Dr. Rees explains these important six constants and how they operate. “At the start of the twenty-first century, we have identified six numbers that seem especially significant. Two of them relate to the basic forces; two fix the size and overall ‘texture’ of our Universe and determine whether it will continue forever; and two more fix the properties of space itself” (Rees, Just Six Numbers, p. 2). Since Just Six Numbers was published in the year 1999, a number of similar constants have been identified. (See “A Universe Tailored Just for You,” in the September-October 2018 issue for more.)
The following is one of the six constants described briefly by Professor Rees:
Epsilon [ε], is 0.007 and defines how firmly atomic nuclei bind together and how all the atoms on Earth were made. The value of epsilon controls the power from the Sun and, more sensitively, how stars transmute hydrogen into all the atoms of the periodic table. Carbon and oxygen are common, and gold and uranium are rare, because of what happens in the stars. If epsilon were 0.006 or 0.008, we could not exist (Rees, p. 2, emphasis added).
Taken together, these six numbers have been described as a kind of “recipe” for our universe. As Professor Rees has reiterated for us, if any of them varied more than slightly, or if they were not “fine-tuned” to one another, the universe and life as we know it could not exist. The odds of these constants all having their specific values as a result of mere chance are extremely small—nearly zero. Therefore, the existence of a Cosmic Designer must be considered. But many scientists prefer to pursue another explanation.