A Texas Tech University chemical physicist has developed a new theory of quantum mechanics that presumes not only that parallel worlds exist, but also that their mutual interaction is what gives rise to all quantum effects observed in nature.
The theory, first published by Professor Bill Poirier four years ago, has recently attracted attention from the foundational physics community, leading to an invited Commentary in a top-ranking physics journal, Physical Review X.
According to Poirier’s theory, quantum reality is not wave-like at all, but is comprised of multiple, classical-like worlds. In each of these worlds, every object has very definite physical attributes, such as position and momentum. Within a given world, objects interact with each other classically. All quantum effects, on the other hand, manifest as interactions between “nearby” parallel worlds.
The idea of many worlds is not new. In 1957, Hugh Everett III published what is now called the “Many Worlds” interpretation of quantum mechanics. “But in Everett’s theory, the worlds are not well defined,” according to Poirier, “because the underlying mathematics is that of the standard wave-based quantum theory.”
In contrast, in Poirier’s “Many Interacting Worlds” theory, the worlds are built into the mathematics right from the start.
Does this prove anything definitive about the nature of reality? “Not yet,” says Poirier. “Experimental observations are the ultimate test of any theory. So far, Many Interacting Worlds makes the same predictions as standard quantum theory, so all we can say for sure at present is that it might be correct.”
Poirier first arrived at the idea unexpectedly, in the pursuit of a much more practical goal. “I didn’t just sit down one day and say ‘gosh, let’s invent a crazy new quantum interpretation with interacting parallel worlds.’ I was trying to develop an efficient computational method using something called quantum trajectories, when it suddenly hit me how you could get everything from the trajectories (i.e. the worlds) themselves, without actually needing any wave.”
Poirier published both the new mathematics and the new interpretation in a 2010 Chemical Physics paper, leading to a collaboration with mathematician Jeremy Schiff at Bar-Ilan University. This in turn led to a 2012 publication in the Journal of Chemical Physics which—with over 20,000 downloads—is one of the most downloaded papers in that journal’s history. More recently, this work has garnered the attention of the broader community. “We are very pleased that other physicists and even philosophers are now getting involved,” says Poirier.
The Latest on: Parallel Worlds
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Parallel Worlds” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Parallel Worlds
- 'Pintu' battling fever ahead of world combined on home snowon February 5, 2023 at 5:51 am
French outsider Alexis Pinturault is hoping to overcome a fever and cold in his bid for a sixth individual world medal on home snow at the championships that kick off on Monday."Yesterday I didn't ...
- 2023 World Alpine Skiing Championships TV, live stream scheduleon February 5, 2023 at 4:10 am
Every race of the world Alpine skiing championships airs live on Peacock from Feb. 6-19. France hosts the biennial worlds in Meribel and Courchevel — six women’s races, six men’s races and one ...
- Finals For World Alpine Ski Championships 2023on February 4, 2023 at 4:33 pm
Finals of the World Alpine Ski Championships in the French resorts of Courchevel and Meribel between February 6-19 (all times GMT): ...
- Alpine Skiing: World Ski Championships 2023 Raceson February 4, 2023 at 4:30 pm
World Ski Championships in the French resorts of Courchevel and Meribel will feature 600 male and female skiers from more than 70 countries racing in 13 events.
- World Bank resumed parallel proceedings on concern over Indus Water Treatyon February 4, 2023 at 1:40 am
The World Bank said its decision to allow two separate proceedings to resolve a long-running disagreement over water between Pakistan and India to run in parallel was because it feared the ...
- World Bank Resumed Parallel Proceedings on Concern Over Indus Water Treaty - Spokesmanon February 3, 2023 at 5:30 am
The comments from a World Bank spokesman were provided to Reuters by email and were the first explanation as to why it had resumed parallel proceedings after suspending them in 2016. “The World Bank ...
- Flexiv Launches Revolutionary Force-Controlled Parallel Roboton February 3, 2023 at 3:42 am
Moonlight is the world's first force-controlled parallel robot and is ideal for applications that require precise motion and force control, such as screw fastening, ultra-accurate loading, and ...
- It Is What It Is: ‘We’re the 13,477th best team, the world has ever seen…’on February 2, 2023 at 9:05 pm
In this week's column, Adam Hurrey 'visits' the team statistically deemed to be the worst in the world and appraises some January transfers ...
- MIKAELA SHIFFRIN HIGHLIGHTS LIVE COVERAGE OF 2023 FIS WORLD ALPINE SKIING CHAMPIONSHIPS ACROSS PEACOCK, NBC AND SKIANDSNOWBOARD.LIVE THIS WEEKon February 2, 2023 at 9:31 am
Live Coverage from the French Alps Begins Monday with the Women’s Combined at 5 a.m. ET on Peacock Every Race in Every Discipline Will Stream Live on Peacock and SkiAndSnowboard.Live Encores of ...
- Alpine skiing TV, live stream schedule for 2022-23 World Cup seasonon February 1, 2023 at 9:27 am
NBC Sports and Peacock air live coverage of the 2022-23 Alpine skiing season, including four World Cup stops in the U.S. and world championships.
via Bing News