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Did the Early Universe Have One Dimension?

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posted on Apr, 21 2011 @ 08:33 AM
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I was just reading an article that I found interesting and wanted to share.

These physicists theorize that gravitational waves can not exist in one or two dimensional space, so they are going to use the, yet to be launched, Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) to look for the absence of gravitational waves in the early universe. Because the launch of LISA is several years off, it may be a few years before they get the opportunity to test their hypothesis. However, they state that there is already some experimental evidence pointing to the existence of lower dimensional-space. If correct, this would result in a paradigm shift in the world of physics.

Here are a few snippets from the article:


Did the Early Universe Have One Dimension? That's the mind-boggling concept at the heart of a theory that University at Buffalo physicist Dejan Stojkovic and colleagues proposed in 2010.

They suggested that the early universe -- which exploded from a single point and was very, very small at first -- was one-dimensional (like a straight line) before expanding to include two dimensions (like a plane) and then three (like the world in which we live today).



The core idea is that the dimensionality of space depends on the size of the space we're observing, with smaller spaces associated with fewer dimensions. That means that a fourth dimension will open up -- if it hasn't already -- as the universe continues to expand.

The theory also suggests that space has fewer dimensions at very high energies of the kind associated with the early, post-big bang universe.



If Stojkovic and his colleagues are right, they will be helping to address fundamental problems with the standard model of particle physics, including the following:

The incompatibility between quantum mechanics and general relativity. Quantum mechanics and general relativity are mathematical frameworks that describe the physics of the universe. Quantum mechanics is good at describing the universe at very small scales, while relativity is good at describing the universe at large scales. Currently, the two theories are considered incompatible; but if the universe, at its smallest levels, had fewer dimensions, mathematical discrepancies between the two frameworks would disappear.

The mystery of the universe's accelerating expansion. Physicists have observed that the expansion of the universe is speeding up, and they don't know why. The addition of new dimensions as the universe grows would explain this acceleration. (Stojkovic says a fourth dimension may have already opened at large, cosmological scales.)

The need to alter the mass of the Higgs boson. The standard model of particle physics predicts the existence of an as yet undiscovered elementary particle called the Higgs boson. For equations in the standard model to accurately describe the observed physics of the real world, however, researchers must artificially adjust the mass of the Higgs boson for interactions between particles that take place at high energies. If space has fewer dimensions at high energies, the need for this kind of "tuning" disappears.


Follow the link for the entire article:

www.sciencedaily.com...



posted on Apr, 21 2011 @ 09:29 AM
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I don't think any method has yet detected gravitational waves - and been confirmed. But the planar detection of the high energy particles in the CERN collider would be interesting. However, it sounds like it would only be supportive evidence (and not conclusive) evidence of a lesser dimensional early universe history.


If high energies do correspond with lower-dimensional space, as the "vanishing dimensions" theory proposes, researchers working with the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator in Europe should see planar scattering at such energies.


I'm actually more anxious for the LHC to prove existence of 'more' current dimensions, rather than 'less' historic ones.

Interesting concept - that new dimensions could appear at any moment, as the universe expands. Something impossible today, could suddenly be possible tomorrow.



posted on Apr, 21 2011 @ 09:44 AM
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Originally posted by Larryman
Interesting concept - that new dimensions could appear at any moment, as the universe expands. Something impossible today, could suddenly be possible tomorrow.



Yes, I probably should have highlighted that part. That was what I found most interesting and that is why I posted this article. Imagine waking up tomorrow and it feels like you are still dreaming because the entire universe has suddenly changed all around you....or would it be business as usual, as if that new dimension had always been there (since you would be part of the universe that suddenly changed)?



 
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