We go beyond the edge of the Universe, beyond space and time, into the depths of matter
A modern physicist, a specialist in string theory Nima Arkani-Hamed reached such a depth in his research in describing reality, where space and time are transformed from fundamental principles into something derivative and secondary. He spoke:
“The concepts of space and time will most likely not be preserved in the new model of physics.”
His research can help us imagine what came before the Big Bang, what the world looks like at the subatomic level and beyond.
Nima Arkani-Hamed spokethat in order to study space on ever smaller scales, we need to invest more and more energy, and at some point we will reach the point where we will direct so much energy into such a small point in space that, according to Einstein's equation E=MC^2 (Where E – this is energy, M – weightA C – speed of light in vacuum), a black hole will simply form there, and we will not see anything. If we add more energy, the hole will only become larger.
This increase in the concentration of energy at one point is as if we were rewinding the history of the universe and eventually arriving at the point where the Big Bang occurred. Something similar happens if you jump into a black hole in space – we get into a state that is essentially similar to the beginning of the universe and very similar to what happens at the level of subatomic particles. If we shrink further and further, or if we assume that we somehow found a way to see what happens at the subatomic level, then when we pass the level of protons, electrons, neutrons, atomic nuclei and quarks and go even “further” (i.e. to an even smaller level), we get into quantum foamthat is, in a certain state of matter where nothing is definite, where particles seem to be spat out from nowhere, many of which immediately disappear, while others continue to live. Nima Arkani-Hamed, trying to explain what exactly is happening at this level, spoke in one of his speeches:
“There is a world of ideas, indifferent to space and time, which spits out the building blocks of our reality.”
If we try to go even further beyond the level of quantum foam, then space and time will finally lose all meaning and will actually cease to exist for us. Outside of space and time, our body, like any body, simply cannot exist, no matter how small its size. It is as if we find ourselves in the world of Plato's ideas.
Physicists (like philosophers) have long been struggling with the question of how something can arise from nothing. Physicist L. Krauss even wrote a whole book “Everything from Nothing: How the Universe Came to Be”. According to the concept of Nima Arkani-Hamed, it turns out that everything material appears as if from nowhere, from nothing. Many more years will pass and we will be able to dive into this “nothing” without time and space in more detail. But is it true that where time and space disappear, nothing remains?
