Hogan's holometer: Testing the hypothesis of a holographic universe
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Hogan's holometer: Testing the hypothesis of a holographic universe
October 20, 2010 | 10:00 am
In 2008, Fermilab particle astrophysicist Craig Hogan made waves with a
mind-boggling proposition: The 3D universe in which we appear to live is no
more than a hologram.
Now he is building the most precise clock of all time to directly measure
whether our reality is an illusion.
The idea that spacetime may not be entirely smooth - like a digital image
that becomes increasingly pixelated as you zoom in - had been previously
proposed by Stephen Hawking and others. Possible evidence for this model
appeared last year in the unaccountable "noise" plaguing the GEO600
experiment in Germany, which searches for gravitational waves from black
holes. To Hogan, the jitteriness suggested that the experiment had stumbled
upon the lower limit of the spacetime pixels' resolution.
Black hole physics, in which space and time become compressed, provides a
basis for math showing that the third dimension may not exist at all. In
this two-dimensional cartoon of a universe, what we perceive as a third
dimension would actually be a projection of time intertwined with depth. If
this is true, the illusion can only be maintained until equipment becomes
sensitive enough to find its limits.
"You can't perceive it because nothing ever travels faster than light," says
Hogan. "This holographic view is how the universe would look if you sat on a
photon."
Not everyone agrees with this idea. Its foundation is formed with math
rather than hard data, as is common in theoretical physics. And although a
holographic universe would answer many questions about black hole physics
and other paradoxes, it clashes with classical geometry, which demands a
universe of smooth, continuous paths in space and time.
"So we want to build a machine which will be the most sensitive measurement
ever made of spacetime itself," says Hogan. "That's the holometer."
In 2008, Fermilab particle astrophysicist Craig Hogan made waves with a
mind-boggling proposition: The 3D universe in which we appear to live is no
more than a hologram.
Now he is building the most precise clock of all time to directly measure
whether our reality is an illusion.
The idea that spacetime may not be entirely smooth - like a digital image
that becomes increasingly pixelated as you zoom in - had been previously
proposed by Stephen Hawking and others. Possible evidence for this model
appeared last year in the unaccountable "noise" plaguing the GEO600
experiment in Germany, which searches for gravitational waves from black
holes. To Hogan, the jitteriness suggested that the experiment had stumbled
upon the lower limit of the spacetime pixels' resolution.
Black hole physics, in which space and time become compressed, provides a
basis for math showing that the third dimension may not exist at all. In
this two-dimensional cartoon of a universe, what we perceive as a third
dimension would actually be a projection of time intertwined with depth. If
this is true, the illusion can only be maintained until equipment becomes
sensitive enough to find its limits.
"You can't perceive it because nothing ever travels faster than light," says
Hogan. "This holographic view is how the universe would look if you sat on a
photon."
Not everyone agrees with this idea. Its foundation is formed with math
rather than hard data, as is common in theoretical physics. And although a
holographic universe would answer many questions about black hole physics
and other paradoxes, it clashes with classical geometry, which demands a
universe of smooth, continuous paths in space and time.
"So we want to build a machine which will be the most sensitive measurement
ever made of spacetime itself," says Hogan. "That's the holometer."
Hogan's team liked the holometer idea so much they decided to build two. One
on top of the other, the machines can confirm one another's measurements.
This month, having successfully built a 1-meter prototype of the 40-meter
arm, they will weld the parts of the first of the vacuum arms together.
Hogan expects the holometer to begin collecting data next year.
"People trying to tie reality together don't have any data, just a lot of
beautiful math," said Hogan. "The hope is that this gives them something to
work with."
- Sara Reardon
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