Parellel Universes
February 9, 2023
What if I told you that a simple flap of a butterfly’s wings can change the course of events in our universe completely? This is an example of a parallel universe. Parallel universes or parallel dimensions are a theory in quantum mechanics that there are other universes besides our own that coexist with ours. These universes can be incredibly similar to ours, or vastly different. There are an infinite number of these, and they can be collectively described as “the multiverse.”
Understanding the Multiverse
Imagine a tree. It branches off into different branches and different twigs. This is like the multiverse, being one big tree, with different versions that branch off into different universes. You picking up a pencil creates another branch; one where you pick up the pencil, and one where you don’t. These branches are infinite and go on forever.
Levels of the Multiverse
LEVEL ONE:
There are four levels within the multiversal hierarchy. Level one is all universes that are physically the same as ours. They are identical, and the only differences between them are surface-level decisions, such as whether or not to pick up a pencil.
LEVEL TWO+FOUR:
Levels two and four are similar universes to ours, but the fundamental mathematics and physics that make up our universe are different. For example, there might not be gravity in one of these universes, or all of the math problems you learn in school might be totally different. Maybe the earth is even shaped like a triangle.
LEVEL THREE:
Finally, level three is that there might be multiple whole universes within a single parallel one. Think back to the tree. Level one is a large branch that goes left, level 2 is a branch that goes a little to the right of level one, level 3 is at the top of the tree, and level 4 is close to the third level on the right.
Probability
So now that we understand what parallel universes are, and the different forms that they come in, we can talk about what the probability is that they’re real. For parallel universes to be possible, we would need just 1000 particles to interact in the same way twice. The chances that this will happen is about 1 in 102477. That would be 10, followed by 2477 zeros. This may seem like a very small probability, but anything’s possible! The odds of Earth being livable were 1 in 60 billion, but here we are!
In conclusion, even though parallel universes aren’t very likely, they are completely possible and incredibly interesting for us to theorize about in the meantime. Maybe in another universe, you never finished reading this article, or maybe you hated it, but we hope that you enjoyed it in this universe!
References
Smart, B. (n.d.). Curious Kids: how likely is it that there are parallel universes and other Earths? The Conversation. Retrieved January 24, 2023, from https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-likely-is-it-that-there-are-parallel-universes-and-other-earths-178081#:~:text=When%20you%20do%20the%20maths
Tegmark, M. (2003). Parallel Universes. Scientific American, 288(5), 40–51. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0503-40
