Since the beginning of mankind, people have been wondering where we came from and where we are headed, if we were made or if we evolved, the same questions that now spark heated debates among astronomers, as well as between creationists and evolutionists. In an attempt to answer this question, Kansas State University Professor of Mathematics Louis Crane has taken to the drawing board, to elaborate mathematical and physical theories on the matter.

With the scientist's effort supported by the Foundational Questions Institute, the plan is to more accurately investigate the field of quantum physics, which is the primary area of interest for Crane both as a mathematician and as a physicist. The theory of gravity, from a quantum perspective, is the main focus of the new mathematical models. The expert hopes that, by unraveling at least some of the mysteries surrounding this discipline, he could draw some useful conclusions about the origin of everything.

One of the most difficult issues confronting this endeavor is the fact that standard physics is based on a number of fixed constants, which were not determined through calculations, but rather simply measured and placed inside equations, without explanations. “If they had just slightly different values, we would live in a different universe. If they were a little different, we wouldn't be here,” the K-State professor says. “Life couldn't exist if stars didn't shine for billions of years. Only a fine-tuning in the constants causes them to do so. Another fine-tuning in the constants causes carbon, the foundation of life, to be abundant.”

The expert also shares that black holes could be artificially produced in the future, and used as a source of energy for interstellar travel, by advanced civilizations, such as ours has the potential to become. “I started doing calculations and found that the right-sized black hole to fuel a starship is just on the edge of what's possible. If you can build one, it has implications for the future of life because we would eventually spread life throughout the galaxy if we could build starships,” Crane explains.