June 23, 2023 | Henry Richter

Some Thoughts About Everything

 

 

by Henry Richter, PhD

I often write something about discoveries or articles that catch my attention, but this time I want to sit back and express my amazement about it all: how everything could come about, from the tiny atom to the vast universe. How some super intelligence could create such complex but simple things is absolutely amazing to me. And, of course, among the most amazing is the human body with all its systems, component parts, and completely coordinated functions.

Consciousness

To start with, the fact that I have a conscious awareness of my existence, and the ability to think. Then enough intellect to know about my surroundings and some of what they are and what brings them about. There are so many pieces, from the tiny, tiny atom, to the universe and all it contains.

Chemistry

Let’s begin with the atom which has a nucleus consisting if one or more electrically positive protons and neutrons. This is surrounded by one or more electrically negative electrons, some (again tiny) distance away. They spin in very precise orbits. Why the positive nucleus does not attract the electrons to crash in and neutralize each other is a mystery to me. The electrons always go to or stay in these precise orbits (except for the rare radioactive decay, and even that happens in a precise way).

Click to read our bioography of Dmitri Mendeleev, discoverer of the Periodic Table.

And then the way the atoms increase in size, with quite different characteristics for each, from gasses, to metals, to non-metals, each with its own combining characteristics. The atoms combine into molecules, each having different chemical and physical characteristics.  The molecules are the basis of substances, which form our physical world and universe. The molecules form into compounds, some are very complex. It is remarkable that everything fits together so perfectly.

Astronomy

Let us jump to the Universe. With billions and billions of galaxies, each containing billions and billions of stars, and only heaven knows how many planets circling these stars. And each of these were created specially, not just accidents of nature. Each is highly complex, really highly complex, and each put together is a unique way. All these are composed of trillions of trillions of atoms and molecules.  Hear me: each!

And the physical laws were created. For example, gravity.  It’s hard to imagine how a force can reach from the sun, 92,000,000 miles to keep Earth in its orbit, and then reaching many more millions of miles to keep Pluto in its orbit.

Body and Brain

Then jumping from the universe to the object that if of personal interest: me. To be alive and able to comprehend only a really small part of existence is most remarkable. This is possible because of the way the human body is formed (created). David Coppedge and I explore some of the remarkable features of the human body in our book, Spacecraft Earth: A Guide for Passengers.

I’m not going to review all that material, but here are a few thoughts. Although the body has many operating systems, each of which is quite complex and apparently well thought out, probably the most amazing is the brain. The brain has about ten billion neurons, gathered into different functional areas. They are interconnected to create memory, logic, operation of bodily functions, processing of inputs from body sensors, control of muscles, and so much more. The planning of all this is literally mind boggling. And to create all this in a day!

Biology

Now, not only was the human brain created in a day, so were a myriad of other brains created, each different and varying in size and complexity, from the human to the ant. Not only was man created, but also all the animals. And the plants were created also.

Oh! Something else was going on during creation week. The atoms and molecules were created. The sun was created. The Earth, moon, and planets were created. Billions of galaxies were created. Perhaps the 1021 stars were created, each very complex in structure and composition. Wait – my mind is getting boggled again trying to grasp or imagine all this. We are told that God is omniscient and omnipresent, so that includes watching over all 1021 stars and their planets, each with huge complexity. How else could it all exist?

Theology

Of course, we have to realize that God being ever-present is not like a person acting at given tasks. Since God is ever-present, He is simultaneously at all the different places where things were created and does not have to think out and plan each thing He is creating.  He just does it. I surmise that the Spirit of God is not constrained by the speed of light, that all parts of the Spirit of God are in simultaneous contact, regardless of the position in space.

This all comes back to my amazement: how vast our God is. Some great minds become theologians but to really understand God is beyond hope. To think our God created a minor little planet, in a modest solar system, between two arms of the milky way with (somewhat) intelligent creatures is very humbling to be there. God wants us to know Him, so he inspired a book with explanations called the Holy Bible. We either want to know Him and please Him, or petulantly want to go our own way and ignore Him. The Bible is our way to know Him. I like the characterization as the “manufacturers manual.” When all else fails, read the instructions.


Dr. Henry Richter was born in Long Beach, California, and served a short tour of duty in the U.S. Navy in World War II. From there he received a BS and PhD (Chemistry, Physics, and Electrical Engineering) from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena California. Then he went to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which became part of NASA. While there he headed up the development of the free world’s first earth satellite, Explorer 1. He then oversaw the scientific instrumentation for the Ranger, Mariner, and Surveyor Programs. From JPL, he went to Electro-Optical Systems becoming a Vice President and Technical Director. Next was a staff position with UCLA as Development Manager of the Mountain Park Research Campus. He then owned an electronics manufacturing business and afterwards became the Communications Engineer for the L.A. County Sheriffs Department. Since 1977, he has been a communications consultant to Public Safety organizations. He is a life member of APCO, the IEEE, and the American Chemical Society. He was the 2019 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Radio Club of America, which he was awarded at their annual banquet in New York City. His book America’s Leap into Space details the origins of rocketry and his own role in the launching of the first American satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. Henry Richter is also author of Spacecraft Earth: A Guide for Passengers, with co-author David Coppedge (Creation Ministries International, 2016). Creation-Evolution Headlines is honored to have Dr Richter as a contribution writer. See his Author Profile for his previous contributions.

 

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Comments

  • JSwan says:

    Since you, Henry Richter, are listed as the ‘Scientist of the Month’ I saw the full page background David worked up on you and he did a great job and wonderful experiences! I also loved the CMI short video as well. About the unknown depth of the moon dust mentioned on that page. I’ve known about that concern for a long time and wasn’t until recently I decoded the communications by Neil Armstrong before he even stepped off the ladder onto the moon’s surface – he reported how deep the (large) landing pads were sunk into the moon dust. Ninety seconds later, and after his famous first words, he also reported how deep his footprint sank into the moondust. Obviously to us that know what the concern was understand that he was secretly communicating to some concerned people back in Mission Control. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9HdPi9Ikhk&t=162s (landing pad) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9HdPi9Ikhk&t=255s (footprint)

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