Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Friday May 31 2019, @07:30AM   Printer-friendly
from the mirror-mirror-on-the-black-hole dept.

According to new research published by the American Physical Society in the Journal Physical Review letters, in the coming years it may be possible to test whether the universe is in fact a hologram.

The debate over The Holographic Principle — whether the universe is a flat (two dimensional) projection — is mind bending and still largely theoretical in nature. The holographic principle solves various problems, it can be used to explain quantum gravity and also

has been used to explain cosmic inflation, a pivotal period of time in the early universe where our cosmos expanded at quizzically breakneck speeds.

But an untestable theory, no matter how appealing the math, is ever an itch that needs scratching in science. So how do we do that?

During cosmic inflation, the universe became populated with quantum fluctuations, particles that temporarily appear out of empty space. “The inflationary universe had the right characteristics to make these fluctuations the seed of everything we observe today from the Cosmic Microwave Background, galaxies, stars, planets to cosmologists.”, said the researchers. These quantum fluctuations are what causes the irregular distribution of galaxies in the universe.

Through interactions with scalar fields, these fluctuations create distinct signals that can oscillate. To tell whether the universe is holographic, researchers took a look at the different intricate ways these signals could oscillate. If the signals are underdamped, meaning they move back and forth before reaching a point of equilibrium, then we can’t be living in a hologram. This is because if we’re living in a holographic universe, every signal we see must have a counterpart in a lower dimensional world. An underdamped signal can’t have such a counterpart.

In short, if we detect underdamped signals, we are not living in a holographic universe. And we can look for them:

In the coming years, the Simons Observatory will be scanning the cosmic microwave background looking for information about cosmic inflation. Additionally, surveys like the Large Synoptic Sky Telescope, Euclide and SPHEREx will be looking at the Large Scale Structure of the universe, creating a 3D map of how galaxies in our vicinity are dispersed. These projects will not only teach us about the evolution of our universe, but also whether the universe we see is truly the one that exists.

Hopefully, reflecting on these results in the coming days will help resolve the question and we can stop going back and forth on the issue.

Related Coverage:
How Our Universe Could Emerge as a Hologram
Substantial Evidence of Holographic Universe
Experiment to Test for Universe Being a Hologram


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0, Funny) by c0lo on Friday May 31 2019, @08:12AM (7 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday May 31 2019, @08:12AM (#849696) Journal

    They'll look and all they'll see will be Starlink, OneWeb, Amazon and Telesat [soylentnews.org] satellites bathing the radio-telescopes with microwave radiation carrying the highly intellectually payload of FB and Twitter statuses. And the alt-right characters ranting for long hours on YouTube. How the heck any creature with a detectable neuronal activity can stand that kind of incessant idiotic droning is beyond me - they have to be brain dead!

    Yes, the Universe is 2D. So you can still write 42 with arabic digits on it, even if you are not a muslim.

    Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm heading to pornhub. Riding on optical fiber, you insensitive clods, no nocturnal pollution [wiktionary.org] in the sky.
    Pornhub, here I come: MAAAGAAAA! [soylentnews.org]

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   -1  
       Offtopic=3, Flamebait=1, Funny=4, Overrated=1, Total=9
    Extra 'Funny' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   0  
  • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Friday May 31 2019, @08:44AM

    by aristarchus (2645) on Friday May 31 2019, @08:44AM (#849703) Journal

    We missed you, c0lo! Vitaj späť!

  • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by c0lo on Friday May 31 2019, @08:46AM (5 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday May 31 2019, @08:46AM (#849704) Journal

    Offtopic? Offtopic, you say, you idiotic modder?!?

    1nd at all - I told you that "The Universe is 2D so you can write 42 on it" - that makes the post highly ontopic

    2rd of all - my comment is strongly anchored in S/N ethos for comments on STEM articles. It has everything: links to prev relevant comments, considerations on the social impact at the conflict area between science and business, etymology link for terms in classical latin, controversial (albeit absolute true for those that want to be set free) aspects of today's society. What's not to like there?

    and

    3st but not the least - read all the other comments and tell me how are they more on topic than mine. I dare you! No, I double dare you motherfucker [youtu.be]: write yourself a comment that's intelligible for us soylenters and is more on topic than mine.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by aristarchus on Friday May 31 2019, @08:56AM (4 children)

      by aristarchus (2645) on Friday May 31 2019, @08:56AM (#849707) Journal

      But, perhaps you did not stay away long enough to cool down? We need level heads here on SoylentNews, whether holographic 3D or 2D, for values up to and exceeding 42. The mods will sort themselves out, since quality and intelligence always prevail, in the end. Just think, always.

      • (Score: 2, Offtopic) by c0lo on Friday May 31 2019, @09:03AM (3 children)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday May 31 2019, @09:03AM (#849710) Journal

        But, perhaps you did not stay away long enough to cool down?

        Long enough? Reading the lame humor in all the comments so far makes too long even the 3 minutes I wasted to go through them.
        A little more and I'll be not cool, but cold. Dead cold.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by aristarchus on Friday May 31 2019, @09:29AM (2 children)

          by aristarchus (2645) on Friday May 31 2019, @09:29AM (#849716) Journal

          Well, janrinok was just trying to school me on tech, again, in the latest aristarchus sub thread. I recommend you skip it. Holographic simulated universes are much more fun. Besides, he is a Brit, after all. Nietzsche, I think, said education is wasted on the British. Or was it that the British were too wasted for education?

          So, bottom line, we need some c0lo humor. Snark up, mate! Otherwise we are left with bloody Poms and Americans!

          • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by c0lo on Friday May 31 2019, @09:46AM (1 child)

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday May 31 2019, @09:46AM (#849723) Journal

            Besides, he is a Brit, after all.

            Because, yeah, France is so much more civilized that a Tory like him has good chances to stay egotistical for longer that he has to live until the people around start to be pissed off and kick him out. (grin)

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
            • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by aristarchus on Friday May 31 2019, @10:00AM

              by aristarchus (2645) on Friday May 31 2019, @10:00AM (#849728) Journal

              Makes me happy to see the c0lo (grin) back SoylentNews. Carry on, comrade!