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Great Mysteries of Physics 4: does objective reality exist?

That means that these two people will say that the state of reality is different – they’d have different facts about where the particle is.

There are may other oddities about quantum mechanics, too. Particles can be entangled in a way that enables them to somehow share information instantaneously even if they’re light years apart, for example. This challenges another common intution: that objects need a physical mediator to interact.

Physicists have therefore long debated how to interpret quantum mechanics. Is it a true and objective description of reality? If so, what happens to all the possible outcomes that we don’t measure? The many worlds interpretation argues they do happen – but in parallel universes.

Seeing is more than believing: Exploring ‘de Sitter space’ to explain gravity in the expanding early universe

Having more tools helps; having the right tools is better. Utilizing multiple dimensions may simplify difficult problems—not only in science fiction but also in physics—and tie together conflicting theories.

For example, Einstein’s theory of —which resides in the fabric of space-time warped by planetary or other massive objects—explains how gravity works in most cases. However, the theory breaks down under such as those existing in black holes and cosmic primordial soups.

An approach known as superstring theory could use another dimension to help bridge Einstein’s theory with , solving many of these problems. But the necessary evidence to support this proposal has been lacking.

What if The Universe Started With a Dark Big Bang?

The Big Bang may have not been alone. The appearance of all the particles and radiation in the universe may have been joined by another Big Bang that flooded our universe with dark matter particles. And we may be able to detect it.

In the standard cosmological picture the early universe was a very exotic place. Perhaps the most momentous thing to happen in our cosmos was the event of inflation, which at very early times after the Big Bang sent our universe into a period of extremely rapid expansion.

When inflation ended, the exotic quantum fields that drove that event decayed, transforming themselves into the flood of particles and radiation that remain today.

A Controversial Rocket Technology Could Challenge a Basic Law of Physics

Some of the more well-known examples include retrievable and reusable rockets, retrieval at sea, mid-air retrieval, single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) rockets, and kinetic launch systems.

In addition, there are also efforts to develop propulsion systems that do not rely on conventional propellants. This technology offers many advantages, including lower mass and improved energy efficiency, ultimately lowering costs.

On June 10, 2023, an all-electrical propulsion system for satellites (the IVO Quantum Drive) will fly to space for the first time. The system was built by North Dakota-based wireless power company IVO, Ltd. and will serve as a testbed for an alternative theory of inertia that could have applications for propulsion.

A robust quantum memory that stores information in a trapped-ion quantum network

Researchers at University of Oxford have recently created a quantum memory within a trapped-ion quantum network node. Their unique memory design, introduced in a paper in Physical Review Letters, has been found to be extremely robust, meaning that it could store information for long periods of time despite ongoing network activity.

“We are building a network of quantum computers, which use trapped ions to store and process quantum information,” Peter Drmota, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Phys.org. “To connect quantum processing devices, we use emitted from a single atomic ion and utilize between this ion and the photons.”

Trapped ions, charged atomic particles that are confined in space using , are a commonly used platform for realizing quantum computations. Photons (i.e., the particles of light), on the other hand, are generally used to transmit quantum information between distant nodes. Drmota and his colleagues have been exploring the possibility of combining trapped ions with photons, to create more powerful quantum technologies.

Why black holes unlock the quantum majesty of the Universe

The story of modern physics has been one of reductionism. We do not need a vast encyclopedia to understand the inner workings of Nature. Rather, we can describe a near-limitless range of natural phenomena, from the interior of a proton to the creation of galaxies, with apparently unreasonable efficiency using the language of mathematics. In the words of theoretical physicist Eugene Wigner, ‘The miracle of the appropriateness of the language of mathematics for the formulation of the laws of physics is a wonderful gift which we neither understand nor deserve. We should be grateful for it.’

The mathematics of the twentieth century described a Universe populated by a limited number of different types of fundamental particles interacting with each other in an arena known as spacetime according to a collection of rules that can be written down on the back of an envelope. If the Universe was designed, it seemed, the designer was a mathematician.

Today, the study of black holes appears to be edging us in a new direction, towards a language more often used by quantum computer scientists. The language of information. Space and time may be emergent entities that do not exist in the deepest description of Nature. Instead, they are synthesized out of entangled quantum bits of information in a way that resembles a cleverly constructed computer code. If the Universe is designed, it seems, the designer is a programmer.

Quantum Computing Stocks Offer Life-Changing Wealth Potential for Long-Term Investors

Editor’s note: “Quantum Computing Stocks Offer Life-Changing Wealth Potential for Long-Term Investors” was previously published in January 2023. It has since been updated to include the most relevant information available.

As a long-term investor during periods of market volatility like we’re seeing today, there’s one thing I always do.

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