No theory of physics strains credulity like “Many-Worlds,” the proposal that we experience only one branch of possibly infinite realities, which sprout like the limbs on a tree, splitting into numberless parallel universes—all of which are equally real. Officially called the Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics, this seemingly absurd idea may be what’s really going on in our multiverse
How off-the-wall is Many-Worlds? Consider these consequences of the theory:
-Multiverse: Innumerable universes exist simultaneously, and the number is growing exponentially. These universes don’t have a location in space, but space exists inside each, just as in our own universe.
-Duplicates: Countless versions of you exist in these parallel universes. At least, they are you in the sense that each of you shares the same past. However, each version of you is a different person who will experience a unique future.
These claims may sound like science fiction, but there are good reasons to believe them.
Many-Worlds is a response to the “Copenhagen Interpretation” of quantum mechanics. The Copenhagen Interpretation holds that quantum particles exist in multiple states at the same time. Upon measurement, the system assumes a definite state, an event that termed the “wave function collapse.”
In the 1950s, physicist Hugh Everett objected that the wave function collapse was an ad hoc addition to the mathematically elegant Schrödinger equation. Instead, he proposed that the collapse is only apparent, and that we should stick to what the equation tells us: that all possible outcomes continue to evolve in parallel, leading to a branching structure of many non-interacting universes.
Source: excerpted from course guidebook, 'The Many Worlds of Quantum Mechanics', Sean Carroll, Johns Hopkins University
How off-the-wall is Many-Worlds? Consider these consequences of the theory:
-Multiverse: Innumerable universes exist simultaneously, and the number is growing exponentially. These universes don’t have a location in space, but space exists inside each, just as in our own universe.
-Duplicates: Countless versions of you exist in these parallel universes. At least, they are you in the sense that each of you shares the same past. However, each version of you is a different person who will experience a unique future.
These claims may sound like science fiction, but there are good reasons to believe them.
Many-Worlds is a response to the “Copenhagen Interpretation” of quantum mechanics. The Copenhagen Interpretation holds that quantum particles exist in multiple states at the same time. Upon measurement, the system assumes a definite state, an event that termed the “wave function collapse.”
In the 1950s, physicist Hugh Everett objected that the wave function collapse was an ad hoc addition to the mathematically elegant Schrödinger equation. Instead, he proposed that the collapse is only apparent, and that we should stick to what the equation tells us: that all possible outcomes continue to evolve in parallel, leading to a branching structure of many non-interacting universes.
Source: excerpted from course guidebook, 'The Many Worlds of Quantum Mechanics', Sean Carroll, Johns Hopkins University
