In
the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
A
New Astronomical Quranic Method for
The Determination Of The Greatest Speed 'C'
From an article by Dr. Mansour Hassab-Elnaby*
Abstract:
The greatest speed C, denoting the velocity of
light in vacuum, is hinted at in two glorious
Quranic verses relating this fundamental
universal contant C with the motion of the
Earth-Moon system. A new relativistic
interpretation of this Quranic relation gives
C=299792.5 km/s in an extremely marvellous
agreement with the accepted international value.
This astonishing result emphasises the unity of
the physical world, the validity of the special
theory of relativity and the authenticity of the
Glorious Quran for unbelievers.
Introduction:
The velocity of light C in vacuum belongs to
a small group of the fundamental constants;
however, it occupies an outstanding position
even within this group. First of all, it is
encountered in very different branches of
physics. It will come as no exaggeration if one
says the story of the determination of the
velocity of light is a concise history of
physics. And this story has not come to an end
yet.
From the ancient Greeks down to the Middle ages,
the speed of light was believed to be infinite.
Aristotle believed that light propagates
instantly!. In the eleventh century, an Arabic
scientist Alhassan suggests that light travels
at a finite speed. Galileo (1600) tried this
speed but he Eailed saying that light is
extraordinarily rapid(l). Roemer (1676) was the
first measuring C using the eclipses of the
Jovian satellite Io. He obtained an inaccurate
value of C (215000 km/s) because the diameter of
the earth's orbit was not known exactly.
Starting
from 17th century, experiments show the progress
of methods and techniques in the determination
of the speed C .
Froome's
value was considered to be the most accurate for
a long period until 1983 when the modulated
laser radiation interferometers were applied for
the determination of C with great precision.
According to
the US National Bureau of Standards(3): C =
299792.4574 + 0.0011 km/
and
according to the British National Physical
Laboratory C = 299792.4590 + 0.0008 km/s
A basically
new definition of the metre wasaccepted in
October 1983 at the 17th General Conference on
Measures and Weights(3):
"The
metre is the length of the path travelled by
light in vacuum during a time interval of
1/299792458 of a second".
The Fixation
of the value of C after the formation of the new
definition of the meter does not mean yet the
end of the story of this fundamental constant C.
There are numerous other questions dealing with
the realtion between this multifarious,
enigmatic constant C and the theory of
Relativity.
Recalling
the second postulate of the special theory of
relativity declared by Albert Einstein (1905):
"The
velocity C of light in vacuum is the same in all
inertial frames of reference in all directions
and depend neither on the velocity of the source
nor on the velocity of the observer".
Pauli(4)
(1958) said that the data on binarystars allowed
us to consider this postulate of the constancy
of the velocity of light to be almost certainly
correct.
According to
Einstein's general theory of relativity (1917),
the law of the constancy of the velocity C of
light in vacuum can not claim any unlimited
validity because the curvature of rays of light
can only take place when the velocity of
propagation of light varies with position!.
Einstein(4) himself solved this contradiction
between special and general relativity declaring
in his paper written (1917):
"The
results of the special relativity hold only so
long as we are able to disregard the influence
of gravitational fields on the phenomena".
This
validity condition of the second postulate of
special relativity is considered in the present
work because the constancy of the velocity C
needs absolute space (vacuum). To attain vacuum
in the Einstein's sense of this word. it is not:
sufficient just to eleminate from a volume of
space every atom, molecule and particle, it is
necessary also to get rid of the gravitational
field. Therefore we have screened out the effect
of the solar gravitational field on the
geocentric orbital motion of the moon, which is
considered here, according to the applied
Quranic equation; as a standard measure
reference for evaluating the greatest cosmic
speed described in the Holy Quranic verses.
Lunar
Orbital Motion described in Quran:
Fourteen centuries ago, the QURAN(5), i.e.
.the Holy Book of Islamic Religion, was directed
from GOD to all humanity through Prophet
Mohammad, who lived in the Arabian Peninsula.
The ARAB
people use the lunar system in their calculation
of time. The Quran addressed them in the only
language they could understand without upsetting
their habits. GOD (in Arabic ALLAH: the ONE and
Only GOD, the CREATOR) says in the Quran:
[10:5]
"He (GOD) is the One who rendered the
sun radiant, and the moon a light, and He
designed its phases that you may learn to count
the years and to calculate. GOD did not create
all this, except for a specific purpose. He
explains the revelations for people who
know."
The lunar
year is twelve months, the month is defined
recently as the time of one revolution of the
moon in its orbit around the earth. God hints at
such orbit in the Quran:
[21:33]
And He is the One who created the night and the
day, and the sun and the moon; each floating in
its own orbit.
Here an
essential scientific fact is clearly stated,
namely, the existence of the earth's, sun'so and
moon's orbits; besides, a reference is made to
the travelling of these celestial bodies in
space with their own motion! A new concept had
therefore been established in the Quran,
hundreds of years before it was discovered by
modern science(6-7)
Today the
concept of the lunar year is widely spread and,
as we know, the moon is our nearest neighbour in
space, and a companion to our planet. It is
often said that the earth and moon form a
twin-planet. As the moon orbits around the
earth, the change in the relative positions of
the moon, earth and sun cause the moon to show
its phases(8-9). The time between consecutive
new moons is 29.53 days and is called the
synodic month. During this time, however, the
earth, and consequently the moon's orbit, have
travelled some way around the sun, so the
position of the moon against the background of
stars is different. 'l;he time for the moon to
return to the same position in the sky as viewed
from earth is called the sidereal month (27.32
days) which represents the actual real net time
of one revolution in the moon's orbit. This
orbit is almost circular having an average
radius r=384264 km.
Fig. 1
describes the moon's motion during a lunar
month. Position A1 shows a new moon. Position B
(about 2 weeks later than A1) illustrates the
following full moon. Position A2 the moon has
orbited the earth once (with respect to an
apparently fixed star). Thus one sidereal period
(27.32 days) has elapsed since position A1. The
next new moon does not occur until position A3
where the moon has once again lined up with the
sun. Thus one lunar synodic period (29.53 days)
has elapsed since position A1.
Referring to
the Quranic verse (10:5), we notice that it
discriminates between the apparent synodic
period for knowing the number of years and the
real sidereal period for reckoning in scientific
calculations. These two systems of measuring
time are now given in the text books of
Astronomy as indicated(l¡) in table 1:
Table (1)
Lunar month and terrestrial:day
| Period |
Siderial |
Synodic |
| Lunar
Month T |
27.321661
days = 655.71986 hours |
29.53059
days |
| Terrestrial
day t |
23 h,
56 min 4.0906 sec = 86164.0906 sec |
24
hours = 86400 sec |
The aim of
this work is to determine the value of the
greatest speed mentioned in the following
relativistic Quranic verses. In these verses the
sideral system should be used for both the lunar
month and the terrestrial day as accurate
measured periods (with respect to a distant
apparently fixed star).
A
New Relation in the Earth-Moon System:
The length of the moons' orbit L and the time
t of one terrestrial day are correlated in a
marvellous Quranic verse which describes a
universal constant velocity of a certain cosmic
affair as follows:
[
32:5] All matters are controlled by Him (GOD)
from the heaven to the earth. To Him, the day is
equivalent to one thousand of your years.
the Quranic
expression "of your years"
leaves no doubt as to our understanding of the
year as the lunar year.
The verse
begins with a reference to a certain
"cosmic affair" which GOD creates and
commands. This affair travels, permanently
through the whole universe between the heavens
and the Earth, so speedily that it crosses in
ONE DAY a maximum distance in space equivalent
to that which the moon passes during ONE
THOUSAND LUNAR YEAR (i.e. during 12000 Sidereal
months). The question which pause.; itself now
is: what could this cosmic affair be? and what
is its greatest velocity as expressed in this
Quranic equation?.
To answer
this question. The above Quranic verse has been
understood** in terms of the following equation:
Distance
crossed in vacuum by the universal cosmic affair
in Osle sidereal day = length of 12000
revolutions of the moon around the earth.
.:. Ct =
12000 L .
where:
C is the
velocity of the cosmic affair,
t is the
time interval of one terrestrial sidereal day
kefined as the time of one rotation of the
earth. about its axis (relative to the stars).
i.e. 23 hr, 56 min, 4.0906 sec = 86164.0906sec.
)
L is the
inertial distance which the moon covers in c-o
revolution around the earth during one sidereal
month i.e. L is the net length of the moon's
orbit due to its own geocentric motion, without
the interference of its spiral motion causec by
the earth's revolution around the sun, i.e. _ is
the lunar orbit length excluding the effec- of
the solar gravitational field on the measured
value.
Let V is the
measured average orbital velocity of the moon
deduced from the average radius R of the lunar
geocentric orbit tas measured from an orbiting
earth during its heliocentric motion)
.:. V=2 Pi
*R/T....................................................(2)
substituting
R = 384264 km and T = the siderial lunar month =
655.71986 hr
.:. V=
(2X3.l4l6x384264 )/ 655.71986= 3682.07 km/hr
This value
is given in all text books of astronomy and is
accepted by NASA.
Let @ (Fig.
1) is the angle travelled by the earth moon
system around the sun during one sidereal month
of period 27.321661 days. We can calculate @ if
we take into consideration the period (365.25636
days)of one heliocentric revolution (1 year) of
the earth-moon system (Fig.l).
@ =
27.321661*360/365.25636= 26,92848
Thus @ is a
characteristic constant of this system depending
on uniformperiods of the month and the year.
Since the
presence of the sun changes the geometrical
properties of space and time , we must screen
out its gravitational effect on the earth moon
system according to the validity condition of
the second postulate of special relativity, i.e.
we must only consider the lunar geocentric
motion without the heliocentric motion of the
earth-moon system. Thus a velocity component
VO=V cosO representing the net orbital velocity
of the moon as shown in fig. (1) is introduced
for calculating the net length L of the lunar
orbit assuming a stationary earth.
.:. L = V
cos @ T ......................... (3)
From
equation (1) and (3) we get a new Quranic
relation for the earth moon system:
Ct= 12000 V
cos @
T..........................................................................................(4)
.:. Ct
=12000 V cos @
T/t....................................................................................(5)
substituting
the sidereal values of the periods t and T from
table (2), the NASA value of the measured
orbital lunar velocity V = 3682.07 km/hr., and
the calculated yalue of cos@ = cos 26.92848 =
0.89157, we get the velocity of the cosmic
affair from eq. 5 as expressed in the Holy Quran.
C=12000 x
3682.07 x 0.89157 x 655.71986/86164.0906
.:. C =
299792.5 km/s
Referring to
the international value of C = 299792.458 km/s
we find an extremely marvellous agreement. Thus
we conclude that the cosmic affair, mentioned in
the previous Quranic verse, is identical to
LIGHT and all similar cosmic affairs travelling
in vacuum with this maximum speed such as: all
types of electro magnetic waves propagating
between the heavens and the earth, the expected
Gravitational waves spreading all over the
universe, and all particles travelling in this
cosmic greatest spead such as neutrinos.
It is very
interesting to mention here the second Quranic
verse that hints at the same relativistic
Quranic equation in the earth-moon system: God
Most High said:
[
22:47] They challenge you to bring retribution,
and GOD never fails to fulfill His prophecy. A
day of your Lord is like a thousand of your
years.
Thus both
relativistic Quranic equations emphasise the
obtained value of the greatest speed C and show
that C is a permanent absolute constant.
Actually there have been no scientific evidence
that the value of C can change in time as yet.
The constancy principle of special relativity is
confirmed in the present work, which correlates
also the speed of light C in vacuum with the
celestial mechanics of the earth-moon system.
Referring to equation (4) and substituting the
velocity V from eq. (2), we find that the
average radius of the moon.
R =
[C/12000x2 Pi Cos@]*t.....................................................(6)
.:.
"The average radius R of the lunar orbit is
directly proportional to the period of one
terrestrial sidereal day t.".
This new law
deduced in the present work is important so far
as it confirms the law of conservation of
momentum in the Earth-Moon system. Moreover it
implies the influence of the tidal effect and
the gravitational change factor on the this
system.
According to
Dirac's cosmology, the universal gravitational
constant G must be variable in time! i.e., it
decreases with the age Tv of the universe
according to Diracs equation:
G=[e^4/(m*e^2pC^3)]*1/T...................................................................(7)
where e the
electronic charge, m and p are the masses of the
the electron and proton respectively. Also
according to Newtons law, the gravitational
changes affect the radius R of the lunar orbit
as indicated in the following equation(ll)
R=[h^2/m^2*M]*1/G..........................................................................(8)
where h is
the angular momentum of the moon about the
earth, m and M are the masses of the moon and
earth respectively. Since h,m and M remain
unchanged with time, the radius R is inversely
proportional to G. Correlating the last three
equations, further studies in Cosmology may be
prompted and facilitated.
Conclusion:
It is both important and interesting to find
a new astronomical relationZ between the radius
of the lunar orbit R and the time t of one
terrestrial day deduced according to a new
relativistic interpretation of a cosmic Quranic
verse alluding to the greatest universal speed
identical to the velocity C of light in vacuum.
It is so
awesome to find unity in the complex of
phenomena, that at first sight appear to have
nothing in common. This work proves the
universality and constancy of the fundamental
constant C as the Greatest Cosmic Speed and
reveals the Glorious Quran as a Holy Book worth
studying with meticulous analysis since its
author is the CREATOR of the Universe.
References:
1) "The speed of light", J.H. Rush
Scientific American p. 67, August, 1955.
2) Physics,
Halliday and Resnick, John Wiley and Sons Inc.,
New York, 1966.
3) The
Greatest Speed, S.R. Filonovich, Mir Publishers
Moscow 1986.
4) Theory of
Relativity, Pauli, W. Pergmann Press, Oxford,
1958.
5) The
meaning of the Glorious Quran, A. Yusuf, Ali.
Dar Al-Kitab Al-Masry.
6) The
Glorious Quran and Modern Science, Mansour,
Hassab, El-Naby, General Egyptian Book
Organization BoulacCairo (1990).
7) The
Bible, The Quran and Science, Maurice Bucaill,
North American Trust Publication (1979).
8)
Astronomy, J. Mitton, Faber and Faber London, P.
20 (1978).
9)
Discovering the universe Charles, E. Long,
Harper & Row Publishers, P. 63 (1980).
10)
Macmillan Dictionary of Astronomy, Valerie
Illingworth, The Macmillan Press Ltd., London,
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11) The
Structure of the Universe, J. Narlikar, Oxford
Univ. Press, P. 139, 172, 175 (1977).
* Professor of
Physics, Women's College, Ain Shams University,
Cairo, Egypt
** This
interpretation has been suggested by Zindani, A.
and Dezahf M. (1989), Organization of Scientific
Miracles c_ Quran, Muslim World League Makka-
kingdom of Saudi Arabian.
