Were you one of those who thought that our world is an illusion, and that every thing we experience on a day to day basis is nothing but a hoax, and that our world is actually like a 3D movie?

Well, you may have been right after all!

In a stunning revelation, a UK, Canadian and Italian study has provided, what researchers believe, is the first observational evidence that our universe could be a vast and complex hologram!

The universe could be a 'vast and complex hologram' and our perception of life in 3D may only be an illusion. That's according to a group of theoretical physicists, who have been investigating irregularities in the 'afterglow' of the Big Bang [Photo Source]

A look at the research

Theoretical physicists and astrophysicists from the University of Southampton (UK), University of Waterloo (Canada), Perimeter Institute (Canada), INFN, Lecce (Italy) and the University of Salento (Italy), investigating irregularities in the cosmic microwave background or the 'afterglow' of the Big Bang, have found there is substantial evidence supporting a holographic explanation of the universe, which is a very different explanation of the bang, than the popularly accepted one that relies on gravity and inflation.

Interestingly, the idea of a holographic universe, an idea first suggested in the 1990s, is one where all the information, which makes up our 3D 'reality' (plus time) is contained in a 2D surface on its boundaries.

Almost like in a 3D movie, where we see the pictures as having height, width and crucially, depth, when in fact it all originates from a flat 2D screen, but gives the illusion of being in a 3D world enhancing the experience.

The only difference in our own 3D universe being, we can touch objects, and the whole thing looks as real as it can get, from our perspective!

A sketch of the timeline of the holographic Universe. Time runs from left to right. The far left denotes the holographic phase and the image is blurry because space and time are not yet well defined. At the end of this phase (denoted by the black fluctuating ellipse) the Universe enters a geometric phase, which can now be described by Einstein's equations. The cosmic microwave background was emitted about 375,000 years later. Patterns imprinted in it carry information about the very early Universe and seed the development of structures of stars and galaxies in the late time Universe (far right). [Photo Source]

What about earlier theories, don't they matter?

Humans have been trying to explain the universe, and its physics, for years but it was in the last 100 years when certain theories have been considered the most plausible and have persisted. Among them, the most notable is Einstein's theory of general relativity which almost explains everything large scale in the universe very well.

But when it comes to very small atomic, or quantum scales, it starts to unravel. And a whole new theory is proposed to explain physics at the quantum level, the Quantum theory.

Now with the latest proposal of a holographic universe, it is suggested that this concept may be able to combine, or at the least reconcile, the two theories so that the structure and creation of the universe are understood more intimately, and holds true at any scale.

And to explain, I put below the words of Professor Kostas Skenderis, of the University of Southampton, who said,

Imagine that everything you see, feel and hear in three dimensions, and your perception of time, in fact emanates from a flat two-dimensional field. The idea is similar to that of ordinary holograms where a three-dimensional image is encoded in a two-dimensional surface, such as in the hologram on a credit card.
However, this time, the entire universe is encoded.

I have been fascinated since I came across this study because while the idea of a holographic universe does seem like something from a science fiction movie, many physicists agree that it would help solve some of the mysteries of the universe, mainly the Big Bang, and would keep an enthusiast like me up for a few months!!

The holographic model suggests gravity in the universe comes from thin, vibrating strings. These strings are holograms of events that take place in a simpler, flatter cosmos
[Photo Source]

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Is Our Universe A Vast And Complex Hologram? New Research Thinks So!

A look at the research

What about earlier theories, don't they matter?