Moontanman Posted August 4, 2019 Posted August 4, 2019 I keep seeing this pop up on youtube, scientists are trying to find a mirror universe and open a portal into it... What is going on if anything? I keep seeing this news blurb in various forms, some quite extreme others not so much but none seem to be exactly the same and the idea is provocative but is it true? I know about Mirror Matter, Dark Matter, and even antimatter and all of these are being connected in some way to this. I don't see how this can be since these things exist or are hypothesized to exist within our universe. The whole idea is beginning to sound like bad science fiction...
Wulphstein Posted August 5, 2019 Posted August 5, 2019 3 hours ago, Moontanman said: I keep seeing this pop up on youtube, scientists are trying to find a mirror universe and open a portal into it... What is going on if anything? I keep seeing this news blurb in various forms, some quite extreme others not so much but none seem to be exactly the same and the idea is provocative but is it true? I know about Mirror Matter, Dark Matter, and even antimatter and all of these are being connected in some way to this. I don't see how this can be since these things exist or are hypothesized to exist within our universe. The whole idea is beginning to sound like bad science fiction... The only mirror universe I know about is the one I look at every morning when I brush my teeth. Beyond that, there is nothing to the story other than fantasy and imagination.
Endy0816 Posted August 5, 2019 Posted August 5, 2019 Found this posted on NBC. https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/scientists-are-searching-mirror-universe-it-could-be-sitting-right-ncna1023206 Gives more detail though still no small amount of hyperbole. 1
Wulphstein Posted August 5, 2019 Posted August 5, 2019 8 minutes ago, Endy0816 said: Found this posted on NBC. https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/scientists-are-searching-mirror-universe-it-could-be-sitting-right-ncna1023206 Gives more detail though still no small amount of hyperbole. I don't think I understood how a ten second difference in neutron decay would have any bearing on a mirror universe. But I admire their creativity. We need more of that in physics.
beecee Posted August 5, 2019 Posted August 5, 2019 10 hours ago, Moontanman said: I keep seeing this pop up on youtube, scientists are trying to find a mirror universe and open a portal into it... What is going on if anything? I keep seeing this news blurb in various forms, some quite extreme others not so much but none seem to be exactly the same and the idea is provocative but is it true? I know about Mirror Matter, Dark Matter, and even antimatter and all of these are being connected in some way to this. I don't see how this can be since these things exist or are hypothesized to exist within our universe. The whole idea is beginning to sound like bad science fiction... I've heard a bit about the Mirror universe hypothesis, and like any "other universes" hypotheticals, are speculated to attempt explanations of supposed universal anomalies. One I recall was to explain why gravitation was so weak in our universe....this Mirror universe, had something to do with the arrow of time and why it always points in the same direction. I found this....https://www.sciencealert.com/new-theory-suggests-that-two-parallel-universes-were-produced-by-the-big-bang and.... https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/2-futures-can-explain-time-s-mysterious-past/ I don't put too much hope or faith in this for what it is worth. 6 hours ago, Wulphstein said: The only mirror universe I know about is the one I look at every morning when I brush my teeth. Beyond that, there is nothing to the story other than fantasy and imagination. Speculation and hypotheticals are part and parcel of science and the scientific methodology. As apparently far fetched as some may seem, it should be remembered that 110 years ago, it was also far fetched to believe that time and space are variable concepts. And of course as any scientist will tell you, that is all they are, and will remain so until supported by evidence, and no unmovable faith like belief is entailed with them unlike some other mythical concepts. 1
Wulphstein Posted August 5, 2019 Posted August 5, 2019 7 minutes ago, beecee said: Speculation and hypotheticals are part and parcel of science and the scientific methodology. As apparently far fetched as some may seem, it should be remembered that 110 years ago, it was also far fetched to believe that time and space are variable concepts. And of course as any scientist will tell you, that is all they are, and will remain so until supported by evidence, and no unmovable faith like belief is entailed with them unlike some other mythical concepts. To be fair, the idea does tickle my fancy for a good science fiction thriller movie.
Strange Posted August 5, 2019 Posted August 5, 2019 11 hours ago, Moontanman said: I keep seeing this pop up on youtube, scientists are trying to find a mirror universe and open a portal into it... That is a truly terrible take on this research. I don't know if it came from the original press release, or some journalist/editor made it up later. 11 hours ago, Moontanman said: I know about Mirror Matter, Dark Matter, and even antimatter and all of these are being connected in some way to this. So it is about (hypothetical) mirror matter and the possibility that neutrons might be able to flip between normal matter and mirror matter. The idea is that detecting neutrons that appear to have passed through a barrier could indicate that they oscillated into mirror matter and back (and so avoided the barrier). This is a non-trivial experiment. Some good background on it here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/07/16/you-must-not-trust-experiments-that-claim-the-existence-of-parallel-universes 1
QuantumT Posted August 14, 2019 Posted August 14, 2019 When do they expect to publish their conclusions?
Moontanman Posted August 14, 2019 Author Posted August 14, 2019 On 8/5/2019 at 6:56 AM, Strange said: That is a truly terrible take on this research. I don't know if it came from the original press release, or some journalist/editor made it up later. So it is about (hypothetical) mirror matter and the possibility that neutrons might be able to flip between normal matter and mirror matter. The idea is that detecting neutrons that appear to have passed through a barrier could indicate that they oscillated into mirror matter and back (and so avoided the barrier). This is a non-trivial experiment. Some good background on it here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/07/16/you-must-not-trust-experiments-that-claim-the-existence-of-parallel-universes Mirror Matter that was aware of is evidently not the same as the Mirror Matter being referred to here. At some point some standardization of names will surely come into play...
Strange Posted August 14, 2019 Posted August 14, 2019 37 minutes ago, Moontanman said: Mirror Matter that was aware of is evidently not the same as the Mirror Matter being referred to here. At some point some standardization of names will surely come into play... I thought it was the same. That wikipedia page refers to "neutron–mirror neutron oscillations" 1
iNow Posted August 14, 2019 Posted August 14, 2019 2 hours ago, QuantumT said: When do they expect to publish their conclusions? They're reflecting on it 2
QuantumT Posted August 14, 2019 Posted August 14, 2019 6 minutes ago, iNow said: They're reflecting on it What?! They have results already?!
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