ZapFuture

Mathematical Prove of Parallel Universes Existence

It seems that my Future Science prediction, posted here on 2003, on many aspects of Modern Science Theories, including my particular view of the Many Worlds theory, might have some relevance, after all.

According to a very recent mathematical discovery by Oxford scientists, already labelled by some as "one of the most important developments in the history of science", parallel universes really do exist!

The parallel universe theory, first proposed in 1950 by the US physicist Hugh Everett, helps explain mysteries of quantum mechanics that have baffled scientists for decades, it is claimed.

In Everett's "many worlds" universe, every time a new physical possibility is explored, the universe splits. Given a number of possible alternative outcomes, each one is played out - in its own universe.

A motorist who has a near miss, for instance, might feel relieved at his lucky escape. But in a parallel universe, another version of the same driver will have been killed. Yet another universe will see the motorist recover after treatment in hospital. The number of alternative scenarios is endless.

It is a bizarre idea which has been dismissed as fanciful by many experts. But the new research from Oxford shows that it offers a mathematical answer to quantum conundrums that cannot be dismissed lightly - and suggests that Dr Everett, who was a Phd student at Princeton University when he came up with the theory, was on the right track.

Commenting in New Scientist magazine, Dr Andy Albrecht, a physicist at the University of California at Davis, said: "This work will go down as one of the most important developments in the history of science."

According to quantum mechanics, nothing at the subatomic scale can really be said to exist until it is observed. Until then, particles occupy nebulous "superposition" states, in which they can have simultaneous "up" and "down" spins, or appear to be in different places at the same time.

Observation appears to "nail down" a particular state of reality, in the same way as a spinning coin can only be said to be in a "heads" or "tails" state once it is caught.

According to quantum mechanics, unobserved particles are described by "wave functions" representing a set of multiple "probable" states. When an observer makes a measurement, the particle then settles down into one of these multiple options.

The Oxford team, led by Dr David Deutsch, showed mathematically that the bush-like branching structure created by the universe splitting into parallel versions of itself can explain the probabilistic nature of quantum outcomes.

Source: Press Association Ltd

Breaking the speed of light?!

It was supposed to be the one speed limit you cannot break.

But scientists claim to have demonstrated there is the possibility of travel faster than the speed of light.

The feat contradicts one of the key tenets of Einstein's special theory of relativity - that nothing, under any circumstances, can move faster than 186,000 miles per second, or the speed of light.

Why you can't predict the future of Web 2.0 projects

Just when you thought you understood Web 2.0, along comes a theory so disruptive it razes everything in its path. The theory of cumulative advantage suggests that every successful Web 2.0 site — and the output of every Web 2.0 platform — is completely arbitrary and random. The head-exploding NYT piece by Columbia professor Duncan Watts is a must read, but here’s the key:

In our artificial market, therefore, social influence played as large a role in determining the market share of successful songs as differences in quality. It’s a simple result to state, but it has a surprisingly deep consequence. Because the long-run success of a song depends so sensitively on the decisions of a few early-arriving individuals, whose choices are subsequently amplified and eventually locked in by the cumulative-advantage process, and because the particular individuals who play this important role are chosen randomly and may make different decisions from one moment to the next, the resulting unpredictably is inherent to the nature of the market.

Oh, how sweet the irony — Web 2.0’s radical openness and transparency, combined with its intensely social nature, are precisely why it brings you the best of nothing.

Einstein was wrong!?

Scientists have finally exceeded the speed of light, causing a light pulse to travel hundreds of times faster than normal.

It raced so fast the pulse exited a specially-prepared chamber before it even finished entering it.

The experiment is the first-ever evidence of faster-than-light motion.

The result appears to be at odds with one of the basic principles of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, that nothing can go faster than the speed of light in a vacuum, about 186,000 miles per second.

However, Lijun Wang, one of the scientists from the NEC Research Institute in Princeton, N.J., says their findings are not at odds with Einstein.

Now how can that be? Either we can move faster than the speed of light or we can't, no?

More on cbc
Discuss it here, on our forums.

Finally, a test for String Theory?!

For decades, many scientists have criticized string theory, pointing out that it does not make predictions by which it can be tested. Now, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University; the University of California, San Diego; and The University of Texas at Austin have developed a test of string theory. Their test, described in the Jan. 26 Physical Review Letters, involves measurements of how elusive high-energy particles scatter during particle collisions.

Most physicists believe that collisions will be observable at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which is set to turn on later this year at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, commonly known as CERN.

"Our work shows that, in principle, string theory can be tested in a nontrivial way," explained Ira Rothstein, co-author of the paper and professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon.

Rothstein and colleagues Jacques Distler, professor of physics at The University of Texas at Austin; Benjamin Grinstein, professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego; and Carnegie Mellon graduate student Rafael Porto developed their test based on studies of how strongly W bosons scatter in high-energy particle collisions generated within a particle accelerator. W bosons are special because they carry a property called the weak force, which provides a fundamental way for particles to interact with one another.

Science Predictions for 2007

PopSci Predicts, The Year Ahead: we'll get a vaccine for addiction, debate the future of nuclear power, use new tech to take on water shortages, and—just maybe—find an extra dimension or two.

The Answer Machine Arrives: The world’s most powerful physics laboratory will take on questions we can’t yet imagine. The subatomic collisions at the LHC could solve many long-standing mysteries of the universe.
The Year's Top 5 Space Launches: This year's five shuttle missions to the ISS will increase the facility’s size by 30 percent.
Stem Cells Grow Up: New research into adult cells may reenergize therapeutic research. The ability to create embryonic stem cells from adult cells could transform the science.
Fighting Water Woes: As global shortages grow, the U.S. turns to high-tech solutions. A growing population's demand for water has dried up the supply across the West.
The (Not So) New Nuclear: Despite resurgent interest in nuclear power, novel plant designs stall. New plants will improve safety (shown here, a test reactor used to develop safer materials) but won’t incorporate the smartest new technology.
Meet Carbon’s Evil Cousin, Methane: A new understanding of permafrost melt could soon alter global-climate models. See the photo of Methane release, as from this Siberian lake, could influence climate change.
Addiction on the Brain: From vaccines to versatile drugs, new cures are all about chemistry. See the photos of Brain scans show that many forms of addiction—including compulsive behaviors like gluttony—have the same roots in the brain.

Want To Win in 2007? Get Innovating Build a Flying Car, Run a Space Elevator, Invent a Robo-Vehicle or Track an Asteroid.
Know me on more? Read it all on the online edition of PopSci

IBM on Quantum Teleportation

"Teleportation is the name given by science fiction writers to the feat of making an object or person disintegrate in one place while a perfect replica appears somewhere else. How this is accomplished is usually not explained in detail, but the general idea seems to be that the original object is scanned in such a way as to extract all the information from it, then this information is transmitted to the receiving location and used to construct the replica, not necessarily from the actual material of the original, but perhaps from atoms of the same kinds, arranged in exactly the same pattern as the original. A teleportation machine would be like a fax machine, except that it would work on 3-dimensional objects as well as documents, it would produce an exact copy rather than an approximate facsimile, and it would destroy the original in the process of scanning it. A few science fiction writers consider teleporters that preserve the original, and the plot gets complicated when the original and teleported versions of the same person meet; but the more common kind of teleporter destroys the original, functioning as a super transportation device, not as a perfect replicator of souls and bodies.

New Alternative Theory of Gravity

A new alternative theory of gravity explains large structure formation without dark matter .

In the standard theory of gravity—general relativity—dark matter plays a vital role, explaining many observations that the standard theory cannot explain by itself. But for 70 years, cosmologists have never observed dark matter, and the lack of direct observation has created skepticism about what is really out there.

Read more on Physorg.com

Macroscopic Atomic Object Teleported!

Beaming people in "Star Trek" fashion is still in the realms of science fiction, but physicists in Denmark have teleported information from light to matter bringing quantum communication and computing closer to reality.

Until now scientists have teleported similar objects such as light or single atoms over short distances from one spot to another in a split second.

But Professor Eugene Polzik and his team at the Niels Bohr Institute at Copenhagen University in Denmark have made a breakthrough by using both light and matter.

"It is one step further because for the first time it involves teleportation between light and matter, two different objects. One is the carrier of information and the other one is the storage medium," Polzik explained in an interview on Wednesday.

The experiment involved for the first time a macroscopic atomic object containing thousands of billions of atoms. They also teleported the information a distance of half a meter but believe it can be extended further.

CNN

Two Photons Successfully Teleported

That achievement is said to be the first for a composite system, and the researchers say their approach could lead to new ways to harness quantum effects for communication and computational purposes.

A quantum-mechanical system is characterized by a set of properties that can exist in certain possible states. For example, one property of a photon is polarization, the state of which can be horizontal, vertical or a mixture of the two. Quantum teleportation transfers the state -- in this case of the polarization -- of one object to another, which can be an arbitrary distance away.

Teleportation does not transfer energy or matter, the scientists noted.

Teleportation of quantum states involving more than one particle -- as now shown by Qiang Zhang and colleagues in the Physics Institute at the University of Heidelberg -- promise secure information exchange and the ability to solve certain tasks faster than any classical computer.

The authors' experiment lasted several days, but with further improvements they say their process might become of more practical value.

The research is reported in the current issue of the journal Nature Physics.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International