Thread: Interested in Theoretical Physics?

I got the monthly magazine from my alma mater and there was an article about a theoretical physicist by the name of Craig Hogan who is building a device to test his theory that our Universe is really a Hologram. I guess that means we might not be real.

Anyone have any thoughts on this or familiarity with the concept? It appears to be derived from studies of black holes.

Vaguely, i'd have to go and read up on it though, was something to do with there being a finite amount of information or data in the universe, which apparently is what everything consists of once you get down to sub sub atomic etc etc and therefore as there's no differentiation between matter and data it's entirely possible we're part of a simulation. was interesting. I love how theoretical physics often turns into philosophy.

I have always been interested in theoretical physics.
However, I think it is by definition impossible to 'prove' reality.

Everything we experience is a result of sensory input. Think of it like in the Matrix movie. Conceptually, it is impossible to prove that we are not hooked up, matrix-style. The same holds true for the universe in general.

Look at the big bang theory: it says that everything came into being in a point without size. If there is a big crunch at the end and everything is compressed back into that point and annihilated, and there is no 'time' in which things can be measured (since time cannot mathematically exist before the big bang or after the crunch)... did we ever exist at all? do we then exist now? Or are we a dream without substance?

It's been mathematically proven that no system can be proven from within the axioms of that system.
Gödel's incompleteness theorems - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Therefore I think it is impossible to use our brains to explain our very existence.

Even religion and science are not incompatible, since our understanding fails to accomodate for the things outside our worldview.
Fascinating debates, but you'll keep going for hours on end without any hope of proving anything.
This sort of thing is best discussed with a glass of whisky in front of a campfire.

Btw, we should not try too hard to convince the universe it does not exist.
It might start believing us

I do not think it is the same holograms we see on SciFi films, IIRC the whole notion comes from some solutions of string theory equations.
That is where my knowledge on the matter ends.

Decided to google it and here is what came up:
Holographic principle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As much as I enjoy trying to reason through physics that I don't understand at all and the "science magazine" type articles about what the universe is really like, I always walk away saying to myself "none of that has any impact on my daily life." Case in point, it makes no difference to me if I'm in the Matrix or if my life is real, 'cause either way the world is run by a small group of elites who have men in black suits doing their bidding.

Ever since my school days back then i've been interested in mathematics and physics and i've found that understanding even basics of physics will make your everyday life easier. In general, from simple principles you can find out how things work.
Now theoretical physics is something different. Most interesting, even fascinating but -unlike Newtons Principia- trying to understand even tiny small parts of some theories only gives me headache. Some or most of these theories aren't meant to be understood in our reality (well not at least in my reality).
Interesting but too much only makes me feel so long and thank you for the fish.

Originally Posted by Bruno

I have always been interested in theoretical physics.
However, I think it is by definition impossible to 'prove' reality.

Everything we experience is a result of sensory input. Think of it like in the Matrix movie. Conceptually, it is impossible to prove that we are not hooked up, matrix-style. The same holds true for the universe in general.

Look at the big bang theory: it says that everything came into being in a point without size. If there is a big crunch at the end and everything is compressed back into that point and annihilated, and there is no 'time' in which things can be measured (since time cannot mathematically exist before the big bang or after the crunch)... did we ever exist at all? do we then exist now? Or are we a dream without substance?

I've heard someone theorize that the 'Big Bang' has been going on forever. Nothingness explodes, creating the expanding universe. Eventually the universe reverses and contracts back to a point of nothingness, then it explodes again, over and over again. Of course, when it contracts back to nothing, it wipes out time as well as matter, so there's no 'forever' either. To me it just sounds like the scientific equivalent of 'turtles all the way down' when trying to explain what existed before the Big Bang. Then there's the membrane theory, that universes are created when two 'membranes' made up of 11 dimensions collide with each other.

My favorite physics experiment is the Double Slit experiment. Basically it shows that particles behave differently when they are being observed. Most subatomic particles behave as both waves and as particles. When single electrons are shot at a screen with two slits in it, they produce a wave pattern on whatever medium is capturing them. If there is something observing the particles as they are being shot at the slits, they produce a particle pattern.

schrodingers cat?

There is really only one first principle: I shave, therefore I am.