The Funky Physics of Reality
A Block Universe
When Einstein unified space and time in his theory of relativity in 1915, he gave us a new way to picture our Universe. Imagine a block of clay. It has three dimensions. But we live in four dimensions: three spatial and one ‘time’ dimension. A ‘block universe’ is four-dimensional. But instead of being made of clay, it’s made of spacetime. We can’t see it — and we’re unaware of it — yet we live inside this block of spacetime.
Mainstream science doesn’t know how big the block universe is. And science doesn’t know if space is infinite or not. As for time, science doesn’t know whether it has a beginning or if it will have an end in the future. So, we don’t know if we live in a finite chunk of spacetime or an infinite chunk.
A Predetermined Universe
Deterministic is when the initial causes entirely determine the outcome. Deterministic behavior doesn’t deviate or branch into indeterminate possibilities. Instead, it follows a straight and predictable path into the future. In deterministic systems, consciousness and free will play no part. Machines, computers, and anything entirely physical is deterministic in behavior.
Nondeterministic is when the outcome is unpredictable and not entirely dependent on initial conditions. Free will provides the unpredictability factor, whereby a single causal chain splits into multiple possible ones at the point of a conscious choice. All nondeterministic systems require the participation of consciousness at some level because only consciousness possesses free will — and thus the ability to create choice.
Some physicists believe that the ‘deterministic’ nature of time in Einstein’s theory of relativity — and the rest of “classical” physics — implicitly assumes the existence of infinite information. These physicists believe that in a predetermined universe, precisely what will happen for all time is set from the start — a universe with the initial state of every single particle encoded with infinite predetermined information. Otherwise, these physicists say, there would be a time in the future when the ‘clockwork’ universe would break down.
But now, science has decided that information is physical in nature. Modern research shows that information requires energy and occupies space. Any volume of space has a finite ‘information’ capacity. Science says the densest possible information storage capacity occurs inside black holes.
Therefore, the initial condition of a ‘predetermined’ universe would require too much information crammed into too little space. An actual number with infinite digits can’t be physically relevant. The ‘block universe’ assumes the existence of infinite information at its beginning. Because such thinking now seems invalid, some physicists are seeking a new way to describe ‘time’ in physics that doesn’t presume infinitely precise knowledge at the ‘initial’ stage of the Universe.
Quantum Mechanics
The first scientific revolution began in the 16th century and produced such household names as Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton. From this era came the mathematical laws governing the movements and forces among ordinary objects known as “classical physics” or “Newtonian physics.” For example, Force = Mass times Acceleration is a mathematical law of classical physics.
These laws address physical reality as solid, stable, and machinelike in its predictable behavior. This science dogma is still taught in schools and seems accurate for describing the physical world visible to the human eye.
Therefore, most people think it is the only science we can have faith in. But when we examine the subatomic world, we find that all the rules of ‘classical’ physics fly right out the ‘reality’ window.
The theory of quantum particles
In the early 1900s, physicists discovered that the subatomic world followed different laws from those of ordinary objects like tables and chairs. When physicists realized that quantum particles don’t follow the rules of classical physics, they called the new field “quantum physics.”
Then, as theories were developed to describe quantum behavior, physicists referred to the new field as “quantum mechanics.” Today, “quantum mechanics” means the same as “quantum physics,” but “mechanics” emphasizes doing mathematical calculations.
Quantum mechanics aims to understand interactions on the smallest scale of the universe — a place where physical laws do not follow Einstein’s general theory of relativity. In short, a place where things that are not supposed to happen — given our standard scientific understanding — suddenly start happening with astonishing regularity.
With the advent of quantum physics, scientists suddenly realized that — far from the mechanistic ideas of classical physics — supposedly solid, inanimate particles exist as non-solid waves of potentiality that come into and out of physical existence based on their interaction with consciousness. That’s a lot to take in.
Trying to understand quantum mechanics
In the sixties, the physicist Richard Feynman wrote, “I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.” Today, the situation hasn’t changed. Sure, physicists use quantum mechanics to anticipate the existence of new particles like the Higgs boson. And now, they’re harnessing the rules of quantum mechanics to build technologies like quantum computers.
But in this 3D reality, common folk see tables and chairs moving through spacetime. Quantum mechanics says there are no such things as tables or chairs. There’s just something physicists call a ‘quantum mechanical wave function.’
The job of physicists and philosophers alike is to show how — if we live in a world that is just a wave function — why does it look like there are tables and chairs? We don’t yet have a consensus on this issue.
Quantum mechanics says that before observing an electron, it is a wave function that can be in a ‘superposition’ of all possible locations. But when you observe the electron, you see it as a particle in one place. The description of the electron when no one is looking is different than when it is observed.
This is the fundamental mystery of quantum mechanics. The electron starts in a superposition of infinite possible locations. When you look, you evolve into a combined system of you (the observer) and the electron in a superposition. The superposition consists of the electron being here, and you see it here — and the electron is there, and you see it there — and so on.
Quantum mechanics has formulated exact mathematical equations for the wavefunction of a simple particle. But more complex systems — including living organisms — are beyond current calculating capabilities. In living systems, the wavefunction is as much a product of consciousness as physical laws. And since consciousness cannot be calculated or predicted, there are aspects of a living being’s wavefunction that mathematical equations can never delineate.
In practice, the ‘quantum phase’ is the degree to which the observer and the observed occupy the same physical reality or timeline. Altering one’s quantum phase concerning solid objects allows one to move through them. And when altered with respect to light, it makes one invisible. It should be noted that many who think outside the box of mainstream science dogma believe that extraterrestrial intelligence (ETs) and earth-based ‘black op’ military programs already utilize this type of quantum technology.
Quantum physics says hello to consciousness
The world of quantum physics is so strange that it confounds our conventional experience of space and time. Physicist Niels Bohr said, “If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet.”
Classical physics was not a problem for science until the quantum era when the tiny solid objects known as atoms began to vanish. They turned into whirling clouds of energy. And even those clouds were elusive. Particles like photons and electrons didn’t have fixed places in space but instead obeyed laws of probability.
Quantum physics holds that nothing is fixed or certain. It holds that elementary particles exist as invisible waves extending in all directions until an observer looks at them. Then and only then does the particle assume a place in time and space — the wave-particle duality. The physical reality of an object depends on how you choose to look at it. Physics has encountered consciousness — but has not admitted it.
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