Friday, November 8, 2013

When Universes Collide

Over the course of the last few years, the multiverse hypothesis has transitioned from appearing highly illogical to being a somewhat accepted theory, at least amongst certain scientists. This general distrust is the result of several motivating factors, with the top primary reason being that such a theory is almost impossible to test through conventional means. Science generally deals in facts. Each fact is tested thoroughly. If a certain hypothesis doesn’t hold up after intense scrutiny, it may be discarded in favor of another one. However, how do we deal with hypothetical hypotheses that have very few verifiable variables? (what a mouthful!) One such idea concerns our universe belonging to a larger multiverse. As it is, we can’t even see what’s beyond the horizon of our observable universe, so how are we to see beyond our universe into a separate one? See. This is a problem. We can’t. So lets say, hypothetically, that our universe IS one of many universes, each dealing in an entirely different set of physical laws that govern it. What exactly would happen to both - and humans in particular - if one or more actually collided?

To find out, see: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/when-universes-collide/

The circles in this image could represent bruises leftover when our universe collided with another in the distant past (Credit: Stephen Feeney/UCL)

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