Although here at RT7, we concentrate mostly on political and social issues, I’ve always wanted to write a science post. Something that’s not your normal regurgitation of curious facts, mind you, but a subject that acts as a catalyst of continued thinking. Something that would make you think about it several hours after reading. And nothing seems more perplexing than parallel universes.
How can that be..? A universe that’s parallel to this one? Something there but not there? Just doesn’t make sense, does it?
But before I get into that I want to talk about something else, the infamous Weeping Angels of the Dr. Who television show.
Creatures supposedly as old as the universe itself, they feed off of energy of victims they have sent into the past.
But that’s not the strangest thing about them. When they are not being observed by another sentient being, they can move very quickly and silently. BUT.. when they are being observed, they become “quantum-locked”, occupying a single position in space. In this state, they are frozen and indestructible, appearing as a statue.
They cannot suppress this reaction. If two Weeping Angels were to look at each other at the same time, they would be trapped in stone form forever. To prevent this, they often cover their eyes when freezing – this makes them look like they are weeping.
So if you look at them… they’re a statue. But blink your eyes… and they quickly get closer and closer. Turn away and it may be your last moment in that particular time. A deadly game of “Red Light Green Light”. How clever!
I start with the subject of the “Weeping Angels” because something like it occurs in our reality (or what may be considered our reality) in the Quantum World. Left alone, the quantum world consists of many possibilities (eigenstates) that suddenly become one when observed. Known as the “Wave Function Collapse”, it’s literally the “statues turning to stone” upon observation but a state of possibilities when left to it’s but only when observed. A strange phenomena indeed.
There are many theories available that try to explain this observation interaction at the quantum level. From the classical Copenhagen interpretation of statistical probabilities to the one that has become most popular in science fiction.. The Many-Worlds interpretation.
Of course this idea that there are many different universes all around is is not a new one…
Because You are unlimited, neither the lords of heaven nor even You Yourself can ever reach the end of Your glories. The countless universes, each enveloped in its shell, are compelled by the wheel of time to wander within You, like particles of dust blowing about in the sky. The śrutis, following their method of eliminating everything separate from the Supreme, become successful by revealing You as their final conclusion Bhagavata Purana 10.87.41
The Many-Worlds interpretation was introduced by Hugh Everett in 1957 and he was basing his theories on one particular idea.. that the equations of physics that model the time evolution of systems without embedded observers are sufficient for modeling systems which do contain observers. Although Everett was not the first physicist to criticize the Copenhagen collapse postulate as inadequate, he broke new ground by deriving a mathematically consistent theory of a universal wave function from the equations of quantum mechanics itself. The existence of multiple universes emerged as a consequence of his theory, not a predicate.
So with the Many-Worlds interpretation, each event, observed or not, causes 2 distinct worlds of possibility (bifurcation). With the famous Schrodinger’s Cat experiment, one world is a world where the cat died and another world is where the cat lived. Two worlds that are forever disconnected, each with a different outcome for that event. Admittedly, the theory seems hard to wrap your thoughts around. Infinite universes of infinite possibilities.
The initial Many-Worlds paper, formally titled “The Theory of the Universal Wave Function“, written by Hugh Everett, was not received well in the scientific community. In fact, during a meeting with Niels Bohr, the “father of the Copenhagen interpretation” it could be called a complete disaster.
Everett was unable to communicate the main idea that the universe is describable, in theory, by an objectively existing universal wave function (which does not “collapse”). This was simply heresy to Bohr and the others at Copenhagen. The conceptual gulf between their positions was too wide to allow any meeting of minds. Everett later described this experience as “hell…doomed from the beginning”.
Most people have heard of the “Schrodinger’s Cat” experiment.. the cat in the box that is in a Quantum uncertainty of life or death until observed. But here is a different thought experiment, called the Quantum Suicide.
With this thought experiment, a gun is rigged up to the measurement of the spin of a Quark particle. When the trigger is pulled, if the spin is clockwise the gun fires. If it is counter clockwise, the gun doesn’t fire.
Normally, with each pulling of the trigger, the chances of the person being shot dead increases upon observation but with the Many-Worlds interpretation, with each trigger pull one world has the person dead and the other world has the person alive.
Pull the trigger again and the same results. A splitting off of possible worlds.. one world where the person is dead and one world where the person is alive. And so on and so on. This implies that in one world, no matter how many times the trigger is pulled, the person remains alive.
Point the gun at some other direction, the gun fires. Point it back at himself, the gun never fires. Quantum Immortality…
So… getting back to my initial discussion of the “Weeping Angels” of the Dr. Who television show. Just as a thought experiment, suppose you tied the blinking of the eyes in time with the Quark spin measurement. With the Many-Worlds interpretation, a person in one world sees the Weeping Angel as stone. In all the other worlds, the person gets sent back into the past with the Angels in all sorts of ways. Blink again… and a person in one world again sees the Weeping Angel as stone but all the other worlds has the person going back in past.
One person lives in the present, staring at a stone statue while creating infinite characters in infinite pasts. It’s enough to make your head hurt just thinking about it. Well, in this world anyway.
I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.
Richard Feynman, in The Character of Physical Law (1965)
As for me and what I believe.? Well, this video seems to be as good of an explanation as any. Of course, in another universe.. the Beatles performed it.
Links:
The MultiVerse Hiearchy by Max Tegmark
Does the Many Worlds Interpretation Imply Immortality?
A very interesting story concerning Hugh Everett and his strained relationship with his son.
Mark Everett and The Eels, Hugh Everett’s son, Parallel Worlds Parallel Lives
wooohooo for the Whovians that live among us. The Weeping Angels are the most terrifying of all the Doctor’s enemies if you ask me. Well them and the Dream Lord
I’ll have to try and wrap my mind around all the… if you do this..this will happen stuff though.
Somehow I knew that you were Whovian, Jess. Morgan and I have been watching all of the Dr. Who episodes on NetFlix. A persons gotta ask… Who’s your favorite Dr Who and who’s the favorite “side-kick”. I’m liking the 9th and 10th Doctors.. and Rose of course. Morgan drools over Captain Jack.
Oh yeah, out and proud geeky nerd right here. I have been watching all the old series from the very beginning for a couple years now. My favorite pairing is hard because there are a couple so far, David Tennant (sexy man) and Billie Piper (Rose Tyler) Tom Baker with Elizabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) as his sidekick and k-9 their little pet robot dog, think he is like the 4th or 5th Doctor. Him probably, because I love his narration on Little Britain and found out he was a Doctor too, big bonus for me. I am totally a Whovian, got myself a TARDIS mug, coat like Tennant’s, considering getting the plans to make the cats a TARDIS climbing deal after I saw it on the internets. Cap’n Jack is worth drooling over so she has good taste in drool material
He is better in Torchwood because we see more of him.
I believe you did a brilliant job of breaking this down into digestible bits, David, but these concepts are always so difficult for me to grasp! Isn’t it amazing what cosmologists come up with?! These are the folks I spent most of my time with at Berkeley. BTW, Max Tegmark was one of “my” grad students in astrophysics; he worked with Joe Silk (Berkeley) and Sir Martin Rees (Cambridge), two “stars” in theoretical cosmology…. The grad students may be stellar in some areas, but they still need hands held to get them through the obstacles and over the hurdles to the PhD…..
That’s amazing Maureen. To be able to spend some time with these “stars” is one thing. But to be a teacher…. wow!! You’ve seem to have so many interesting experiences in your life. You are a shining star indeed…
I went through a period there, a few years back, where I immersed myself completely in Quantum Physics. I would “devour” every book I could find on the subject. Read them, reread. I must have read “In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat” 40 times over. Some I liked, some took too much of a “woo woo” turn for my tastes.
But it was a learning period for me that I look back on fondly.
David, you are too kind and too complimentary! I did indeed spend much time with this cast of characters, but as admin head of the acad & research program in astrophysics at Berkeley. My brain could absorb only the thinnest veneer of knowledge of the problems they worked on… For example, this is one paper my chairman Jon Arons puplished: http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/1005.1831
Yeah… But as you say, it was thrilling to hang with them and is also a period I look back on fondly…..
In ’77 a friend of my old psych professor told me to purchase a book called The Tao of Physics… wherein the suggestion was that the ‘dance of the electron particle becomes the dance of Shiva’. It changed my life… along with a few ‘power plants’ and specific Indigenous guidance on how to use them. Finally that old dog eared red copy of Tao of Physics gave up a doorway for me. This was given as sum:
“Science does not need mysticism and mysticism does not need science, but man needs both.” / My goal continues to be to clarify the dynamics of eternity. That’s my real job, ya know. Of course it has happened over the course of 20 odd years and continues on, dreaming all kinds of ‘parallel traveling’.
Astrophysics should be required for any and all who approach any “spiritual” or even (ugh) religious affiliate path in life. It is actually, if you have the kind of training or self training that I have pursued, Hermetic principle, clear and useful: As Above, So Below. It’s what R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz described as “sacred science”. David… you have seen the full “What the Bleep” film, right? Your championship of Everett is great! I adore anyone who stands ground regardless and commits to theory as they pursue the validation…. it’s a divine instinct! Really, great stuff here. I’ve heard folks in my ‘community’ use Everett as the example for proofs of channeling.
You have presented the perfect “subject that acts as a catalyst of continued thinking”…. real elegant too… them crying angels have finally convinced me to take a look at Dr. Who. Nope, never have, isn’t that weird, too? btw, nice finish…. my wake song. LOL Awful good stuff here Krell. Awful good.
I have a copy and read the “Tao of Physics” many times. Capra is amazing in how he ties in some of the eastern philosophies and Quantum Physics. Probably the best of the quantum “Universal Force” explanation books. Did you read Talbot’s “The Holographic Universe” ?? For some reason, The Tao of Physics reminded me of another book “Art and Physics” by Leonard Shlain
In the post I wanted to introduce the Many Worlds Interpretation (MWI) so of course it was required that I introduce Hugh Everett. But I didn’t want to make it an Everett biography. He was a genius of course but he was also a troubled man. Of poor health and supposedly borderline alcoholic, his relationship with his family could have made a post by itself.
Hugh Everett’s daughter committed suicide. I have included a link to Mark Everett, his son, because I feel that it was important of a story to read of Mark’s journey in trying to understand his father.
I will put the link here in the comment as well. It’s another story worth reading.
1st off, whenever I travel abroad to do my workshops’ … I take four books along to sell to folks: Ted Andrew’s “How to Meet & Work with your Spirit Guides”, Barbara Hand Clow’s “Pleiadian Agenda” (she’s my mentor! GrandMother Sky), Dr. Richard Gerber’s “Vibrational Medicine” and Michael Talbot’s “The Holographic Universe”… all vital books usually have spares of Jose Arguelles’ “Earth Ascending” too. I’ve sold loads of them in DK. Talbot’s book was one of the first books’ we used to help us present the ideas that have come to be Daughters of Isis. I’ll stop here before they all think I’m crazy as the ole shithouse rat.
I’ll look for the Shlain book. I would enjoy reading what you have to write on Evertt very much. You know, Krell, we ‘healers – medicine women – shaman – witch’s’ are tasked to transmute a great deal of poison (of all venues) to be able to heal. Think ancient mystery school initiation. Again and again. “I have a bad feeling about this…” should be the multidimensional motto. This is a great post. I adore this stuff. And btw, watching Dr. Who now.
You’re going to go Whovian yet, Gwen.
And wasn’t it smart of me not to mention the “Photon Belt”??? LOL
Dang! Gonna require several readings, I love when you do science posts!
If memory serves, Norman Greenbaum had the one hit then took the $ and ran, used it to set his friends and himself up with a commune to farm and live in.
Thanks, Oso. Sounds like Norman Greenbaum had the right idea… get back to the Mother Earth.