in colour. Colours are formed as a natural result of certain motions of the electrons inside the atom. You may think "What do the motions of electrons have to do with colours?" Let's briefly explain this relationship:
Electrons revolve only in electron shells. We just mentioned that there are 7 electron shells. Each electron shell has a specific level of energy, which varies depending on the distance of the shell from the nucleus. The closer an electron shell is to the nucleus, the less energy its electrons have, and the farther it is to the nucleus, the more energy its electrons have.
Each electron shell has "sub-shells", among which the electrons of that shell continuously move.
An electron needs to receive external energy to be able to travel outwards between the shells. The source of this energy is the "photon".
In its simplest terms, the photon is a "light particle". Every star in the universe is a source of photons. The most important source of photons for our world is, of course, the sun. Photons are diffused throughout space from the sun at a speed of 300,000 km a second.
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Let us again list these steps that have to work according to plan and in order for the formation of a universe with colours instead of a dark one.
To sum up, the colour of an object in fact consists of a mixture of these light particles that are absorbed, then emitted by this object, and reach our eyes. The colour of an object that does not emit light itself but reflects the light it receives from the sun depends both on the light it receives and the change it makes on this light. If the object illuminated with white light appears "red", this is because it absorbs a large portion of the mixture that arrives to it from the sunrays and emits only red. By saying "it absorbs", we mean the following:
 70% of the rays reaching our earth from the sun are just appropriate for the existence of life on the earth. |
 A great variety of rays arrive on the earth from the sun. As seen in the electromagnetic spectrum to left, we only perceive a very small portion of these rays. |
This means that the colour of an object depends on the character of the light emitted from the light source and how much of this light is re-emitted by the object in question. For instance, the colour of a dress is not the same under sunlight and in a store. If an object is perceived as black by our brain, it means that this object absorbs all the light coming from the sun reflecting none to the outside. In the same manner, if the object reflects all light coming from the sun and does not absorb any of it, then it is perceived as white by our brain. In this case, the points that need careful consideration are the following:
1. The colour of an object depends on the properties of the light emitted by the light source.
2. The colour of an object depends on the reaction of the electrons of the molecules in its structure, as to which light these electrons will absorb and which they will not.
3. The colour of an object depends on how our brain will perceive the photon striking the retina.
Here, let us stop and think once more.
The electrons that revolve at incredible speed around the nucleus of the atom, which is a matter too small to be seen with the eye, suddenly disappear from their own shells and jump to another place called a sub-shell. There also needs to be a space available on the sub-shell for this leap. They are supplied the energy they require during the process by absorbing photons. They then go back to their original orbits. During this action, colours perceivable by the human eye are formed. What's more, atoms in number expressible in trillions keep doing this every moment, thanks to which we are able to view an uninterrupted "image".
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| The superior design in the formation of colours leads us to a single fact: the universe has been created in a great harmony and order from its smallest to its largest particles. The artistry in the colours is one of the signs of Allah's perfect creation. |
Allah created every 'where' both that which we are able to see and that which we cannot, with boundless artistry and He gave innumerable favours to be at our service, whether we are aware of them or not. The subject of colours about which we previously knew nothing, and felt no need to learn, has been brought to our attention in all its details and complexity as science advanced. It is undeniable that scientific development and progress ought to cause everyone who uses his wisdom and conscience to believe in the existence of Allah. Nonetheless, people still exist who ignore the superior artistry and wisdom observable at every point in the universe. The acclaimed scientist, Louis Pasteur made an interesting remark on this subject saying "Little science takes you away from God but more of it takes you to Him".23
 Photons coming from the sun make it possible for us to see a world full of colour by impinging on the structure of the objects on the earth. |
Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the sky and by it We bring forth fruits of varying colours? And in the mountains there are streaks of white and red, of varying shades, and rocks of deep jet black. And mankind and beasts and livestock are likewise of varying colours. Only those of His slaves with knowledge have fear of Allah. Allah is Almighty, Ever-Forgiving. (Surah Fatir: 27-28)
