Page 112 - The Creation Of The Universe

110 THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE

he Sun is probably the one thing we see most often throughout
our lives. Whenever we raise our sight to the sky during the day,
T we can see its dazzling light. If someone were to come up and
ask "What good is the Sun? we would probably reply without even a
thought that the Sun gives us light and heat. That answer, although a bit
superficial, would be correct.
It is certain that the Sun did not just "happen" to radiate light and heat
for us, and it is not accidental and unplanned. The Sun is specially created
for us. This great ball of fire in the sky is a gigantic "lamp" that was creat-
ed so as to meet our exact needs.
Recent research indicates that sunlight has magnificent features that in-
spires amazement.

The Right Wavelength

Both light and heat are different manifestations of electromagnetic radi-
ation. In all its manifestations, electromagnetic radiation moves through
space in waves similar to those created when a stone is thrown into a lake.
And just as the ripples created by the stone may have different heights and
the distances between them may vary, electromagnetic radiation also has
different wavelengths.
The analogy shouldn't be taken too far however because there are huge
differences in the wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. Some are sev-
eral kilometers long while others are shorter than a billionth of a centime-
ter and the other wavelengths are to be found in a smooth, unbroken spec-
trum everywhere in between. To make things easier, scientists divide this
spectrum up according to wavelength and they assign different names to
different parts of it. The radiation with the shortest wavelength (one-tril-
lionth of a centimeter) for example is called "gamma rays": these rays pack
tremendous amounts of energy. The longest wavelengths are called "radio
waves": they can be several kilometers long but carry very little energy.
(One result of this is that radio waves are quite harmless to us while ex-