The Multiverse - Fascinating - #ThinkyThursdays 3

For Thinky Thursday this week I can't help but talk about a Horizon program (Which Universe Are We In?) I watched last night about the Multiverse, since it kicked my brain into gear. Please excuse me if any of my explanations are a little ham-fisted, I am working from memory :).

The Multiverse - Fascinating

I've always been fascinated by the idea of multi universes, but it wasn't until I watched last night's Horizon that I realised how very current the idea is.

What I never realised is that there are different ways of viewing the multiverse and although they are the same general idea - that our universe is not the only one to exist, they are very different beasties in and of themselves.

The thing is, different areas of physics all predict a multiverse of many different universes, but whereas some are infinite, others are not.

There is the patchwork universe that comes from the realisation that because we can only see so much of our universe, it does not mean that it does not go on and on to infinity. However, since our universe can only contain so much matter, this means there will be lots and lots of universes, and out there, in the end will be universes identical to our own.

Then there is the multiverse created by inflation. Inflation is the effect where, moments after the big bang the universe expanded exponentially, taking all the energy and spreading it out. Taking the idea of inflation to extremes, if inflation can happen once it can happen over and over again, creating many universes. In this model, however, all universes do not have to have the same rules of physics, in fact it predicts they won't.

After that there is the multiverse predicted by quantum mechanics. In this every event that has happened since the big bang has divided the universe. At every decision point two universes exist and so the number of universes grows with each division continuing on a separate path. This hypothesis comes from the electron slit problem.

When light passes through two slits it forms interference bands. When electrons are fired through slits at a plate they do the same thing, hence behaving like a wave. The only problem is, they still form the bands even if you shoot one electron at a time, raising the question, how can one electron interfere with itself. The conclusion quantum physicist came up with is that the electron passes through both slits at the same time and this can only really be explained by multiple universes.

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The fascinating thing is that they are building quantum computers which the theory says use multiple universes to do calculations and then merge back into one for the results and hence should be able to do some calculations that would take a normal computer longer than the age of the universe to complete. I don't pretend to understand the maths, but, wow, what a concept.

I find the idea that there may be another me, who is still very much me and convinced she is me, might exist out there, for whatever reason, in the multiverse, absolutely awesome. I am a huge science fiction fan and have always loved multiverse ideas - Star Trek's mirror universe being one of the best.

Then to add to that, the idea that a quantum computer, can make calculations in many different universes all concurrently, and then bring the results back to one is simply amazing. It's just a stunning concept.

Science is so incredibly exciting. That different paths all lead to one concept - the multiverse, is incredible. That things only a few years ago which were thought to be complete bunkum are now recognised as valid ideas with maths that would scramble anyone's brains is brilliant. It's all quite amazing. The fact that humans have such amazing brains they can ever come up with these ideas, let alone test any of them is quite staggering.

I love science, do you?

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Share a Scare - A Halloween Blog Hop - 31st Oct

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