Multiverse Theory

If you are a comic book fan you may have heard something about the concept of a multiverse. In comic books it is a convention that comic book publishes came up with to explain the existence of several different versions of a comic character or setting coexisting and being considered true. This is actually based on real scientific theory. In physics multiverse theory state that this universe is not the only one. Instead that there is multiverse made up of different universes depending on different possibilites of the universes development. So what does it all truly mean?

In physics science states that there are more than four dimensions. The first three describe the physical world around us, length, width, and height. The fourth dimension we know as time. The fifth dimension and higher deal with the manipulation of these four dimensions. However to get into the full explanation of these dimensions would need more than this one article to explain. To simply summarize the higher dimensions start to deal with different possibilities. For an individual at a higher dimension you would look like the aggregate result of your development from infancy to adulthood and the different possible outcomes your life could take. The multiverse would look just like that. It would contain the universe at different stages of development and and different possibilities if one or more of the physical laws were changed or did not exist.

The theory also goes on to explain the nature of a singularity. A singularity is made when a star gains so much mass it collapses on its self. Singularities are also known as blackholes. Einstein’s theory of relativity does not tell us how phyiscal laws work in singularities. Multiverse theory proposes that each new singularity represents a new and different outcome of the universe and the way its physical laws would work. For example gravity may be existent in one universe and the strong force may be weaker than the weak force.

The idea of the multiverse has various interesting implications. One is the idea of parallel universes. Once again this is an idea that most people who read comic books would be familar with. Essentially it would be a universe that would be similar to this one but have some different conditions. In a comic book it would be people living a different life. Another possiblity is time travel. While normal physics would forbid traveling back in time you could simply travel to a universe where the development of the universe is at a given stage. In the end the possibilities proposed by a multiverse theory are infinite.

We have written many articles about the Multiverse Theory for Universe Today. Here’s an article about parallel universe, and here’s an article about the search for life in the multiverse.

If you’d like more info on the Multiverse Theory, check out the article from NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day. And here’s a link to a nice article by The New York Times.

We’ve also recorded an entire episode of Astronomy Cast all about the Multiverses. Listen here, Episode 166: Multiverses.

Reference:
http://www.astronomy.pomona.edu/Projects/moderncosmo/Sean’s%20mutliverse.html

Tagged as: Multiverse theory, universe