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Mathematical Proof That the Universe Could Come From Nothing
TaleSlinger writes: One of the great theories of modern cosmology is that the universe began in a "Big Bang", but the mathematical mechanism by which this occurred has been lacking. Cosmologists at the Wuhan Institute have published a proof that the Big Bang could indeed have occurred spontaneously because of quantum fluctuations. "The new proof is based on a special set of solutions to a mathematical entity known as the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. In the first half of the 20th century, cosmologists struggled to combine the two pillars of modern physics— quantum mechanics and general relativity—in a way that reasonably described the universe. As far as they could tell, these theories were entirely at odds with each other.
At the heart of their thinking is Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. This allows a small empty space to come into existence probabilistically due to fluctuations in what physicists call the metastable false vacuum. When this happens, there are two possibilities. If this bubble of space does not expand rapidly, it disappears again almost instantly. But if the bubble can expand to a large enough size, then a universe is created in a way that is irreversible. The question is: does the Wheeler-DeWitt equation allow this? "We prove that once a small true vacuum bubble is created, it has the chance to expand exponentially," say the researchers.
At the heart of their thinking is Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. This allows a small empty space to come into existence probabilistically due to fluctuations in what physicists call the metastable false vacuum. When this happens, there are two possibilities. If this bubble of space does not expand rapidly, it disappears again almost instantly. But if the bubble can expand to a large enough size, then a universe is created in a way that is irreversible. The question is: does the Wheeler-DeWitt equation allow this? "We prove that once a small true vacuum bubble is created, it has the chance to expand exponentially," say the researchers.
Indeed, they are not. And they have to come from somewhere. The full explanation is "quantum fluctuation from a virtual quantum universe", with a virtual quantum universe being something that behaves like a quantum universe, but is unknown in nature. Calling that "nothing" is a gross mis-characterization. The simple form of this statement is "poof and it was there". And incidentally, this is decades old.
Now, it may well be that the source of the quantum fluctuation is non-observable from this universe, but that still does not make it "nothing". Obviously, effects caused by things not visible to an observer can themselves still be observable. Even children know that.
My guess is that some religious cretins want to construct some miracle here by misrepresenting what the science says.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.