After having
introduced the concept of axioms and how they work in the first three parts of
this series, we now delve into the very structure of matter and look at the atom
and its parts. We will see how the revelation of Wisdom from Below brought a new
view of unity in the physical world. Recall the sicha in which the Rebbe
Melech HaMoshiach explains that this recognition of unity is a preparation for
the absolute unity of Hashem, which will be revealed in the Era of Moshiach (see
Part 1).
First let’s
summarize the role that the axiomatic method plays in modern science:
1) It shows that
no scientific conclusions can be considered absolute. They are only valid
relative to the axioms on which they are based.
2) It shows that
there is a limit to human knowledge. We can never claim to have penetrated the
full depths of reality. All we can ever hope to do is to make observations and
state our assumptions based on those observations. The scientific theories that
we then develop are “not about some phase of the existing world, but are about
whatever is postulated by thought,” i.e., about our assumptions.
3) It brings a
high degree of unity to our picture of the physical world as there is now a
uniform method for developing scientific theories.
Electricity
In the famous
sicha of Parshas Noach (see Part 1) the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach says that
before the fountains of wisdom below broke open people would look at the various
forces of nature as being diverse and unrelated forces. One of the best examples
of this is what we now call electricity. Many phenomena resulting from
electricity have been known for thousands of years, but were not known to be
manifestations of electricity per se. They were not even thought to have
any connection with each other. For example, as far back as the time of the
Greeks people knew of such phenomena as the “marvels concerning the attraction
of amber,” as Plato called it. When amber is rubbed with a cloth it attracts
small lightweight objects such as straw. Another phenomenon observed was a
certain pale glow sometimes seen on the tips of pointed objects such as ships’
masts, especially during thunderstorms. The stunning effect of touching an
electric eel was known, and of course, the most well known electric phenomenon
of all: lightning. Since the Greek word for amber is “elektron,” these
phenomena eventually became known as electricity. But in the time of the Greeks
no connection was seen between them.
(At this point
we should comment on repeated reference to “the time of the Greeks.” This is a
common reference point in the history of science, since their mathematical and
scientific writings are available for reference. However, the Greeks were not
necessarily the ones who discovered the phenomenon or originated the concept, as
the historians of science themselves sometimes indicate. We have already seen
that the Greeks learned mathematical astronomy from the Jews [see Part 3]. The
Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach once explained that, generally speaking, all of the
sciences can be traced back to chochmas Mitzrayim, the science of ancient
Egypt. Even those sciences that made their first appearances later in other
countries, can be traced back to ancient Egypt. Thus, when the prophet wishes to
describe the great wisdom of Shlomo HaMelech, he says that it was even greater
than the wisdom of Egypt.)
For thousands of
years not much more was discovered about electricity than what was known in the
time of the Greeks. Then, in the late 1700’s investigations into the properties
of electricity revealed some new information. But it was not until the mid
1800’s, after the fountains of Wisdom from Below broke open, that the real
nature of electricity - and magnetism, and, most importantly, the integration of
electricity and magnetism - took place.
It should be
pointed out that “the 600th year of the 6th millennium” (1840 CE) which the
Zohar speaks of is what we might call the breakthrough year. Prior to that year,
both in the Wisdom from Above and in the Wisdom from Below, we find what we
might call a buildup. Consider the example which the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach
discusses in the sicha of Parshas Noach: the publication of the
maamarim of the Alter Rebbe. In the year 5597 (1837 CE) the Tzemach Tzedek
had prepared two volumes of the Alter Rebbe’s maamarim for publication.
They were to be published under the title Torah Ohr. At the time, only
the first volume was published; the second was published 10 years later under
the title Likkutei Torah. This was the breakthrough of Wisdom from Above.
It is
interesting to note, first of all, that the year of publication of Torah Ohr
was 1837, three years before 1840. More significantly, however, is the fact
that these were maamarim of the Alter Rebbe which had been said over the
years 1796-1812 (HaYom Yom, 3 Shevat). The Tzemach Tzedek himself had spent
32,000 hours over a 30 year period (1804-1834) in intense study of the Alter
Rebbe’s Maamarim, beginning work on their publication in 1834. Thus, there was a
period of buildup prior to the breakthrough year. Indeed, in the case of the
flood in the time of Noach, the basis of the statement in the Zohar, there was a
preparatory period of 120 years before the flood itself, which was in 600th year
of the life of Noach”.
Similarly, in
the Wisdom from Below, we find that the following important facts about
electricity were revealed in the century prior to 1840:
1) It was found
that while, on the one hand, charged pieces of amber attracted small lightweight
objects, on the other hand, two such charged pieces of amber actually
repelled each other. It was further found that there are two different types
of electric charges which came to be called positive and negative. Each of these
types attracted the opposite type and repelled its own type.
2) Devices for
storing electric charge (such as a battery) and for measuring electric charge
were developed. Thus it became possible to talk about electric charge
quantitatively.
3) It was
determined that lightning was, in fact, an electric charge as was the charge of
the eel.
The Unification of Electricity and Magnetism
Magnetism is a
phenomenon which has been known for thousands of years. Around the time of the
Arizal it was discovered that the earth itself is a magnet, which proved useful
in the navigation of the oceans; one could find his direction using a magnetic
compass. But while magnetic poles appeared to behave the same way as electric
charges, no connection was known between them. Electric charges did not
influence the magnets in any way nor did the magnets have any influence on
electric charges.
Then, one day in
the year 1820, Hans Oersted, a Danish physicist, was walking to his lecture at
the University of Copenhagen. On the way, he had an idea. If static electricity
did not affect magnets in any way, maybe things would be different if one tried
electricity moving through a wire connecting the two poles of a battery.
Arriving at the classroom filled with a crowd of young students, he placed a
battery on the lecture table, connected its two opposite ends with a platinum
wire, and placed a compass needle close to it. The needle, which was supposed to
orient itself in the north-south direction, turned around and came to rest in
the direction perpendicular to the wire. The audience was not impressed, but
Oersted was. The unification of electricity and magnetism had just taken place.
The electric current flowing through the wire was generating a magnetic field
around the wire, and the magnet turned in the direction of that magnetic field.
Electromagnetism, as Oersted called it, had just been discovered.
Oersted
submitted his discovery to a prominent French journal of physics whose editors
were rather skeptical of the results. They published it, but they did so with a
note of apology. They said that they don’t usually publish such extraordinary
findings for fear that they are fake. “But in regard to the paper by Mr. Oersted,”
they continued, “the results obtained by him, however singular they may appear,
are accompanied by too many details to give place to any suspicion of error.”
This was a scenario which was to repeat itself several times over the coming
century: extraordinary revelations of Wisdom from Below which were to be greeted
with skepticism and sometimes ridicule by the scientific community. This may be
attributed to the fact that these revelations were not simply the results of the
natural progression of scientific research, but rather the result of an infusion
of wisdom, a flood of knowledge, that was being forced into the world. And it
was coming faster than the world could handle it.
(To be continued.)
In connection
with 20 Menachem Av,
yartzeit of Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Schneerson. Questions & comments should be
directed to RYALinst@aol.com