Like it or not, life is full of regrets and embarrassing moments. We sleep through our alarm, or we select the wrong option in our exam (just like me). Is there a way to take it all back? Pfft, only in an alternate universe! Wait, but could you really?
When you look up at that night sky, there are thousands of bright shining little dots we've come to call Stars. Then there is this big ball called The Moon. When you look at the same sky using the most powerful telescopes, you'll see even more stars and galaxies spread around space in a sphere of about 92 billion light years in diameter. This is already huge and impressive, but does it all end there? Can you actually go beyond that sphere? Science says...probably (He is a funny guy, don't take him seriously). Physicists call that the "Multiverse". So while the universe technically means everything that exists, the "multiverse" means an infinite number of those "everything".
Yes, there is not just one alternative or parallel universe like you have seen in TV series, movies, and so on. There is an uncountable number of universes that exist side by side in higher dimensions that we cannot even perceive or observe. In each universe, there is an alternate copy of yourself that looks a lot like you. Only they make a different choice, that leads to different outcomes on a daily basis. Anyway, all of this sounds pretty awesome as it gives endless opportunities. But is there any scientific proof it could be real?
To answer that question, let us start small. In the universe, be it ours or some parallel kind, everything is connected. The smallest things directly influence the largest things. Everything in our universe (including you and me!) is made of atoms. Quantum physics (that's the science that studies all these tiny particles) say electrons have a superpower: instead of just moving in one direction, they can spin both clockwise and counterclockwise. Now, atoms, powered with these super particles, can do plenty of things. They can go to the left or right, they can jump up and down, spin, and whatnot. But according to quantum physics, they don't choose just one option but do everything they possibly can at the same time! The "multiverse" concept is based on the same idea. Anything that can happen actually does happen somewhere out there. Some of the multiverse may have no atom, galaxies, or living human beings because they may be expanding or collapsing way too fast. But there must be others that are more like our universe with many alternate versions of you and me. As long as it is possible for live to evolve, it will continue to do so. Just like there are infinite number of combinations of particles and universes, there's an infinite number of possible physical laws ruling in those universes. In one for instance, electrons are much heavier than here, energy behaves differently, and gravity is much stronger than in our world - the possibilities are limitless.
Since space time constantly begins and stretches, it just has to repeat itself at some point. At least that is what mathematicians say. But can you travel to other space time? Like the Flash does...If you believe there had been more than one Big Bang, travelling to another universe would be like going back in time to the moment before our own was born. Travelling back in time is really tricky. But it is not completely impossible if you trust the theory of general relativity. Why wouldn't you? Einstein was a smart guy! According to his famous theory, you can make a loop out of space - time and travel through it. Imagine it like a roller coaster that relocates you in both space and time to the point before you started your journey. Einstein believed time is not an absolute. You can actually stretch or squeeze it - all it takes is a certain speed. If you get close to the speed of light, time will slow down. When you stop, more time will have gone by for everyone else than for you. So, you'll have traveled to the future, even if it is not by much!
All this sounds theoretically possible yet pretty hard to arrange in real life. But it doesn't mean you should be sad that you can't travel to an alternate universe! In fact, you are already in many of them at this very moment! If the theory of parallel universe is true - you're making every possible choice you can all the time. And in this way, you are constantly travelling between parallel universes without even knowing it. That should make you feel at least a little better about any bad decisions you've ever made! With the technology that currently exists, humans cannot see what is beyond our observable universe. Hey!! Maybe other universes have found a gateway and are travelling to each others' as we speak.
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Written by: Sowmiya Narayanan
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Reference:
Bright side: Travelling to Parallel Universe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeS4wGguldk
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