What If We’re Living in a Multiverse? New Theory Suggests Parallel Universes Might Exist

A new theory suggests that parallel universes or Multiverse may exist, and you could be living in one right now. In fact, according to the theory, there may be an infinite number of them — all of which are equally real and exist simultaneously. The paper proposing this new theory has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, though it has not yet been released online or in print at the time of this writing.

Everything that can happen, happens

Imagine a world where everything that could possibly happen, does happen. All the what-ifs and could-have-beens play out in an infinite number of parallel universes. According to a new theory, this might not be just science fiction. Some physicists believe that our universe might be just one of many, existing side-by-side in a ‘multiverse.’ The idea has been around for decades, but recent research suggests it’s worth taking seriously. The problem is that there’s no way to know for sure–and we may never find out for sure–because any evidence would lie beyond our reach. But if multiverses do exist, they’d solve some big mysteries. Why are quantum particles entangled even when they’re light years apart? Why is dark matter holding galaxies together? And why are there hundreds of thousands of types of subatomic particles predicted by the Standard Model but only a handful have ever been detected so far? A multiverse might help explain all these issues: In a multiverse, every single thing that can happen happens, over and over again.

The first stars formed more than 13 billion years ago, which means the first stars must’ve created all the heavier elements in their cores before exploding as supernovae. That means heavy elements like iron were around long before Earth was born.

Science supports the possibility

A multiverse is a hypothetical set of infinite or finite possible universes, including the universe we live in. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, and energy as well as the physical laws and constants that describe them. One idea about how our universe might work is the idea of eternal inflation. According to this theory, our universe expanded exponentially very soon after the Big Bang—and will continue to do so forever. Our particular pocket of spacetime could be just one bubble in an infinitely expanding sea of other bubbles (each with their own laws of physics). What’s more, these other bubbles might collide with ours from time to time, seeding it with new particles and different versions of ourselves. In addition, there are theories that say our parallel selves exist at every point in space-time–even though they can’t interact with us because they occupy a parallel dimension.

In an interview with Business Insider, physicist Brian Greene said there are two points to keep in mind when considering whether life can exist outside of Earth. First, he says the universe is 13 billion years old, which means any other habitable planets may not have formed yet. Second, if there are indeed other planets out there we haven’t found any yet.

The current estimates for habitable zones around stars suggest they would be difficult to find due to the sheer number of stars and vast distances between them—about 10 quadrillion separate stellar systems per cubic light-year.

How it could happen

There’s no denying that the universe is a big place. But what if it’s even bigger than we can imagine? A new theory suggests that parallel universes might exist, and we could be living in one of them right now. What if our existence isn’t just a random occurrence? What if there are infinite universes with infinite possibilities – some of which are possible here on Earth.

There are many multiverse theories out there but this is the first to suggest that all parallel universes actually share space with each other – like bubbles inside an ever-expanding soap bubble. It would mean that you could pass from one universe to another without ever leaving your own bubble – kind of like popping a soap bubble. As cool as it sounds, this theory has some major holes in it. First off, there’s no way to test whether or not they’re true. The idea of someone going into another universe might sound like science fiction but if they were really happening wouldn’t we see traces of life somewhere else? And why do only a few people seem to have memories of being abducted by aliens when apparently billions live on Earth at any given time? Some scientists say that it may be because these people live in different parallel universes. Or maybe none of this is real at all. Regardless, those who want to know more about the subject should read up on string theory and quantum mechanics.

Are parallel universes anything like our own world?

If parallel universes exist, they might be very similar to our own world or they could be completely different. We don’t know for sure because we haven’t been able to observe them directly. Some scientists think that if parallel universes exist, we might be able to detect them indirectly by looking for signs of quantum entanglement. Other scientists think that parallel universes might be too far away for us to ever detect them. Scientists are also divided on whether there is just one universe (which means everything that exists was created at the same time) or many universes (which means everything was created over time). The theory of multiple universes predicts that with every decision you make, you create an entire new universe branching off from your original reality. For example, if you decide to have pizza instead of tacos tonight, then two parallel universes will split: One where you had pizza and one where you had tacos. But how can this be possible when we only experience one timeline? There’s no way to go back and compare the outcomes! It turns out that some physicists believe there’s something called many worlds interpretation which claims each timeline represents a complete copy of all other timelines – meaning every decision creates two distinct realities.

Why you should still care about multiverses even if you don’t believe they exist

First, the idea of a multiverse is fascinating. It’s an interesting concept to think about and one that has been studied by scientists for years. Even if you don’t believe in the existence of parallel universes, it’s still worth learning about. The idea of a multiverse opens up a lot of other questions like what other dimensions might exist, where these universes come from, how they work together and how they affect each other. Second, we can learn more about our own universe this way because there are different possibilities for our universe in some theories which means we could find out more about what type of universe we actually live in. Third, even if there isn’t an infinite number of universes, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist at all. As crazy as it sounds, the concept may be true and understanding why would help us understand much more about our own world. Finally, physicists use models to predict possible outcomes in their research so even if these models turn out not to be true on some level, it’s still helpful because at least then they will know how wrong their predictions were. In any case, the theory behind parallel universes is fascinating and it may even have practical applications for things like cosmology. For example, modeling other types of environments may give us a better understanding of ours. There are also issues with quantum mechanics that parallel universes might solve. Even if it turns out we don’t live in a multiverse, the study of them is still important because they give us a unique perspective on our own reality.

Where science leaves off

Could our universe be just one of many? A new theory suggests that parallel universes might exist, and that we could be living in one of them right now. The idea is not as crazy as it sounds—our universe may not have been the first to pop into existence, according to this hypothesis.

A possible explanation for how this would work is if every time a quantum event happens (for example, an atom changing from one energy state to another), the universe splits into two different versions—one where the atom changes its energy state and another where it doesn’t. In other words, the quantum event causes two separate universes to form out of thin air. It’s like a copy machine, but on a much grander scale. Every time something gets copied on the machine, there are two copies made: one with a mistake and one without. Likewise, when there’s an infinite number of copies being made simultaneously, there will be infinitely more copies with mistakes than copies without mistakes. So if you look at all those alternate universes collectively, most of them will contain worlds where things don’t happen the way they do in ours—unlikely events will occur all the time.