| Dear Friends,
http://phys.org/news/2012-12-simulation-idea.html
Be Well.
David
Do we live in a computer simulation? Researchers say idea can be tested December 10, 2012 Enlarge
The
conical (red) surface shows the relationship between energy and
momentum in special relativity, a fundamental theory concerning space
and time developed by Albert Einstein, and is the expected result if our
universe is not a simulation. The flat (blue) surface illustrates the
relationship between energy and momentum that would be expected if the
universe is a simulation with an
underlying cubic lattice. Credit: Martin Savage A decade ago, a British
philosopher put forth the notion that the universe we live in might in
fact be a computer simulation run by our descendants. While that seems
far-fetched, perhaps even incomprehensible, a team of physicists at the
University of Washington has come up with a potential test to see if the
idea holds water.
The concept that current humanity could possibly be
living in a computer simulation comes from a 2003 paper published in
Philosophical Quarterly by Nick Bostrom, a philosophy professor at the
University of Oxford. In the paper, he argued that at least one of three
possibilities is true: The human species is likely to go extinct before
reaching a "posthuman" stage. Any posthuman civilization is very
unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of its evolutionary
history. We are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. He also held
that "the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day
become posthumans who run ancestor simulations is false, unless we are
currently living in a simulation." With current limitations and trends in
computing, it will be decades before researchers will be able to run even
primitive simulations of the universe. But the UW team has suggested tests that
can be performed now, or in the near future, that are sensitive to constraints
imposed on future simulations by limited resources. Currently, supercomputers
using a technique called lattice quantum chromodynamics and starting from the
fundamental physical laws that govern the universe can simulate only a very
small portion of the universe, on the scale of one 100-trillionth of a meter, a
little larger than the nucleus of an atom, said Martin Savage, a UW physics
professor. Eventually, more powerful simulations will be able to model on the
scale of a molecule, then a cell and even a human being. But it will take many
generations of growth in computing power to be able to simulate a large enough
chunk of the universe to understand the constraints on physical processes that
would indicate we are living in a computer model.
However, Savage said, there are signatures of resource constraints in present-day simulations that are likely to exist as well in simulations in the distant future, including the imprint of an underlying lattice if one is used to model the space-time continuum. The supercomputers performing lattice quantum chromodynamics calculations essentially divide space-time into a four-dimensional grid. That allows researchers to examine what is called the strong force, one of the four fundamental forces of nature and the one that binds subatomic particles called quarks and gluons together into neutrons and protons at the core of atoms. "If you make the simulations big enough, something like our universe should emerge," Savage said. Then it would be a matter of looking for a "signature" in our universe that has an analog in the current small-scale simulations. Savage and colleagues Silas Beane of the University of New Hampshire, who collaborated while at the UW's Institute for Nuclear Theory, and Zohreh Davoudi, a UW physics graduate student, suggest that the signature could show up as a limitation in the energy of cosmic rays. In a paper they have posted on arXiv, an online archive for preprints of scientific papers in a number of fields, including physics, they say that the highest-energy cosmic rays would not travel along the edges of the lattice in the model but would travel diagonally, and they would not interact equally in all directions as they otherwise would be expected to do. "This is the first testable signature of such an idea," Savage said. If such a concept turned out to be reality, it would raise other possibilities as well. For example, Davoudi suggests that if our universe is a simulation, then those running it could be running other simulations as well, essentially creating other universes parallel to our own. "Then the question is, 'Can you communicate with those other universes if they are running on the same platform?'" she said. Provided by University of Washington. |
Do we live in a computer
simulation? Researchers say idea can be tested
December 10, 2012
Do we live in a computer simulation? Researchers say idea can be tested
Enlarge
The conical (red) surface shows the relationship between energy and
momentum in special relativity, a fundamental theory concerning space
and time developed by Albert Einstein, and is the expected result if our
universe is not a simulation. The flat (blue) surface illustrates the
relationship between energy and momentum that would be expected if the
universe is a simulation with an underlying cubic lattice. Credit:
Martin Savage
A decade ago, a British philosopher put forth the notion that the
universe we live in might in fact be a computer simulation run by our
descendants. While that seems far-fetched, perhaps even
incomprehensible, a team of physicists at the University of Washington
has come up with a potential test to see if the idea holds water.
Ads by Google
What Happens When You Die - New scientific theory says death isn't the
end - RobertLanza.com
The concept that current humanity could possibly be living in a computer
simulation comes from a 2003 paper published in Philosophical Quarterly
by Nick Bostrom, a philosophy professor at the University of Oxford. In
the paper, he argued that at least one of three possibilities is true:
The human species is likely to go extinct before reaching a
"posthuman" stage.
Any posthuman civilization is very unlikely to run a significant
number of simulations of its evolutionary history.
We are almost certainly living in a computer simulation.
He also held that "the belief that there is a significant chance that we
will one day become posthumans who run ancestor simulations is false,
unless we are currently living in a simulation."
With current limitations and trends in computing, it will be decades
before researchers will be able to run even primitive simulations of the
universe. But the UW team has suggested tests that can be performed
now, or in the near future, that are sensitive to constraints imposed on
future simulations by limited resources.
Currently, supercomputers using a technique called lattice quantum
chromodynamics and starting from the fundamental physical laws that
govern the universe can simulate only a very small portion of the
universe, on the scale of one 100-trillionth of a meter, a little larger
than the nucleus of an atom, said Martin Savage, a UW physics
professor.
Eventually, more powerful simulations will be able to model on the scale
of a molecule, then a cell and even a human being. But it will take
many generations of growth in computing power to be able to simulate a
large enough chunk of the universe to understand the constraints on
physical processes that would indicate we are living in a computer
model.
Ads by Google
Dillon Dynamometers - Mechanical & Digital Dynamometers 0-500 lb up
to 550,000 lb - www.dillondynamometers.com
However, Savage said, there are signatures of resource constraints in
present-day simulations that are likely to exist as well in simulations
in the distant future, including the imprint of an underlying lattice if
one is used to model the space-time continuum.
The supercomputers performing lattice quantum chromodynamics
calculations essentially divide space-time into a four-dimensional grid.
That allows researchers to examine what is called the strong force, one
of the four fundamental forces of nature and the one that binds
subatomic particles called quarks and gluons together into neutrons and
protons at the core of atoms.
"If you make the simulations big enough, something like our universe
should emerge," Savage said. Then it would be a matter of looking for a
"signature" in our universe that has an analog in the current
small-scale simulations.
Savage and colleagues Silas Beane of the University of New Hampshire,
who collaborated while at the UW's Institute for Nuclear Theory, and
Zohreh Davoudi, a UW physics graduate student, suggest that the
signature could show up as a limitation in the energy of cosmic rays.
In a paper they have posted on arXiv, an online archive for preprints of
scientific papers in a number of fields, including physics, they say
that the highest-energy cosmic rays would not travel along the edges of
the lattice in the model but would travel diagonally, and they would not
interact equally in all directions as they otherwise would be expected
to do.
"This is the first testable signature of such an idea," Savage said.
If such a concept turned out to be reality, it would raise other
possibilities as well. For example, Davoudi suggests that if our
universe is a simulation, then those running it could be running other
simulations as well, essentially creating other universes parallel to
our own.
"Then the question is, 'Can you communicate with those other universes
if they are running on the same platform?'" she said.
Provided by University of Washington search and more info website
Ads by Google
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-simulation-idea.html#jCpDo we live in a computer
simulation? Researchers say idea can be tested
December 10, 2012
Do we live in a computer simulation? Researchers say idea can be tested
Enlarge
The conical (red) surface shows the relationship between energy and
momentum in special relativity, a fundamental theory concerning space
and time developed by Albert Einstein, and is the expected result if our
universe is not a simulation. The flat (blue) surface illustrates the
relationship between energy and momentum that would be expected if the
universe is a simulation with an underlying cubic lattice. Credit:
Martin Savage
A decade ago, a British philosopher put forth the notion that the
universe we live in might in fact be a computer simulation run by our
descendants. While that seems far-fetched, perhaps even
incomprehensible, a team of physicists at the University of Washington
has come up with a potential test to see if the idea holds water.
Ads by Google
What Happens When You Die - New scientific theory says death isn't the
end - RobertLanza.com
The concept that current humanity could possibly be living in a computer
simulation comes from a 2003 paper published in Philosophical Quarterly
by Nick Bostrom, a philosophy professor at the University of Oxford. In
the paper, he argued that at least one of three possibilities is true:
The human species is likely to go extinct before reaching a
"posthuman" stage.
Any posthuman civilization is very unlikely to run a significant
number of simulations of its evolutionary history.
We are almost certainly living in a computer simulation.
He also held that "the belief that there is a significant chance that we
will one day become posthumans who run ancestor simulations is false,
unless we are currently living in a simulation."
With current limitations and trends in computing, it will be decades
before researchers will be able to run even primitive simulations of the
universe. But the UW team has suggested tests that can be performed
now, or in the near future, that are sensitive to constraints imposed on
future simulations by limited resources.
Currently, supercomputers using a technique called lattice quantum
chromodynamics and starting from the fundamental physical laws that
govern the universe can simulate only a very small portion of the
universe, on the scale of one 100-trillionth of a meter, a little larger
than the nucleus of an atom, said Martin Savage, a UW physics
professor.
Eventually, more powerful simulations will be able to model on the scale
of a molecule, then a cell and even a human being. But it will take
many generations of growth in computing power to be able to simulate a
large enough chunk of the universe to understand the constraints on
physical processes that would indicate we are living in a computer
model.
Ads by Google
Dillon Dynamometers - Mechanical & Digital Dynamometers 0-500 lb up
to 550,000 lb - www.dillondynamometers.com
However, Savage said, there are signatures of resource constraints in
present-day simulations that are likely to exist as well in simulations
in the distant future, including the imprint of an underlying lattice if
one is used to model the space-time continuum.
The supercomputers performing lattice quantum chromodynamics
calculations essentially divide space-time into a four-dimensional grid.
That allows researchers to examine what is called the strong force, one
of the four fundamental forces of nature and the one that binds
subatomic particles called quarks and gluons together into neutrons and
protons at the core of atoms.
"If you make the simulations big enough, something like our universe
should emerge," Savage said. Then it would be a matter of looking for a
"signature" in our universe that has an analog in the current
small-scale simulations.
Savage and colleagues Silas Beane of the University of New Hampshire,
who collaborated while at the UW's Institute for Nuclear Theory, and
Zohreh Davoudi, a UW physics graduate student, suggest that the
signature could show up as a limitation in the energy of cosmic rays.
In a paper they have posted on arXiv, an online archive for preprints of
scientific papers in a number of fields, including physics, they say
that the highest-energy cosmic rays would not travel along the edges of
the lattice in the model but would travel diagonally, and they would not
interact equally in all directions as they otherwise would be expected
to do.
"This is the first testable signature of such an idea," Savage said.
If such a concept turned out to be reality, it would raise other
possibilities as well. For example, Davoudi suggests that if our
universe is a simulation, then those running it could be running other
simulations as well, essentially creating other universes parallel to
our own.
"Then the question is, 'Can you communicate with those other universes
if they are running on the same platform?'" she said.
Provided by University of Washington search and more info website
Ads by Google
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-simulation-idea.html#jCpDo we live in a computer
simulation? Researchers say idea can be tested
December 10, 2012
Do we live in a computer simulation? Researchers say idea can be tested
Enlarge
The conical (red) surface shows the relationship between energy and
momentum in special relativity, a fundamental theory concerning space
and time developed by Albert Einstein, and is the expected result if our
universe is not a simulation. The flat (blue) surface illustrates the
relationship between energy and momentum that would be expected if the
universe is a simulation with an underlying cubic lattice. Credit:
Martin Savage
A decade ago, a British philosopher put forth the notion that the
universe we live in might in fact be a computer simulation run by our
descendants. While that seems far-fetched, perhaps even
incomprehensible, a team of physicists at the University of Washington
has come up with a potential test to see if the idea holds water.
Ads by Google
What Happens When You Die - New scientific theory says death isn't the
end - RobertLanza.com
The concept that current humanity could possibly be living in a computer
simulation comes from a 2003 paper published in Philosophical Quarterly
by Nick Bostrom, a philosophy professor at the University of Oxford. In
the paper, he argued that at least one of three possibilities is true:
The human species is likely to go extinct before reaching a
"posthuman" stage.
Any posthuman civilization is very unlikely to run a significant
number of simulations of its evolutionary history.
We are almost certainly living in a computer simulation.
He also held that "the belief that there is a significant chance that we
will one day become posthumans who run ancestor simulations is false,
unless we are currently living in a simulation."
With current limitations and trends in computing, it will be decades
before researchers will be able to run even primitive simulations of the
universe. But the UW team has suggested tests that can be performed
now, or in the near future, that are sensitive to constraints imposed on
future simulations by limited resources.
Currently, supercomputers using a technique called lattice quantum
chromodynamics and starting from the fundamental physical laws that
govern the universe can simulate only a very small portion of the
universe, on the scale of one 100-trillionth of a meter, a little larger
than the nucleus of an atom, said Martin Savage, a UW physics
professor.
Eventually, more powerful simulations will be able to model on the scale
of a molecule, then a cell and even a human being. But it will take
many generations of growth in computing power to be able to simulate a
large enough chunk of the universe to understand the constraints on
physical processes that would indicate we are living in a computer
model.
Ads by Google
Dillon Dynamometers - Mechanical & Digital Dynamometers 0-500 lb up
to 550,000 lb - www.dillondynamometers.com
However, Savage said, there are signatures of resource constraints in
present-day simulations that are likely to exist as well in simulations
in the distant future, including the imprint of an underlying lattice if
one is used to model the space-time continuum.
The supercomputers performing lattice quantum chromodynamics
calculations essentially divide space-time into a four-dimensional grid.
That allows researchers to examine what is called the strong force, one
of the four fundamental forces of nature and the one that binds
subatomic particles called quarks and gluons together into neutrons and
protons at the core of atoms.
"If you make the simulations big enough, something like our universe
should emerge," Savage said. Then it would be a matter of looking for a
"signature" in our universe that has an analog in the current
small-scale simulations.
Savage and colleagues Silas Beane of the University of New Hampshire,
who collaborated while at the UW's Institute for Nuclear Theory, and
Zohreh Davoudi, a UW physics graduate student, suggest that the
signature could show up as a limitation in the energy of cosmic rays.
In a paper they have posted on arXiv, an online archive for preprints of
scientific papers in a number of fields, including physics, they say
that the highest-energy cosmic rays would not travel along the edges of
the lattice in the model but would travel diagonally, and they would not
interact equally in all directions as they otherwise would be expected
to do.
"This is the first testable signature of such an idea," Savage said.
If such a concept turned out to be reality, it would raise other
possibilities as well. For example, Davoudi suggests that if our
universe is a simulation, then those running it could be running other
simulations as well, essentially creating other universes parallel to
our own.
"Then the question is, 'Can you communicate with those other universes
if they are running on the same platform?'" she said.
Provided by University of Washington search and more info website
Ads by Google
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-simulation-idea.html#jCp
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-simulation-idea.html#jCp
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