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Originally Posted by xelasnave
Yes I have heard that one....do particles "pop into and out of existence '?
Are you aware of what observation draws this conclusion?
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So if we follow this 'quantum fluctuation notion" all the particles of the universe somehow popped into existence ... That would seem an extraordinary claim and as such should be accompanied by extrodinary evidence...
Alex
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The Uncertainty principle suggested that this was theoretically true - I think the Casimir effect with the two steel plates proved it experimentally.
But the idea of the universe being a result of quantum fluctuations on a grander scale is my own conjecture. It just seems like the default state of the universe is particles and wave functions. What we can know about a black hole - spin, charge, mass - are the same things we can know about a sub-atomic particle. A black hole is in effect a very large particle. Does our entire universe taken together also have charge and spin?
I always wonder what happens when the particle passes through *both apertures in the double slit experiment from the point of view of the particle. Does it seem to spontaneously expand from a dense state? Caused by nothing other than the probability of traveling through either slit being equal? No quantum level 'dark energy' is required - its just the completion of a cycle. What state is it in as it travels through both slits? How does it 'decide' how to get through to the other side? Is it in essence a simple quantum computer?
Similarly, the particle/anti-particle pairs that are generated in the quantum foam go through a stage of coalescing to form particles before disappearing again.
I wonder if our entire universe then, is a result of a similar quantum fluctuation just on a larger scale. The big bang, then is the moment the universe had to make a 'probabilistic decision' like with the double slit experiment. Viewed from inside, for a tiny fraction of expanding time, maybe it looks much like our current universe. In other words, maybe the universe as a whole is subject to quantum effects the same as a tiny particle is.
Which is all a long-winded way of saying that in order for that to happen, the laws of physics would have to change over time to allow expansion and contraction. Which would make it interesting if it turns out that that was indeed the case in the early universe. Maybe we just exist in the gaps between macro and micro scales of quantum foam.
All just conjecture, but it's fun to imagine.
Markus