Tuesday 7 April 2009

The Theory behind Parallel Universes By Saul McNally Summers Parallel Universes You have probably only heard the term “parallel universe,” in Sci-Fi films such as Doctor Who and Star Trek. But what exactly is a “parallel universe” and who thought of the concept in the first place. For centuries physicists had been working out the laws of the world (e.g. Newton’s three laws of Motion.) But in 1900, a physicist named Max Planck, found during his study of radiation some things that disagreed with these laws. This suggested to him that there were maybe other forces in the universe that operated on a lower level than the ones he already knew about. Then, other scientists began to find that single particles could “shape-shift.” After years of study, Niels Bohr put forward the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. This stated that all things could take the form of all possible states of matter at once. The amount of possible states a quantum object could be in is called its wave function. The apparent state of an object IN all its possible states, we say is called its superposition. Bohr also stated that when we look at a quantum object, we affect its behaviour. Therefore, when we look at an object (e.g. a photon) we make it CHOOSE what state of matter from its wave function it wants to be from its wave function! This explains why different physicists have taken different readings from the same Quantum Object as it chose what state to be. However, another physicist disagreed with Bohr’s statement that the object chooses its state. Instead, he believed that when an object is looked upon, the world divides – in one, it chooses a state and in the other, it chooses another to accommodate both possible outcomes. This is what is known as the “Many Worlds Theory.” One modern day example of this happening is when you are born. In one universe you are born as an attractive, clever, polite girl but in another (to accommodate both possible outcomes) you are a rebellious, unattractive female. As a last example, let’s look at Zimbabwe and America. In a parallel universe, Zimbabwe is a rich, democratized country whereas America is corrupt and poor. It’s hard to believe but if parallel universes really did exist, that is what the world would be like. Related topics: - Quantum Mechanics - Many Worlds Theory - Wavefunction