In the past few years, our understanding of science and the universe has expanded exponentially, giving us a completely new outlook towards it. And, it has opened up a very controversial idea, yet an intriguing one: do parallel universes exist?
People might say, “that’s completely philosophical bullshit having no solid proof.” But, as science, and our understanding of the universe, is escalating, we have, with all interest and purpose, started taking this idea critically. In the process, we have realized that the probability of this simple idea being actually true is quite high. Several popular and widely successful theories, like the quantum entanglement, and the theory of expansion of the universe, has led many scientists to strongly believe that our universe is not alone!
What is the Universe made up of?
Before understanding and exploring the concept of parallel universes, let’s first understand how everything we know of came into existence.
About thirteen billion years ago, when an extremely dense matter exploded, it created galaxies, stars, planets, and perhaps universes. The universe is entirely crafted out of atoms linked together, forming matter. Anyone with basic knowledge of atoms would be aware of the fact that atoms are further made out of three subatomic particles which are –
- Protons (positive charge)
- Neutrons (no charge)
- Electrons (negative charge)
- Structure: Protons and neutrons form the center of the atom (nucleus) along with electrons revolving around them at great speed.
Everything in this entire universe is made out of atoms, which causes different matter to possess their different or unique properties.
What is a Parallel Universe?
A parallel universe is known by multiple terms, such as the alternate universe, alternate reality, or a parallel dimension. But, they all mean the same, which is a hypothetical universe where life exists beyond our own universe. In simple words, it says that there are multiple universes out there where life and “astronomical objects” exist just like they do in our universe.
Theories backing the Claim
There are multiple theories out there why parallel universes exist. But we have filtered some of the most convincing ideas for our readers to have the best understanding of parallel universes.
The Antimatter Theory
We all are taught at schools and universities that electrons and protons have a negative and positive charge, respectively. However, in 1955, two scientists, named Emilio Segrè and Owen Chamberlain, discovered something called antimatter, which is matter but made out of positive electrons and negative protons. Since the discovery, we have been able to make antimatter in laboratories and study their properties. Interestingly, antimatter behaves exactly the same way as matter. But, on collision, they annihilate one another, leaving behind only energy.
Now, here is where things become interesting! When the universe evolved, it should have created equal amounts of matter and antimatter. In the next few seconds of the inception of the universe, matter and antimatter would have collided, vanishing and leaving absolutely nothing. But after thirteen billion years, all the universe is composed of matter. So, where did all the antimatter go?
What if, after the big bang, a force, similar to repulsion, would have prevented matter and antimatter colliding? Leading to the antimatter, forming a completely different and its own universe, where humans, just like us, would be questioning the existence of matter? Where humans, just like us, would be studying the same physics class, but a different chemistry one!
Entangled Spaces
The second compelling argument why multiverses exist is given by science’s most successful branch, quantum physics. Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon that states that two states of matter are entangled. In quantum physics, entangled particles remain connected so that actions performed on one affect the other, even when separated by great distances. For example, say, you are observing the electrons of atom A moving in a clockwise direction and then move on to observe the movement of electrons of atom B (of the same matter). You would notice that the electrons of atom B are revolving in an anticlockwise direction, which is opposite to the movement of electrons in atom A, leading the states getting entangled.
Consider placing a cat in a box with a bomb which has only half the probability of blowing off. Until you reopen the box, there is no way of knowing whether the bomb exploded or not, and thus, no way of knowing if the cat is alive or dead. In quantum physics, we could say that before our observation, the cat was in a superposition state. It was neither alive nor dead but rather in a mixture of both possibilities, with a 50% chance for each.
The bomb, in a superposition of dead and not dead, gets entangled to the cat. Now, remember, we are also made of electrons and atoms which obey the laws of quantum mechanics. So, we are quantum mechanical – when we open the box, we get entangled with the state of everything inside the box. So, we see the cat alive, and we see the cat dead. Before you are going to call me loon and say how could a cat be both alive and dead, hear me out.
It is because the YOU, who saw the cat alive, and the YOU, who saw it dead, actually inhabit separate worlds. By that, I mean, they exist in their own completely different realities. And, those realities will never interact, creating your parallel self in a parallel universe. It says that there are millions of parallel universes actually inhibited by you but doing the exact opposite things. You might have parked a car in a parking lot in your world, whereas in another universe your car might have been stolen.
When a choice is made (no matter how insignificant), a plane of existence is created for each outcome. For example, there’s a universe where that person didn’t eat the bat. There’s a universe where you took breakfast two seconds later than you did today. There’s a universe where the wind blew at 5.00000001 MPH instead of just five MPH. Every outcome exists in parallel universes.
Bubble Universes
Quantum mechanics states, there is no such thing as empty space. Even the most perfect vacuum is actually filled by particles and antiparticles. They flare into existence and almost instantaneously fade back into nothingness. The reason why we can’t observe them is that they don’t last enough to be perceived, but we know they do exist because of their effects.
When the quantum theory is applied to space at the smallest possible scale, space becomes unstable. Rather than remaining perfectly smooth and continuous, space and time destabilize, churning and frothing into a foam of space-time bubbles. If space and time are quantized, they can fluctuate. So, you can create virtual space-times just as you can create virtual particles.
To put it differently, it means that it is not just particles and antiparticles that can snap in and out of nothingness: bubbles of space-time can do the same. And, since then, this bubble has evolved into billions of galaxies giving birth to planets, stars, and other cosmological bodies. Now, if that is why everything exists, then multiple bubbles of the universe should have been created. Yes, it is highly probable that we are living in a sea of bubbles of universes!
How Parallel Universe is a solution to many problems?
The discovery of parallel universes can completely revolutionize our understanding of life. It can provide answers to several century-old problems and questions.
The Paradoxes of Time: Time travel leads to multiple time travel paradoxes which can be resolved with the “entangled spaces” theory. For example, paradoxes like the “grandfather paradox” which says that a person travels to a time before their grandfather had children and kills him making their own birth impossible. So, how was he able to move back in time in the first place?
If the theory of entangled spaces is held true, then they can resolve this mind-melting problem. When you go back in time to kill your grandfather, you’re not going back to your own history, but a copy of your history. And, everything you do in this version of your history will affect the alternate future of that universe, not your own. It is that universe where your grandfather was dead, and it would not affect the timeline you are living in.
The Ultimate Question of Existence: The ultimate question of existence which is, why is there anything instead of nothing, can be resolved by the “bubble universes” theory. Space and time popped out of nothingness, creating bubbles of universes that we inhabit.
Books and Movies on the Parallel Universe
For some people, the best way to understand something in depth could be through books and movies. So, we have compiled a list of parallel universe books and movies which you can read and watch to get to the root of this topic and picture it.
Parallel Universe Movies
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (IMDB 8.4)
- Donnie Darko (IMDB 8.0)
- Another Earth (IMDB 7.0)
- Sliding doors (IMDB 6.7)
- MR. Nobody (IMDB 7.8)
Parallel Universe Books
- Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku.
- The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene
- Parallel Universes: The Search for Other Worlds by Fred Alan Wolf
- The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch
- A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
Many would find the idea of a parallel universe too fascinating and unreal. However, as science is expanding day by day, we can realize that this idea might actually be real. Many theories, like the string theory, only work if we include different universes. Even successful theories, like the expansive universe, say the same.
In addition, recent research by NASA found few abnormalities in the data which could only be sufficed by the idea that parallel universes do exist which could perhaps also aid in alternate universe discovery. Even though we are miles away from finding real hard proof; we strongly believe that our universe might just not be alone and the discovery of the same could bring a complete revolution in everything we know.
For all those who would rather watch a video to better understand a topic, here is one by Minute Physics on the Parallel Universe.
Also Read: 5 Amazing Technologies That Will Change The World In The Next 10 Years
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