Claim CF101:
The first law of thermodynamics says matter/energy cannot come from
nothing. Therefore, the universe itself could not have formed naturally.
(See also CE440: Origin of everything.)
Source:
Brown, Walt, 1995. In the beginning: Compelling evidence for creation
and the Flood. Phoenix, AZ: Center for Scientific Creation, p. 21.
Response:
- Formation of the universe from nothing need not violate conservation of
energy. The gravitational potential energy of a gravitational field is
a negative energy. When all the gravitational potential energy is
added to all the other energy in the universe, it might sum to zero
(Guth 1997, 9-12,271-276; Tryon 1973).
References:
- Guth, Alan H., 1997. (see below)
- Tryon, Edward P., 1973. Is the universe a vacuum fluctuation?
Nature 246: 396-397.
Further Reading:
Guth, Alan H., 1997. The Inflationary Universe. Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley.
created 2003-4-22, modified 2004-4-27
