Are we living in a 2-D hologram? Well, a new and unique experiment by the scientists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy may answer many of the mind-blogging questions about the universe and our existence in it.
The experiment, which has been named ‘Holometer’, has already started collecting crucial data that will answer many of our universe related queries including whether we live in a 2-D hologram world.
“We want to find out whether space time is a quantum system just like matter is. If we see something, it will completely change ideas about space we’ve used for thousands of years,” said Craig Hogan, director of Fermilab’s Center for Particle Astrophysics and the developer of the holographic noise theory.
According to the researchers, as the television characters don’t know that their apparent 3- D world exists only on a 2- D TV screen, there is huge possibility that we are unaware of our world. They say our 3-D space may be just an illusion and every detail about our universe could just be encoded in tiny packets in 2-D space.
The main aim of the experiment is to probe into the limits of the ability of the universe to store information. The instrument that has been used in experiment to test these limits is called Fermilab’s Holometer, or holographic interferometer. It is the most sensitive device ever developed for measuring the quantum jitter of space.
The Holometer uses a pair of interferometers, placed close to one another, which sends 1 kW laser beam (the equivalent of 200,000 laser pointers) at a beam splitter and two perpendicular arms measuring 40 meters. The beam of light returns back to the beam splitter, where both the beams recombine to create fluctuating brightness, whenever a motion is produced.
For the experiment, researchers analyzed the brightness fluctuations in the reflecting beam of light to find out whether the beam splitter is moving in a certain way in the space.
Scientists say Holographic noise is likely to be present at all frequencies, but also warned they should not to be fooled with other vibrating sources.
According to the scientists, the Holometer device is carrying the frequency tests at high pace, i.e. millions of cycles per second, and regular forms of motions are unlikely to cause problems. The Holometer experiment is designed in such a way that it easily eliminates background noise coming from the conventional sources and identifies those worthy for the research work.
Lead scientist and project manager Aaron Chou said, ” It’s an exciting moment for physics. If a noise is spotted that we can’t get rid of, we might be detecting something fundamental about nature–a noise that is intrinsic to spacetime.”
According to Chou, an affirmative finding will open new avenues for posing more questions about space and how it works.
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