The Multiverse Theory

We live in a quantum world, ruled by chance and random events. So, the idea that there are more universes than ours is a natural and unavoidable consequence. However, the existence of a multiverse completely defies science as we know it!

The Infinite Multiverse

In modern cosmology, this is a question without a blunt answer. Astrophysicists observe that no anywhere where we point telescopes, we see more galaxies in an endless mosaic.

Recently, NASA published fantastic images from the James Webb telescope, revealing the oldest images of the known universe. We now can see more galaxies than we knew existed.

Although scientific evidence points to the universe being infinite, our modern system of mathematics indicates a finite universe. Therefore, some theoretical physicists like Stephen Hawking, believe that this is not the only possible universe in existence. 

The Multiverse Theory

In the 1980s, Stephen Hawking and James Hartle developed a new idea about the origin of the Universe. Their theory shattered the current scientific view of the Universe. They called it “Quantum Mechanics to explain the origin of the Universe.”

As physicists analyzed the idea, they realized its practicality. Separately, it implied that the Big Bang would have inevitably created not just one Universe, but infinite universes.

According to the Hartle-Hawking theory, some universes would be very similar to ours. Some could have their own Earth, societies, and humans. A few might even have parallel versions of you.

Some universes would be subtly different than our reality. Theoretically, one could have a society of dinosaurs instead of humans!

Other universes would be completely different. This could include universes without planets, stars, and galaxies. These would, then, have different physical and chemical laws, and even universes without gravity.

Evidence of the Multiverse

The idea that there are more universes seems fantastic. However, this is no longer an idea, but rather a consequence arising from mathematics and quantum mechanics. As we attempt to interpret our universe, science often unlearns in order to relearn and evolve.

While physicists often don’t enjoy exploring calculations like this, mathematics points to a likely possibility that cannot be ruled out.

Since the idea of the multiverse was proposed, many physicists have postulated different theories of its existence. Hawking, for example, developed a series of formulae based on the knowledge of cosmic inflation. He concluded that if other universes existed, they would not be unlimited as he initially thought!

In his new model, he explores the idea that a finite number of universes, each would expand in ways much like ours. So, each universe would be infinite within its own borders, but the number of universes would be limited.

For now, both Hawking’s hypotheses and those of other physicists and cosmologists remain hypotheses. So, while the Multiverse Theory is just an idea, it is also supported by a reasonable amount of observable and measurable scientific evidence. Sadly, our current technology does not allow us to verify if this hypothesis is correct or not.

How Scientists Are Exploring the Theory

Currently, technology allows us to see the universe as it was just a billion years after the Big Bang. However, to observe further into the past, we need telescopes with technologies that do not yet exist. Another way to corroborate the theory would be to find cracks in space-time, like a wormhole. Today, experiments in the Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland, have not found anything yet.

Scientists currently believe that the only way to really prove the existence of alternate universes would be with telescopes and particle colliders as big as a planet! Until our technology reaches these scales or evolves in a different direction, we can only continue learning to better understand the universe in which we live.