The Theory of Nothing

Are parallel universes real?

Are parallel universes real?

This is the heart and soul of a lot of science fiction. Actually, this is part of the Multiverse Theory, which has been around for a while and has been debated among cosmologists and theoretical physicists.

There are two main hypothesis connected to this theory. One is that the Big Bang chaotic expansion resulted in so-called bubble universes that lie just outside our universe. These bubble universes have different physical constants and there could be some that are just like our universe.

The other hypothesis is that there are an infinite number of parallel universes that exist along with ours but are not visible to us. Remember that infinite is just a big number. This is the theory most often used in science fiction. The Many Worlds Interpretation says that everything that could have happened in our past did and every change created another universe. In other words, we could have someone who looks like us, has our name, and even lives in a house like ours living in a parallel universe, but instead of getting married is living alone or vice versa. This crazy idea is a product of quantum theory where all sorts of crazy things can happen.

Evidence for bubble universes, which came from the chaotic expansion period of the Big Bang, lies beyond our cosmological horizon. In other words they’re so far out we can’t see them in even the most powerful telescopes.

There is some evidence for the multiverse theory in the WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe). As you know, the Big Bang produced an energy burst that still exists today as microwave background radiation. The WMAP was launched to get a finer resolution than can be obtained from Earth. Careful analysis of the data show that there are spots where our universe collided with parallel universes and left a wound or mark. Who are we going to sue for damages? Just kidding! Actually, this conclusion has been disputed even after the resolution of the microwave map was improved from data obtained from the Plank spacecraft, which was launched in 2009 and improved on the data from the WMAP.

Most of these ideas about parallel universes are based on mathematics that suggests that the idea is possible. Take for instance M-theory or Bane cosmology. This crazy idea evolved from string theory, which postulates that quantum particles are made up of tiny energy strings that can be open or closed and vibrate at specific frequencies. Banes, short for membranes, are where these strings are attached. I know, this sounds crazy but it has a big following among cosmologists. M-theory postulates that these Banes, which are flexible, make contact and this is when a Big Bang occurs. In other worlds, there have been many Big Bangs. We just happen to live in one of the universes that resulted, which means that there are many more, possibly an infinite number of them.

There are other theories that propose multiple universes, but most of them are not based on science. They involve even wilder theories that can’t be proven.

So where does that leave us? I would say that we are living in a universe with many more existing along side or even in the same location as ours. We just can’t see them, but they are there. How we would get to them is something that only the future will reveal.

Thanks for reading