A “quantum miracle” contributed to the formation of stable, neutral atoms in the early history of our universe, rendering possible the eventual formation of life. Astrophysicist and science writer Ethan Siegel reports on an example of fine-tuning residing within the quantum properties of the first element formed in our universe, the hydrogen atom.

To eventually form stars, planets, and life, neutral atoms are a definite prerequisite. Although the bare nuclei of the lightest two or three elements had formed out of light and a brief period of nuclear fusion within the first three minutes after the Big Bang, stable neutral atoms of hydrogen and helium didn’t form until about 380,000 years later. 

Why So Long?

In the Big Bang model, confirmed accurately by measurements of the blackbody spectrum of the microwave background radiation, the universe started off hotter and denser than the core of a star. High temperatures guaranteed frequent, violent collisions between particles themselves and also with the dense sea of high-energy photons bulleting through circumambient space.

For neutral atoms to form as the universe expanded and cooled, electrons needed to combine with positively charged atomic nuclei, consisting of protons (hydrogen), or two protons and two neutrons (helium). Electrons had earlier formed out of light, through the transformation of high-energy photons into matter-antimatter pairs of electrons and antielectrons. 

A separate and crucial fine-tuning mystery resulted in an equivalent number of electrons as protons, giving us universal electrical neutrality. This is really quite remarkable, since protons and electrons are completely different classes of elementary particles, and electrons, being 1,836 times less massive than protons, continued forming from energy after the production of protons had already ceased.

Here’s how Siegel describes the difficulty of forming stable neutral atoms in the developing universe:

In the hot, early Universe, once atomic nuclei have been created, making a neutral atom is easy, but it won’t last for long. The destruction of that neutral atom and converting it back into a bare nucleus and free electrons is both inevitable and fast…

The destruction of neutral atoms happens when their electron(s) are kicked free again (“ionized”) by photons emitted during the electron capture process. So, the delay in forming neutral atoms stems from the hot environment, filled with energetic photons, and the fact that the same photons emitted during the formation of one neutral atom can lead to the excitation of another atom, rendering it more vulnerable to re-ionization.

Here’s the “Miracle”

The fine-tuning “quantum miracle” that facilitates the formation of neutral atoms short-circuits the rat race of electron capture and re-ionization by employing a one-way, two-step process in which the two photons emitted in electron capture are too weak to contribute to the re-ionization process. Siegel describes the unlikely quantum features of this two-photon transition.

The Universe has a trick up its sleeve: making a “miraculous” quantum transition happen, one that, on the surface, is forbidden by the rules of quantum physics themselves.

If there were no atoms at all, it would take over a billion years to have the Universe become transparent to light. If it weren’t for the quantum mechanical possibility of having a two-photon transition, it would have taken nearly a million years for the Universe to become transparent to form neutral atoms and become transparent to light. But with the actual laws of quantum mechanics and a Universe that has expanded and cooled since the hot Big Bang, it’s only a mere 380,000 years until practically all of the atoms within it become neutral and stable….

Other researchers, in describing the contribution to forming neutral atoms via the two-photon emission process, note that it paradoxically dominates the outcome even though it proceeds 100 million times slower than the more straightforward single-photon (Lyman-α) transition.  

It is due to these very peculiar circumstances that the 2s ↔ 1s two-photon decay process, which is ∼10⁸orders of magnitude slower than the Lyman-α resonance transition, is able to substantially control the dynamics of cosmological hydrogen recombination….

Blasé About Life

So, through a subtle quantum transition in the hydrogen atom formation process, our universe received a head start by hundreds of thousands of years on the long path that led to conditions suitable for sustaining life. Curiously, having referred to this conspiracy of quantum mechanics as a “quantum miracle,” Siegel seems to miss the greater miracle evident in the advent of life itself. Having raised our interest in the quirky quantum processes leading to the formation of neutral hydrogen atoms, he sounds almost blasé with regard to life and intelligence.

The presence of neutral atoms sets the stage for the formation of the first stars. Once gravitation, nuclear fusion, and time all do their things, planets, life, and complex organisms can arise. And once intelligent life comes into the picture, it becomes capable of reconstructing what happened all those billions of years before. In a very real way, humanity is the most remarkable example we have of the Universe becoming conscious and understanding itself.

Here we have an unfortunate example of an intelligent scientist drawing unwarranted conclusions that stretch exponentially beyond the available data and the known limitations of naturalism. The presupposition of natural processes leading from hydrogen gas to life to human consciousness apparently represents a deeply rooted blind spot for many materialists, who would rather not see what’s before their eyes. Nonetheless, nature continues to reveal evidence of fine-tuning and design for anyone who cares to notice.