New quantum mechanics theory says parallel universes exist, interact Published time: November 04, 2014 20:16 Get short URL <http://rt.com/usa/202255-many-interacting-worlds-quantum-mechanics/> [image: Reuters/NRAO]
Reuters/NRAO 7.6K845 Tags Australia <http://rt.com/tags/australia/>, Physics <http://rt.com/tags/physics/>, Science <http://rt.com/tags/science/>, Space <http://rt.com/tags/space/>, USA <http://rt.com/tags/usa/> To the average person, quantum mechanics is the convoluted, science fiction-y branch of physics. A radical new theory plays into that, proposing that parallel universes exist and interact with each other ‒ and that scientists may be able to test for them. Prof. Howard Wiseman, a physicist at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, along with his collaborators Dr. Michael Hall, also of Griffith University, and University of California, Davis mathematician Dr. Dirk-Andre Deckert, published their new *"many interacting worlds"* (MIW) theory in the journal Physical Review X <http://journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevX.4.041013#fulltext>. They posited that other universes are real, exist in vast numbers and exert influence on each other. *“The idea of parallel universes in quantum mechanics has been around since 1957,”* Wiseman said in a statement. *“In the well-known ‘Many-Worlds Interpretation’, each universe branches into a bunch of new universes every time a quantum measurement is made. All possibilities are therefore realised – in some universes the dinosaur-killing asteroid missed Earth. In others, Australia was colonised by the Portuguese.”* [image: The Director of Griffith’s Centre for Quantum Dynamics, Professor Howard Wiseman (Griffith University)] The Director of Griffith’s Centre for Quantum Dynamics, Professor Howard Wiseman (Griffith University) *“But critics question the reality of these other universes, since they do not influence our universe at all,”* he added. *“On this score, our “Many Interacting Worlds” approach is completely different, as its name implies.”* There are three main points to the MIW theory, according to the Griffith statement. First, that the universe we live in is just one of an unknown *“gigantic”* number of worlds, some of which are *“almost identical to ours,”* but most are *“very different.”* Second, all of the worlds are *“equally real,”* existing continuously through time with precisely defined properties.Third, quantum phenomena arise from *“a universal force of repulsion between ‘nearby’ (i.e. similar) worlds, which tends to make them more dissimilar.”* *“All quantum effects arise from, and only from, the interaction between worlds,“* the physicists explained in their abstract. Hall said the radical new theory may even create the extraordinary possibility of testing for the existence of other worlds. *“The beauty of our approach is that if there is just one world our theory reduces to Newtonian mechanics, while if there is a gigantic number of worlds it reproduces quantum mechanics,”* he said in the statement. *“In between it predicts something new that is neither Newton’s theory nor quantum theory. We also believe that, in providing a new mental picture of quantum effects, it will be useful in planning experiments to test and exploit quantum phenomena.”* American theoretical physicist Richard Feynman once noted: *“I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.”* And the MIW group admits that their theory is a bit out there. *"Any explanation of quantum phenomena is going to be weird, and standard quantum mechanics does not really offer any explanation at all* ‒ *it just makes predictions for laboratory experiments,"* Wiseman told the Huffington Post in an email. *"Our new explanation... is that there are ordinary [non-quantum] parallel worlds which interact in a particular and subtle way."* [image: Professor Dirk-André Deckert (Photo from www.math.ucdavis.edu)] Professor Dirk-André Deckert (Photo from www.math.ucdavis.edu) Motherboard asked if the theory suggests that humans might someday be able to interact with other universes. *"It's not part of our theory,"* Wiseman replied. *"But the idea of [human] interactions with other universes is no longer pure fantasy."* Others in the quantum mechanics field ranged from skepticism to excitement, Huffington Post reported, noting there is no consensus on whether *“many interacting worlds”* exist or interact. *"There are some who are completely happy with their own interpretations of QM, and we are unlikely to change their minds,"* Wiseman said in his email. *"But I think there are many who are not happy with any of the current interpretations, and it is those who will probably be most interested in ours. I hope some will be interested enough to start working on it soon, because there are so many questions to answer."*
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