Is there a parallel universe?

-space wonder project-

      Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you chased all your goals without fear… how different of a person you could have been if you hadn’t talked to that one kid at lunch in elementary school or even if you hadn’t been online at a specific time that your friend texted you something important. Maybe your question lies shallower than that, an extent to where you wonder where your life could have been at this exact moment if you parents signed you up to be a child actor. Would you have been famous, or even happy in that universe?

Humans throughout the course of our time here on earth have thought at least once in their lifetime “what would have been different if I chose this path instead of the other”. The parallel universe theory could easily tie in all curiosity to one very complex wonder question… “Do parallel universes even exist?” In short, this theory means that everything that can possibly happen, does happen; and that all possibilities that do happen, are happening in a universe parallel to our own. Scientists now are finding ways in which they could find a parallel universe although, even if that possibility does arise; we do not have any clue of how we could get there at the moment. Naturally, human curiosity got the best of us, and multiple theories and fictional stories were created. Which leads me to the point of no return where I have researched endlessly about said topics, resulting in the final conclusion of my wonder question.

Part 1: The Big Bang Theory

Imagine blowing up a balloon in a room and in the blink of an eye, it fills up the whole room. Squished into a miniscule point 13.7 billion years ago, following an expansion of some sorts that led the spreading of our universe today (may I add expanding FASTER than the speed of light); people tend to not think about how this theory could also tie into the beginnings of a multiverse being formed. Cosmic inflation (an event that starts a universe), for instance might still be happening in far places in the universe. Some theoretical physicists state that when inflation ends in one place; it starts once again in another. The reasonings for me bringing this up is that while these separate bubble universes are expanding, their edges are zooming away from us as fast or faster than the speed of light. Scientists wonder if the Big Bang might just be one event in a much larger scale of multiple universes; in simpler terms, each universe may possibly have a Big Bang in its own individual history.

Part 2 : The String Theory

Now instead of imagining blowing up a balloon, imagine playing a guitar. With each strum, the strings vibrate causing sound to escape and, in this case in different ways, each vibration creating a different particle such as electrons or photons. This theory is where the topic of particles are set. To be able to see things, you need like and electromagnetic waves; particles on the other hand, are so small that these waves are too big to see them, and visible light passes through them. This leads us to be clueless as to where they are or where they are heading as well as how they look. String theory in short, is like imagining that everything in the universe, from the largest galaxies all the way down to the tiniest particles, are made up of strings.

Envision yourself as a construction worker; you want to build a large pool but, you only have instructions on how to build a cup. Both things are fundamentally the same seeing as they both hold water. Studying this cup, you could still learn a thing or two on how to create a pool. The string theory guides the scientists towards the correct direction which can in return, lead them to discover new things about multiverses. The strings that build this theory up, could possibly have multiple ways of vibrating; each way representing a separate possible universe with its own unique set of physical laws/properties. This idea is said to unify all primary forces of the universe; providing a framework of some sorts where multiple universes co-exist.

Part 3: Fictional interpretations; the desire to reinvent oneself.

There have been countless instances in which movie makers, book authors, illustrators or everyday people have thought or acted upon their desire to believe in a parallel universe. A great example of this is the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once, where the whole movie is based around the multiverse. The movie passes by questions such as “what if I didn’t do this” or “would my life have turned out differently if I did this” and builds them into reality in the movie. This movie has a way in which they could access the different universes and, although it is made up, has truth theoretically speaking. What if I told you that people have already created their own way of attempting to visit another reality. Although I do not particularly believe in this, I did a lot of research in middle school about it and even tried to attempt it myself (but to no avail). It is called shifting. Shifting can be seen throughout movie interpretations and books (or at least certain aspects on “shifting” to another universe). Basically, imagine going to bed and waking up to your desired reality; one where, for example, you were a famous actor. People tend to desire themselves as this “perfect human being who has done no wrong”. There has been so many fictional creations which pulls me further into the idea that many people have the desire to reinvent themselves.

Part 4: wrapping up to my conclusion…

All of the statements above have fact to them which I agree with, hence me adding it to my article. I honestly do find myself leaning more towards the idea that there is a parallel universe. Not only do I want to believe it, but I also find that so much of my research is weighing down my opinion. The amount of research done by scientists around the world as well as theories made up by people around the world, keep pushing me towards the fact that there could be a universe in which I am as famous as Ryan Gosling. The string theory as well as the Big Bang theory really piqued my interest and were incredibly insightful; even though they are both still theories on their own. While sharing my topic with a classmate, they mentioned their topic “is a blackhole really just a portal to an alternative universe?”; which got me thinking as well. If a blackhole separates all your atoms into spaghettification, who are we to say that it wont just shoot out ourselves into another universe without evidence. I could go on and on about the different possibilities towards parallel universes but, I suppose that’s up for personal interpretation.

I may have had my conclusion, but I cannot speak for the people doing the firsthand research. Although, these theories are still in the works as humans are still tweaking and researching while discovering and uncovering new things each day there has always been room for improvement. Just like a musician tuning that guitar from part 2 of my article, researchers are still figurine out the right “tune” that fits for these theories.

Citations:

Cambridge, U. of. (2024, May 17). Constraining the multiverse: Stephen Hawking’s final theory about the big bang. SciTechDaily. https://scitechdaily.com/constraining-the-multiverse-stephen-hawkings-final-theory-about-the-big-bang/

Kaku, M. (2022, June 20). In a parallel universe, another you. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/20/special-series/michio-kaku-multiverse-reality.html\

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell . (2018, March 1). String theory explained – what is the true nature of reality?. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Da-2h2B4faU?si=UZhepporBnCO5c3n

Lincoln, Dr. D. (2016, January 14). Quantum Field theory. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBeALt3rxEA

Travers, M. (2024, March 22). A psychologist explains the phenomenon of “reality shifting.” Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/traversmark/2024/03/20/a-psychologist-explains-the-phenomenon-of-reality-shifting/?sh=700f7e8b1a90

YouTube. (2024, March 19). Multiverse theory is not fiction anymore. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyB-qUcfoUU