Mangled Universes?
Maggie McKee’s article “Is our universe about to be mangled?” in NewScientist.com is a fascinating read.
[tease]
Our universe may one day be obliterated or assimilated by a larger universe, according to a controversial new analysis. The work suggests the parallel universes proposed by some quantum theorists may not actually be parallel but could interact – and with disastrous consequences.
[tease]
Hanson, an economist who also studies physics, is taking a new approach. He argues that these multiple universes are not actually independent, as was thought, but interacting and sometimes destructive.
Quantum theory states that all universes are not created equal - each “parent” universe is much larger according to a particular quantum measure than its later descendants.
Quantum interactions between the universes were thought to be too small to really affect them, but Hanson says the interactions can be significant between universes of vastly different size.
[tease] (emphasis added)
… Hanson says there is a cut-off between small worlds that become mangled and large worlds that do not, and that most universes are near or below this line.
That suggests that the universe we live in now could be mangled at any moment by a larger universe, he says. “It could be there’s a moment of pain before the end,” Hanson says. “But you could be comforted by the fact that versions of you will go on, even if you don’t.”
[via reddit.com]