Fermilab is Building a 'Holometer' to Determine Once and For All Whether Reality Is Just an Illusion

[Cindy]

Thought you may find this posting of interest since it has some parallels to this thread.

Fermilab is Building a 'Holometer' to Determine Once and For All Whether Reality Is Just an Illusion

Brainicane

[breyn-i-keyn] Brainstorming on a Higher Level

By Clay Dillow Posted 10.21.2010

Researchers at Fermilab are building a “holometer” so they can disprove
everything you thought you knew about the universe. More specifically,
they are trying to either prove or disprove the somewhat mind-bending
notion that the third dimension doesn’t exist at all, and that the 3-D
universe we think we live in is nothing more than a hologram. To do so,
they are building the most precise clock ever created.

The universe-as-hologram theory is predicated on the idea that spacetime
is not perfectly smooth, but becomes discrete and pixelated as you zoom
in further and further, like a low-res digital image. This idea isn’t
novel; recent experiments in black-hole physics have offered evidence
that this may be the case, and prominent physicists have proposed
similar ideas. Under this theory, the universe actually exists in two
dimensions and the third is an illusion produced by the intertwining of
time and depth. But the false third dimension can’t be perceived as
such, because nothing travels faster than light, so instruments can’t
find its limits.

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Science, Clay Dillow, astronomy, fermilab, holometer, physics, Space, spacetime, theoretical physics

This is theoretical physics at its finest, drowning in complex mathematics but short on hard data.

So Fermilab particle astrophysicist Craig Hogan and his team are building a “holometer” to magnify spacetime and see if it is indeed as
noisy as the math suggests it might be at higher resolution. In
Fermilab’s largest laser lab, Hogan and company are putting together
what they call a “holographic interferometer,” which - like a classic
interferometer - will split laser beams and measure the difference in
frequencies between the two identical beams.

But unlike conventional interferometers, the holometer will measure for noise or interference in spacetime itself. It’s actually composed of
two interferometers - built one atop the other - that produce data on
the amount of interference or “holographic noise.” Since they are
measuring the same volume of spacetime, they should show the same amount
of correlated jitter in the fabric of the universe. It will produce the
first direct experimental insight into the fundamental nature of space
and time, and there’s no telling what researchers delving into that data
might find out about the holographic nature of the universe.

So enjoy the third dimension while you still can. Construction on the first instrument is already underway, and Hogan thinks they will begin
collecting data on the very nature of spacetime itself by next year.

Build Your Own Spacetime-Measuring ‘Holometer’ at Home: Just kidding. Don’t.  Sam Waldman, MIT/Craig Hogan, Fermilab PAC

[Symmetry, Fermilab]

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Posted on October 21st, 2010 under Science and Technology • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback http://www.brainicane.com/2010/10/21/fermilab-is-building-a-holomet...