Posted on 09/24/2007 4:10:41 PM PDT by anymouse
Parallel universes really do exist, according to a mathematical discovery by Oxford scientists described by one expert as "one of the most important developments in the history of science".
The parallel universe theory, first proposed in 1950 by the US physicist Hugh Everett, helps explain mysteries of quantum mechanics that have baffled scientists for decades, it is claimed.
In Everett's "many worlds" universe, every time a new physical possibility is explored, the universe splits. Given a number of possible alternative outcomes, each one is played out - in its own universe.
A motorist who has a near miss, for instance, might feel relieved at his lucky escape. But in a parallel universe, another version of the same driver will have been killed. Yet another universe will see the motorist recover after treatment in hospital. The number of alternative scenarios is endless.
It is a bizarre idea which has been dismissed as fanciful by many experts. But the new research from Oxford shows that it offers a mathematical answer to quantum conundrums that cannot be dismissed lightly - and suggests that Dr Everett, who was a Phd student at Princeton University when he came up with the theory, was on the right track.
Commenting in New Scientist magazine, Dr Andy Albrecht, a physicist at the University of California at Davis, said: "This work will go down as one of the most important developments in the history of science."
According to quantum mechanics, nothing at the subatomic scale can really be said to exist until it is observed. Until then, particles occupy nebulous "superposition" states, in which they can have simultaneous "up" and "down" spins, or appear to be in different places at the same time.
Observation appears to "nail down" a particular state of reality, in the same way as a spinning coin can only be said to be in a "heads" or "tails" state once it is caught.
According to quantum mechanics, unobserved particles are described by "wave functions" representing a set of multiple "probable" states. When an observer makes a measurement, the particle then settles down into one of these multiple options.
The Oxford team, led by Dr David Deutsch, showed mathematically that the bush-like branching structure created by the universe splitting into parallel versions of itself can explain the probabilistic nature of quantum outcomes.
Parallel universe is still just a theory...No evidence exists....
Be careful with that razor. You might shave off some fresh parallel universe along with that whisker.
I knew it was Bush's fault!.........
Ockham is shaving with it.
Just my luck to be in this Universe. I know in the parallel one I was rich, gook looking and was have my way with (fill in the space).
Sure there is proof, lots of it! Where do you think moonbats come from?
That is known as teheJohn Edwards Syndrome.........i see two universes.......
You can avoid that if you shave in the simplest possible way and therefore not create a parallel universe.
To do so, make sure you shave with an Occam’s razor.
gook looking?........I’m offended!..............not rearry........
My parallel universe counterpart is preventing me from commenting.
With Cheney and Rove pruning the branches now and then.
Except there, your name is WriteWale.
I knew it was Bush's fault!.........
Of course ... where do you think the Rove Universal Parallelectra Machine came from ?
evidence exists in the other universe.
of course, there they have global cooling...
lol
“Parallel universes really do exist,”
I was just there, very nice but everything was backward.
Uh huh.
This is another good example of scientifically illiterate journalists converting an interesting story into a “gee whiz astounding science” fable based on a stupid claim about the relationship between physics and mathematics. Their work is an interesting step providing support for a particular interpretation of quantum mechanics. Nothing more. For a more realistic view of what’s going on in physics, read this:
http://www.amazon.com/Not-Even-Wrong-Failure-Physical/dp/0465092756
Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory And the Search for Unity in Physical Law (Hardcover)
by Peter Woit
or this:
http://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Physics-String-Theory-Science/dp/061891868X
The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next (Paperback)
by Lee Smolin
or both
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