Are there Parallel Universes?

Are there Parallel Universes?

Is there more than one of you? More than one of me? Another version of me may look identical. But we're not. Our fates could be completely different. One of us could be a descended of the other. Our meeting could cause both of us to evaporate into pure energy. We could all be living multiple parallel lives, because as scientists explore the outer reaches of physics and the cosmos, they're beginning to believe that parallel universes do exist and that they might determine the fate of humanity. When I was in grade school, I was smitten with this girl. I couldn't get
her out of my mind.

Watch Are there Parallel Universes documentary

Edwin Hubble, American astronomer, Big Bang, Hubble's law, Redshift, Hubble sequence

All of reality is described by quantum mechanics with Schrodinger's Equation

Stanford's 2-mile long particle accelerator

Inside a black hole, torsion twists space-time

Inside the dilution refrigerator

Energy in a new parallel universe

Max Tegmark

Max Tegmark, Swedish-American cosmologist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cosmologist Max Tegmark of M.I.T. believes that this other version of me, and of all of us, really exists. And he believes our cosmic doppelgangers live beyond the edge of the known universe. The best theory we have for what made our Universe predicts that it isn't just really, really big but actually infinite, going on literally forever in all directions. For Max, it's all a matter of statistics. And in an infinite universe, even extremely unlikely occurrences are possible. Since space is expanding, we need... more

Frank Tipler

Frank Tipler, PhD Mathematical physicist, Tulane University, Omega Point Theory

But there's another place to look for parallel worlds not in the depths of outer space, but in the microcosmos right under our noses, where nothing, it seems, is solid. Physicist Frank Tipler believes quantum mechanics predicts there are countless versions of ourselves living in parallel universes. And like many of us, he sometimes daydreams of an alter ego. Frank discovers a portal to a quantum parallel universe! This Frank Tipler believes our Universe, like a cartoon, tricks us... more

Andrew Cleland

Andrew Cleland, experimental physicist at University of California

Experimental physicist Andrew Cleland may have become the first man to catch a glimpse of a parallel universe. Inside this small square of silicon, Andrew has etched a barely visible metal panel. It's made up of over a trillion atoms. In the quantum world, it's Godzilla. Andrew's groundbreaking experiment proves that the strange laws of quantum mechanics govern everything in our Universe, from tiny particles to gargantuan galaxies. We're very familiar with the fact that... more

Joanne Hewett

Joanne Hewett, theoretical physicist, Stanford Linear Accelerator, California

But there's another type of parallel world that nearly all scientists are convinced should exist. It's made of antimatter, and if we ever meet it, the results would be complete and utter destruction. The frightening reality is that the Big Bang should have created antimatter and matter in equal amounts. In other words, out there, there should be an antimatter twin to our Universe with the power to annihilate all creation. Joanne Hewett is a detective on the trail of this missing parallel universe... more

Andrei Linde

Andrei Linde, cosmologist

We could be surrounded by all manner of parallel universes. Learning where and what they are is not just a theoretical game. The fate of our entire Universe depends on it. But these alter egos are important. Because they are the key to answering the biggest questions of existence: How was the Universe born and how will it end? Cosmologist Andrei Linde believes he's made a shocking discovery. The force that created the cosmos should have created countless other parallel universes. And... more

Paul Steinhardt

Paul Steinhardt believes that this alien universe is still less than an atom's length away

Paul Steinhardt is the Albert Einstein professor in science at Princeton University, a title that only two scientists have ever earned. What does inflation actually predict? Well, any possibility can occur an infinite number of times. Paul is scrapping decades of work on inflation for a new theory, one that claims there is a hidden fourth dimension of space. And across that dimension lies a parallel universe. more

Nikodem Poplawski

Nikodem Poplawski, physicist, think about some problems about the Universe

Do black holes connect us to a parallel world? We could be on the verge of making contact with a parallel universe. 400 years ago, it was believed Earth was the center of the Universe. The great astronomer Nicolas Copernicus left one crucial question unanswered. Where is the center of the Universe? Now another son of that same village thinks he has the answer. If he's right, it could lead us to a parallel universe, one that gave birth to ours... more

Conclusions

But in his struggle to wrench parallel universes from the realm of fantasy to one of serious scientific possibility, he is far from alone. The word "Universe" is supposed to mean everything that exists. Today, we're almost certain that our Universe is not all there is. There really could be parallel Earths, parallel you's, and parallel me's. It's hard not to wonder what our alter egos might be like, whether they are living out our most cherished dreams. But don't forget this possibility you could already be living the dream of another you from a parallel universe.