物理學(xué)家說，平行世界存在并與我們的世界相互作用

物理學(xué)家說，平行世界存在并與我們的世界相互作用

Quantum mechanics, though firmly tested, is so weird and anti-intuitive that famed physicist Richard Feynman once remarked, "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics." Attempts to explain some of the bizarre consequences of quantum theory have led to some mind-bending ideas, such as the Copenhagen interpretation and the many-worlds interpretation.

量子力學(xué)雖然經(jīng)過了嚴(yán)格的檢驗(yàn)，但它是如此怪異和反直覺，以至于著名物理學(xué)家理查德·費(fèi)曼(Richard Feynman)曾經(jīng)說過:“我想我可以有把握地說，沒有人了解量子力學(xué)。”試圖解釋量子理論的一些奇怪的結(jié)果導(dǎo)致了一些令人費(fèi)解的想法，如哥本哈根解釋和多世界解釋。

Do parallel worlds ever cross paths? (Photo: Martin Brigden [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr)

Now there's a "new" theory on the block, called the "many interacting worlds" hypothesis (MIW), and the idea is just as profound as it sounds. The theory suggests not only that parallel worlds exist, but that they interact with our world on the quantum level and are thus detectable. Though still speculative, the theory may help to finally explain some of the bizarre consequences inherent in quantum mechanics, according to RT.com.

現(xiàn)在有一種新的理論，叫做“多交互世界”假說(MIW)，這個(gè)想法聽起來很深?yuàn)W。該理論表明，平行世界不僅存在，而且它們?cè)诹孔訉用嫔吓c我們的世界相互作用，因此可以被探測(cè)到。據(jù)RT.com網(wǎng)站報(bào)道，盡管該理論仍處于推測(cè)階段，但它可能有助于最終解釋量子力學(xué)中一些固有的奇異結(jié)果。

Digging in to MIW

深入研究“多交互世界”假說

It's just a matter of which universe you're aware of. (Photo: manjik/Shutterstock)

The theory is a spinoff of the many-worlds interpretation in quantum mechanics — an idea that posits that all possible alternative histories and futures are real, each representing an actual, though parallel, world.

該理論是量子力學(xué)中多個(gè)世界解釋的衍生——該理論假設(shè)所有可能的替代歷史和未來都是真實(shí)的，每一個(gè)都代表一個(gè)真實(shí)的，但平行的世界。

Sean Carroll, a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology, supports the many-worlds theory. It's the subject of his new book, "Something Deeply Hidden."

加州理工學(xué)院的理論物理學(xué)家Sean Carroll支持多世界理論。這是他的新書《深藏的東西》的主題。

"It's absolutely possible that there are multiple worlds where you made different decisions. We're just obeying the laws of physics," says Carroll, "We don't know whether the number of worlds is finite or infinite, but it's certainly a very large number."

“你很可能在多個(gè)世界里做出不同的決定。我們只是在遵守物理定律，”卡羅爾說，“我們不知道世界的數(shù)量是有限的還是無限的，但肯定是一個(gè)非常大的數(shù)字。”

One problem with the many-worlds interpretation, however, has been that it's fundamentally untestable, since observations can only be made in our world. Happenings in these proposed "parallel" worlds can thus only be imagined.

然而，多世界解釋的一個(gè)問題是，它從根本上是不可測(cè)試的，因?yàn)橛^測(cè)只能在我們的世界中進(jìn)行。因此，在這些被提議的“平行”世界中所發(fā)生的事情只能是想象出來的。

Not a new idea

這不是什么新想法

Wiseman and colleagues have proposed that there exists "a universal force of repulsion between 'nearby' (i.e. similar) worlds, which tends to make them more dissimilar." Quantum effects can be explained by factoring in this force, they propose.

懷斯曼和他的同事們提出，“在‘鄰近的’(即相似的)世界之間存在一種普遍的斥力，這種斥力會(huì)使它們變得更不相似。”他們提出，量子效應(yīng)可以通過把這個(gè)力考慮進(jìn)去來解釋。

Whether or not the math holds true will be the ultimate test for this theory. Does it or does it not properly predict quantum effects mathematically? Regardless, the theory is certain to provide plenty of fodder for the imagination.

數(shù)學(xué)是否正確將是對(duì)這一理論的最終檢驗(yàn)。它在數(shù)學(xué)上是否正確地預(yù)測(cè)了量子效應(yīng)?無論如何，這一理論肯定會(huì)為想象力提供充足的素材。

For instance, when asked about whether their theory might entail the possibility that humans could someday interact with other worlds, Wiseman said: "It's not part of our theory. But the idea of [human] interactions with other universes is no longer pure fantasy."

例如，當(dāng)被問及他們的理論是否會(huì)帶來人類有朝一日可能與其他世界互動(dòng)的可能性時(shí)，懷斯曼說:“這不是我們理論的一部分。但人類與其他宇宙的互動(dòng)不再是純粹的幻想。”

What might your life look like if you made different choices? Maybe one day you'll be able to look into one of these alternative worlds and find out.

如果你做出不同的選擇，你的生活會(huì)是什么樣子?也許有一天，你可以看看這些不同的世界，然后找到答案。