Shruti and quantum physics

Nor are the shrutis supposed to be the authority in matters which are contradicted by other means of knowledge; as, for instance, if they said: “Fire is cold and wets things.” If however a passage is ascertained to have the meaning given by the shrutis, then the evidence of the other means of knowledge must be held to be fallacious.

For instance, the ignorant think of a firefly as fire, or of the sky as a blue surface. These are perceptions no doubt, but when the evidence of the other means of knowledge regarding them has been definitely known to be true, the perceptions of the ignorant, although they are definite experiences, prove to be fallacious. Therefore the authority of the Vedas being inviolable, a Vedic passage must be taken exactly in the sense that it is attested to bear, and not according to the ingenuity of the human mind.  The Vedic passages cannot be made to give up their meaning.

According to quantum theory, empty space is not really empty. On the Planck scale, in a distance of ten to the minus thirty-seven metres, a vacuum consists of a sea of boiling virtual particles, created in pairs due to fluctuations in the energy of the vacuum.  Each particle exists for only about ten to the minus twenty-three seconds, but they fly around before disappearing.  Their combined effect is to constantly buffet any atoms they come into contact with, exerting what physicists call Radiation Pressure. Casimir showed that when two atoms are brought close together, they create a sheltered region between them in which the radiation pressure is less than in the surrounding space. This pushes the atoms towards each other. Casimir also showed that the same effect shows a measurable force of attraction between two closely spaced metal plates.

Quote: “A vacuum consists of a sea of boiling virtual particles, created in pairs owing to fluctuations in the energy of the vacuum. Before their almost instantaneous disappearance, they buffet any atoms they come into contact with exciting what physicists call the Radiation Pressure.”