Credit: Dr Melvin Vopson, University of
Portsmouth
Whether
we are simply characters in an advanced virtual world is a much-debated theory,
challenging previous thinking about the universe and our existence.
The possibility that the entire universe
is informational in nature and resembles a computational process is a popular
theory among a number of well-known figures, including Elon Musk. The thinking
comes from within a branch of science known as information physics, which
suggests physical reality is actually made up of structured information.
In an article published in AIP Advances and included in the
journal's "Editor's Picks," a physicist from the University of
Portsmouth, Dr. Melvin Vopson, presents findings which indicate that gravity or gravitational force is the result of a computational process within
the universe.
He suggests that gravity might actually
be caused by how information about matter is
organized in the universe. Using the second law of information dynamics, he
indicates that matter and objects in space may be being pulled together because
the universe is trying to keep information tidy and compressed.
Dr. Vopson said, "My findings in
this study fit with the thought that the universe might work like a giant
computer, or our reality is a simulated construct. Just like computers try to
save space and run more efficiently, the universe might be doing the same. It's
a new way to think about gravity—not just as a pull, but as something that
happens when the universe is trying to stay organized."
Dr. Vopson has previously published
research suggesting that information has mass and that all elementary particles—the smallest known building blocks of the
universe—store information about themselves, similar to the way cells,
the building blocks of biological entities, have DNA.
In this latest research, Dr. Vopson
shows how space pixelation in elementary cells can act as a data storage
medium, and demonstrates how the role of information stored in elementary cells
is to provide the properties and the coordinates of matter in the space-time
simulated construct. Each cell can register information in the form of binary
data so if it is empty it registers a digital "0," and if matter is
present in a cell it registers a digital "1."
Dr. Vopson added, "The process is
identical to how a digital computer game, virtual reality application, or other
advanced simulation would be designed."
He explains that as a cell can
accommodate more than one particle, then the system will evolve itself by
moving the particles in space to join them together into a single larger
particle inside a single cell.
"This triggers the attracting force
because of the rule set in the computational system, requiring the minimization
of the information content, and by extension, a reduction of the computational
power. Put simply, it is far more computationally effective to track and
compute the location and momentum of a single object in space, than numerous
objects. Therefore, it appears that the gravitational attraction is just
another optimizing mechanism in a computational process that has the role to
compress information."
This study presents a novel perspective
on gravity, supporting the view that gravitational attraction arises due to a
fundamental drive to reduce information entropy in the universe.
The results introduce distinct
conceptual and methodological differences, and suggest that gravity serves as a
computational optimization process, where matter self-organizes to minimize the
complexity of information encoding within space-time.
The broader implications of this work extend to fundamental physics, including black-hole thermodynamics, dark matter and dark energy considerations, as well as potential connections between gravity and quantum information theory. Whether the universe is indeed a computational construct remains an open question.
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