Narrator: A GROWING NUMBER OF PHYSICISTS ARE REACHING
AN ASTONISHING CONCLUSION --
THAT ARE UNIVERSE IS A HOLOGRAM,
AND OUR TRUE LIVES PLAY OUT ON A FLAT BUBBLE
THAT SURROUNDS SPACE AND TIME.
NOW WE MAY FINALLY BE GLIMPSING THAT NEXT REVOLUTION IN PHYSICS.
Narrator: TODAY, PIONEERING TECHNOLOGY
IS TAKING THESE IDEAS OFF THE BLACKBOARD
AND TESTING THEM IN THE REAL WORLD.
WHAT IF THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE HAD, KIND OF, GLITCHES,
AND THOSE GLITCHES COULD BE OUR OBSERVABLES?
Narrator: AS SCIENTISTS PUT
THE WEIRDEST IDEAS IN PHYSICS TO THE TEST...
Greene: THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR DISCOVERIES
THAT OUR SPECIES HAS EVER ACCOMPLISHED.
...THEIR QUEST TAKES THEM TO PLACES THAT BEND REALITY
TO BREAKING POINTS,
PROBING THE FIRST SECONDS OF THE BIG BANG,
AND HUNTING FOR THE GLITCHES
THAT COULD REVEAL WE'RE ALL JUST HOLOGRAMS.
WE'RE ON THE VERGE OF UNLOCKING THE SECRETS
OF THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE,
A THEORY THAT COULD CHANGE THE WAY WE PERCEIVE EVERYTHING.
-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
♪
SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD
ARE RACING TO ANSWER AND UNUSUAL QUESTION...
ARE WE LIVING IN A HOLOGRAM?
THE WORLD AROUND US LOOKS AND FEEL REAL,
BUT THE COSMOS COULD BE PLAYING AN ASTONISHING TRICK ON US.
I THINK EVERYONE OUT THERE IS FAMILIAR
WITH THE IDEA OF A HOLOGRAM.
WE EVEN HAVE THEM ON OUR CREDIT CARDS.
AND WHAT YOU CAN SEE WHEN YOU LOOK INTO A HOLOGRAM
IS 3-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE,
SOMETHING THAT SEEMS TO HAVE VOLUME.
BUT A HOLOGRAM ITSELF IS JUST 2-DIMENSIONAL.
IT'S JUST A SHEET OF LITTLE FILM.
Narrator: THE IDEA SOUNDS CRAZY AT FIRST,
BUT AS PHYSICISTS DIG DEEPER
INTO THE MATH THAT DESCRIBES THE COSMOS,
IT IS BEGINNING TO TELL THEM SOMETHING SERIOUSLY STRANGE --
THAT THE UNIVERSE IS NOTHING LIKE WE THINK IT IS.
SO IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE'VE BEEN FOOLED THIS WHOLE TIME?
Narrator: IF THE UNIVERSE IS A HOLOGRAM,
IT MEANS TRUE REALITY IS 2-DIMENSIONAL,
AND OUR 3-DIMENSIONAL WORLD IS JUST AN ILLUSION.
COULD SUCH A WILD IDEA BE TRUE?
♪
LEGENDARY PHYSICIST LEONARD SUSSKIND
WAS PART OF A GROUP OF THEORISTS
WHO BEGAN TO SUSPECT THERE'S MORE TO OUR UNIVERSE
THAN THE REALITY WE SEE.
THEY WERE TRYING TO SOLVE ONE OF THE GREATEST DILEMMAS
IN THE WORLD OF PHYSICS.
GRAVITY AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
WERE AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS, SO TO SPEAK.
PUTTING THESE IDEAS LIKE THIS TOGETHER
HAS BECOME THE CENTRAL QUESTION OF PHYSICS.
Narrator: THE LAWS OF GRAVITY THAT DESCRIBE
HOW BIG THINGS LIKE PLANETS, MOVE,
SEEM TO CONFLICT WITH THE LAWS OF QUANTUM PHYSICS
THAT DESCRIBE HOW VERY SMALL THINGS, LIKE ELECTRONS, BEHAVE.
LEONARD EXPERIMENTED WITH THE MATH
TO TRY TO MAKE THE TWO THEORIES WORK BETTER TOGETHER.
HE BEGAN TO IMAGINE EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE EXISTING
IN TWO PLACES SIMULTANEOUSLY.
AND WHEN HE DID, ALL THE PROBLEMS
WITH THE MATHEMATICS DISSOLVED AWAY.
I HAD THOUGHT VERY HARD ABOUT THIS PROBLEM
AND EVENTUALLY CAME TO THE CONCLUSION
THAT EVERYTHING IS REALLY STORED
ON THE BOUNDARIES OF THE UNIVERSE
FAR AWAY ON SOME LARGE SPHERE,
FAR FROM WHERE EVERYTHING IS TAKING PLACE.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO LEONARD'S THEORY,
EVERYTHING WE SEE IN THE UNIVERSE,
FROM THE PLANET WE LIVE ON
TO THE STAR THAT BRINGS US WARMTH
AND THE BILLION NEIGHBORING STARS
THAT MAKE UP THE GALAXY THAT WE CALL HOME...
...ARE ALL HIGHLY ELABORATE PROJECTIONS.
♪
EVERYTHING WE PERCEIVE IN THREE DIMENSIONS
COULD ORIGINATE FROM A GIGANTIC BUBBLE
THAT WRAPS AROUND OUR COSMOS,
A BLUEPRINT FOR BUILDING A UNIVERSE
MAPPED OUT IN TWO DIMENSIONS
THAT WE EXPERIENCE AS A 3-DIMENSIONAL HOLOGRAM.
TO THINK THAT OUR 3-D REALITY IS REALLY ARISEN
FROM A 2-D TRUE REALITY, NOW THAT'S REALLY MIND-BLOWING.
Narrator: THE IDEA THAT OUR REALITY
IS HOLOGRAPHIC PROJECTION FROM THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE,
LEAVES THE WORLD OF PHYSICS REELING.
MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT WERE NUTS.
I REMEMBER ONE OF MY FRIENDS COMING AND SAYING,
HALF-JOKINGLY, "YOU USED TO BE A GOOD PHYSICIST,
BUT YOU'VE LOST YOUR MARBLES."
Narrator: BUT AS SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD
WORK ON THE MATH OF THIS IDEA, THE NUMBERS BEGIN TO ADD UP.
THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE APPEARS TO BE THE THEORY
THAT MAKES ALL OUR PHYSICS WORK TOGETHER.
WE HAVE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING THE UNIVERSE.
AND IT'S GENERALLY ACCEPTED IN SCIENCE
THAT WHAT WE ACCEPT AS BEING TRUE
IS WHAT WE OBSERVE AS BEING TRUE.
BUT SOMETIMES THE MATH IS SO COMPELLING
THAT YOU JUST CAN'T IGNORE IT.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS HAVE LEARNED TO TAKE
EVEN THE MOST UNLIKELY THEORY SERIOUSLY
IF THE MATH STACKS UP.
100 YEARS AGO, EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF RELATIVITY SOUNDED CRAZY.
BUT THE ATOMIC BOMB SHOWED THAT IT WORKS.
TODAY, THE EQUATIONS THAT DESCRIBE THE UNIVERSE
AS A HOLOGRAM ADD UP.
SO SCIENTISTS HAVE TO TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY.
MATHEMATICS GIVES US A SUPERPOWER.
IT CAN ENVISION THE POSSIBILITY THAT OUR ENTIRE EXISTENCE
IS NOTHING MORE THAN A HOLOGRAPHIC SIMULATION.
IT REALLY IS THE ENGINE OF OUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS.
IT REALLY DOES SOUNDS COMPLETELY NUTTY,
BUT OUR UNIVERSE COULD, IN FACT, BE ONE BIG HOLOGRAM.
WE SCIENTISTS HAVE TO FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
NO MATTER THE CRAZY PLACES THAT IT WILL TAKE US.
THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS TO DO SCIENCE.
Narrator: IS OUR EXISTENCE REALLY BEING PLAYED OUT
IN TWO DIMENSIONS SOMEWHERE ELSE?
AND IF SO, WHY DOES IT FEEL SO REAL TO US?
IN THE CITY OF PROVO, UTAH, PHYSICIST DANIEL SMALLEY
USES A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO INVESTIGATE THIS MYSTERY.
HE BUILDS HOLOGRAMS FROM SCRATCH IN HIS LAB.
THE MAGIC OF A HOLOGRAM IS THAT IT A CONTAINS
A 3-D INFORMATION FOR A VOLUME IN A 2-D SURFACE.
HERE WE SEE THAT THE 2-D PATTERN OF LINES
IS ACTUALLY RECREATING A 3-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE
THAT APPEARS TO BE BEHIND THE PLATE.
Narrator: COULD OUR UNIVERSE BE PLAYING A SIMILAR TRICK,
MANIPULATING LIGHT TO CREATE OUR GALAXIES?
DANIEL THINKS A GLASS HOLOGRAM, LIKE THIS ONE, IS TOO SIMPLE.
IT ONLY WORKS WHEN YOU VIEW IT FROM THE CORRECT ANGLE.
THEIR LIMITATION IS THAT THEY CAN'T GO
BEYOND THESE BOUNDARIES,
THE BOUNDARIES CREATED BY THE PLATE.
IF WE'RE NOT LOOKING DIRECTLY INTO THAT PATTERN OF LINES,
WE'RE NOT GONNA SEE AN IMAGE.
IF OUR UNIVERSE IS A HOLOGRAM LIKE THIS,
THE COSMOS WOULD APPEAR TO FLASH
IN AND OUT OF EXISTENCE AS OUR GALAXY SPINS.
♪
BUT THIS BEHAVIOR HAS NEVER BEEN OBSERVED.
A GLASS HOLOGRAM ISN'T THE ANSWER.
DANIEL IS WORKING ON A NEW GENERATION OF HOLOGRAM
THAT GETS US MUCH CLOSER.
IT MANIPULATES SOLID MATTER INSTEAD OF LIGHT.
Smalley: OUR TEAM HERE HAS BEEN WORKING ON A NEW TYPE
OF 3-DIMENSIONAL DISPLAY
THAT ACTUALLY USES NOT JUST LIGHT
BUT ALSO PHYSICAL, MATERIAL OBJECTS TO CREATE 3-D IMAGES
THAT ENABLE US TO BE ABLE TO SEE THOSE 3-D IMAGES
FROM EVERY DIRECTION.
Narrator: ONE LASER MOVES A PARTICLE OF CELLULOSE
THROUGH SPACE,
AND ANOTHER SHINES COLORFUL LIGHT ONTO IT,
CREATING A PICTURE IN MID-AIR.
AND THEN POINT BY POINT, WE'RE ABLE TO BUILD A 3-D IMAGE.
Narrator: DANIEL'S TEAM CREATES A MINIATURE HOLOGRAM
THAT YOU CAN TOUCH AND CAN BE SEEN FROM ANY ANGLE.
THIS IS A GIANT LEAP CLOSER TO A HOLOGRAM
THAT FEELS LIKE THE REALITY WE SEE AROUND US.
BUT THIS ISN'T CONCRETE PROOF.
THE HOLOGRAPHIC LIGHT SOURCE CAN BE BLOCKED.
LIGHT IS ENTERING THE SYSTEM,
AND IF WE BLOCK THAT DIRECTION WITH OUT HANDS,
OUR UNIVERSE DISAPPEARS.
AND THIS, OF COURSE,
IS NOT HOW WE EXPECT OUR REAL UNIVERSE TO BEHAVE.
SO EVEN THIS TECHNOLOGY IS NOT QUITE PERFECT
FOR BUILDING A MINIATURE UNIVERSE.
Narrator: DANIEL'S HOLOGRAMS ARE A POOR FIT
FOR THE REALITY WE EXPERIENCE.
SO IS IT GAME OVER FOR THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE?
IT'S EXTRAORDINARILY DIFFICULT TO TEST THESE IDEAS.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO TEST THESE IDEAS.
IT JUST MEANS IT IS A GRAND CHALLENGE.
YOU HAVE TO REALIZE THAT
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY TIMES IN OUR HISTORY
WHERE PHYSICS HAS CONFRONTED US
WITH SOMETHING THAT JUST DIDN'T MAKE SENSE.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP
ON THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE EASILY
BECAUSE THE MATH ADDS UP.
BUT IF THIS RADICAL IDEA IS CORRECT,
THERE MUST BE EVIDENCE IN OUR OWN UNIVERSE THAT CONFIRMS IT.
THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE COULD BE A GAME CHANGER
AND SOLVE A REALLY FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM
IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COSMOS,
SO THE STAKES ARE REALLY HIGH.
Narrator: THE HUNT IS NOW ON TO FIND CLUES
TO THE HOLOGRAPHIC NATURE OF REALITY.
THE SEARCH TAKES SCIENTISTS INTO THE PHYSICS
OF THE MOST EXTREME OBJECTS IN THE UNIVERSE.
COULD BLACK HOLES PROVE THAT THE UNIVERSE WE LIVE IN
IS A HOLOGRAM?
AND CAN THIS $3 MILLION MACHINE HUNT DOWN GLITCHES
IN THE HOLOGRAM OF REALITY?
WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO PICK UP SOMETHING
WHICH NEVER WOULD'VE BEEN SEEN BEFORE.
♪
Narrator: AN ELITE GROUP OF PHYSICISTS
IS BATTLING TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH OF THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE.
THIS GROUNDBREAKING NEW THEORY FLIES IN THE FACE
OF CONVENTIONAL WISDOM.
BUT THE MATH IS GETTING CLEARER AND CLEARER.
THE UNIVERSE WE THINK WE KNOW MAY NOT BE REAL.
THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE IS ONE OF THE MORE SHOCKING,
STRANGE, MIND-BENDING IDEAS
THAT PHYSICISTS HAVE COME UP WITH IN THE LAST HALF-CENTURY,
AND THE BAR IS HIGH.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE HOLOGRAPHIC THEORY,
THE REAL UNIVERSE EXISTS ON FLAT BUBBLE
ON THE HORIZON OF THE COSMOS.
♪
THIS 2-D VERSION OF REALITY CAN'T BE OBSERVED DIRECTLY,
BUT THERE MAY BE A SHORTCUT.
SOME PHYSICISTS BELIEVE THE DARK SHELL, OR HORIZON,
THAT SURROUNDS BLACK HOLES COULD ACT LIKE
THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE.
AND BY STUDYING THESE BOUNDARIES,
WE MAY FIND EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS THE HOLOGRAPHIC THEORY.
WE UNDERSTAND MUCH LESS ABOUT THE UNIVERSE
AS A WHOLE THAN WE DO ABOUT BLACK HOLES.
WE'RE BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND HOW BLACK HOLES WORK
AND HOW THE HORIZONS OF BLACK HOLES WORK.
THAT MAY BE A GOOD WAY
TO START TO THINK ABOUT THE UNIVERSE AS WHOLE.
Narrator: BLACK HOLES ARE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE.
THESE DENSE POINTS IN SPACE GREEDILY SUCK IN
THE MATTER AROUND THEM.
NOT EVEN LIGHT CAN ESCAPE THEIR CLUTCHES.
BLACK HOLES FASCINATE PHYSICISTS
BECAUSE THE LAWS OF PHYSICS SEEM TO BREAK DOWN INSIDE THEM.
IT'S AS IF THEY EXIST OUTSIDE THE NORMAL UNIVERSE.
PHYSICS IS THE RULE BOOK THAT UNIVERSE OBEYS WHEN IT BEHAVES,
WHEN IT DOES THINGS.
SO YOU'D EXPECT THE LAWS OF PHYSICS
TO WORK EVERYWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE,
AND YET, IN THE CENTER OF A BLACK HOLE,
OUR PHYSICS BREAKS DOWN.
Narrator: IF BLACK HOLES EXIST OUTSIDE OUR UNIVERSE,
COULD THEIR EDGES SHARE PROPERTIES
WITH THE EDGE OF OUR UNIVERSE ITSELF?
[ KEYPAD BEEPS ]
♪
AT NOTTINGHAM UNIVERSITY IN ENGLAND,
SILKE WEINFURTNER INVESTIGATES
HOW BLACK HOLES BEND THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.
I THINK BLACK HOLES ARE THE GUIDE TO NEW PHYSICS.
I SEE THEM AS THIS HUGE OPPORTUNITY.
Narrator: SILKE SIMULATES BLACK HOLES IN THE LAB
BY CREATING POWERFUL VORTICES IN TANKS OF WATER.
YOU CAN THINK OF A BLACK HOLE AT THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE,
AND THE QUESTION IS, WHAT HAPPENS
IF YOU COME CLOSE TO THE EDGE,
AND WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ACTUALLY FALL OVER THE EDGE?
AND WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS TO ATTACK THE PROBLEM
FROM A VERY DIFFERENT ANGLE.
Narrator: IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO UNDERTAKE EXPERIMENTS
WITH REAL BLACK HOLES,
SO SILKE TURNS THIS WATER TANK INTO THE NEXT BEST THING.
THE VORTEX SPINNING AT THE CENTER OF THE TANK
SIMULATES THE ACTION OF A ROTATING BLACK HOLE.
Weinfurtner: WE HAVE A GIGANTIC TANK
FILLED WITH 2000 LITERS OF WATER,
AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS SET UP A BIG VORTEX FLOW.
AND THAT IS SITTING AT THE CENTER OF OUR SETUP.
Narrator: SILKE INTRODUCES FLOATING MATERIAL TO THE TANK.
THE PROJECTED GRID ALLOWS HER TO MEASURE HOW CLOSE MATERIAL
CAN GET TO THE VORTEX BEFORE ITS FATE IS SEALED.
YOU CAN SEE, ANYTHING THAT COMES CLOSER THAN AROUND HERE
SLOWLY STARTS TO GET SUCKED IN.
Narrator: AT A CERTAIN DISTANCE,
THE STRENGTH OF THE VORTEX IS SO GREAT
THAT GETTING SUCKED IN IS INEVITABLE.
IT'S BASICALLY -- IT'S BEING PUSHED
OVER THE EDGE OF OUR UNIVERSE.
Narrator: THIS POINT OF NO RETURN AROUND A BLACK HOLE
IS CALLED AN EVENT HORIZON.
BLACK HOLES ARE INFINITESIMALLY SMALL POINTS IN SPACE,
BUT THERE EVENT HORIZONS CAN STRETCH OUT
OVER MILLIONS OF MILES.
THEY APPEAR AS A BLACK BUBBLE AROUND THE BLACK HOLE.
THIS DARK FRONTIER IS LIKE THE EDGE OF A WATERFALL.
NOTHING CAN COME BACK ONCE IT'S PASSED OVER THE EVENT HORIZON.
BUT WHAT HAPPENS TO OBJECTS INSIDE THE EVENT HORIZON?
AND ARE THEY TRULY PUSHED OFF THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE?
Weinfurtner: WELL, THE PROBLEM IS IF YOU THINK OF A BLACK HOLE
THAT SWALLOWS EVERYTHING UP, RIGHT?
AND WHATEVER YOU THROW INTO THAT BLACK HOLE, IT CAN BE A CHAIR,
IT CAN BE A MOBILE PHONE, IT CAN BE FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES,
WHATEVER YOU GIVE INTO IT, THAT'S BASICALLY LOST.
Narrator: BUT THIS FUNDAMENTAL DESTRUCTIVE PROPERTY
CREATES A HUGE PROBLEM FOR PHYSICISTS.
THIS BEHAVIOR IS INCOMPATIBLE, IN A SENSE,
TO QUANTUM MECHANICS.
Narrator: THE LAWS OF QUANTUM PHYSICS SAY
THAT EVERY PARTICLE OF MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE
CARRIES INFORMATION ABOUT ITS PROPERTIES,
AND THAT THIS INFORMATION CAN NEVER BE LOST.
BLACK HOLES APPEAR TO BREAK THIS ESSENTIAL RULE.
BLACK HOLE, YOU THROW SOMETHING AND THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM
SAYS IT HAS DISAPPEARED.
BUT IF IT DISAPPEARS, THAT MEANS IT TAKES ALL OF THE INFORMATION
THAT IT CARRIES WITH IT.
WHERE DOES THE INFORMATION GO?
IF YOU LOSE INFORMATION, YOU LOSE THE ABILITY TO PREDICT,
AND IF YOU LOSE THAT, THEN PHYSICS IS IN
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PLACE.
Narrator: IT SEEMS LIKE BLACK HOLES AND QUANTUM PHYSICS
CAN'T EXIST TOGETHER IN THE SAME UNIVERSE.
BUT THERE MAY BE ONE WAY TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM --
THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE.
♪
Narrator: ACCORDING TO ONE VERSION
OF THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE,
BLACK HOLES MAY ACT AS STORAGE DEVICES.
AS AN OBJECT IS SUCKED THROUGH THE EVENT HORIZON,
ITS INFORMATION MIGHT BE STRIPPED FROM ITS PARTICLES
AND IMPRINTED ON THE SURFACE OF THE EVENT HORIZON.
THIS VIRTUAL SNAPSHOT OF INFORMATION
IS HELD AS A PERMANENT RECORD.
IF THIS IS TRUE, NO OBJECT FULLY LEAVES THE UNIVERSE.
INSTEAD, ITS INFORMATION REMAINS IN ARCHIVE FORM,
FLATTENED ONTO THE 2-DIMENSIONAL BUBBLE
OF THE EVENT HORIZON.
THIS HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE HELPS BLACK HOLES MAKE SENSE
AND STOPS THEM FROM BREAKING THE LAWS OF QUANTUM PHYSICS.
SO, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WHAT AN EVENT HORIZON REALLY IS
IS SOME TYPE OF 2-DIMENSIONAL MEMBRANE
AND ALL THE INFORMATION ABOUT ANYTHING
THAT'S EVER FALLEN INTO THE BLACK HOLE
IS STILL ENCAPSULATED THERE SOMEHOW.
THE EVENT HORIZON WOULD BE ANALOGOUS TO THIS "SAVE" POINT
IN A VIDEO GAME IN THE SENSE THAT THE INFORMATION OF OBJECTS
CARRIED IN DOESN'T GET LOST.
IT REMAINS ACCESSIBLE.
IT'S SIMPLY STORED IN AN UNUSUAL PLACE,
AN UNUSUAL ENVIRONMENT ON THE SURFACE
ON THE EVENT HORIZON OF A BLACK HOLE.
♪
Narrator: AND IF THE EVENT HORIZONS OF BLACK HOLES
REALLY DO SHARE PROPERTIES WITH THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE,
THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE
SUDDENLY TAKES ON A WHOLE NEW MEANING.
JUST AS BLACK HOLES STORE PURE INFORMATION,
ABOUT EVERY ATOM OF EVERY PLANET,
ABOUT EVERY STAR IN OVER 100 BILLION GALAXIES
THAT'S IMPRINTED ON THE HORIZON OF THE UNIVERSE,
THIS VAST BUBBLE THAT SURROUNDS THE COSMOS
MAY ACT LIKE A COSMIC HARD DRIVE,
CARRYING THE SOURCE CODE OF EVERYTHING WITHIN ITS BOUNDS.
THE MATHEMATICS OF BLACK HOLES APPEARS TO SUPPORT THE IDEA
THAT THE UNIVERSE IS HOLOGRAPHIC.
BUT TO TRULY BRING THE IDEA INTO THE MAINSTREAM,
SCIENTISTS NEED TO FIND CONCRETE OBSERVABLE EVIDENCE.
♪
IN SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND, KOSTAS SKENDERIS
HAS MADE A SIGNIFICANT BREAKTHROUGH.
HE MAY HAVE UNCOVERED THE FIRST DIRECT EVIDENCE
THAT THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE IS REAL
BY STUDYING THE BIRTH OF THE UNIVERSE.
Skenderis: THE UNIVERSE IS ACTUALLY 14 BILLION YEARS OLD.
WITH HOLOGRAPHY, FOR FIRST TIME,
WE HAVE A CHANCE TO ACTUALLY MODEL THAT PERIOD.
IT'S VERY EXCITING, ABSOLUTELY.
Narrator: KOSTAS USES SUPERCOMPUTERS TO SIMULATE
WHAT A HOLOGRAPHIC BIG BANG WOULD'VE LOOKED LIKE.
THE END RESULT IS JAW-DROPPING.
♪
BEFORE THE DAWN OF TIME,
THE UNIVERSE STARTS AS A SIMPLE DISK OF INFORMATION,
EXISTING ENTIRELY IN TWO DIMENSIONS.
AS THE DATA IT CONTAINS INTERACTS AND INCREASES
IN COMPLEXITY, HIGHER DIMENSIONS ARE NEEDED,
AND THE 2-D DISK INFLATES INTO A 3-D SPHERE.
THE COSMIC CLOCK BEGINS TO TICK AS THE UNIVERSE WE KNOW
SLOWLY EMERGES FROM PURE INFORMATION,
CREATING ENERGY AND MATTER THAT WE CAN OBSERVE.
AND EVENTUALLY, THE FIRST GLIMMER OF STARS.
♪
BUT IS THIS VERSION OF THE DAWN OF THE UNIVERSE CORRECT?
KOSTAS BELIEVES A HOLOGRAPHIC BIRTH
WOULD HAVE LEFT COSMIC STRETCH MARKS ON THE UNIVERSE,
MARKS WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE TODAY.
TO FIND THEM, HE LOOKS TO A BAND OF PRIMORDIAL RADIATION
THAT LIES BEYOND THE STARS.
THIS STRANGE, ETHEREAL GLOW IS A REMNANT OF THE ENERGY
THAT FILLED THE EARLY UNIVERSE.
ASTRONOMERS CALL IT THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND.
THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND
IS THE MOST DISTANT THING THAT WE CAN SEE IN OUR UNIVERSE.
IT'S AN ECHO OF THE BIG BANG ITSELF.
THE BIRTH OF OUR UNIVERSE.
Narrator: OUR BEST VIEW OF THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND
COMES FROM A SPACE SATELLITE CALLED PLANCK.
PLANCK REVEALS THE EARLY UNIVERSE
AS AN EXPANSE OF SEETHING ENERGY.
THE HOTTEST AREAS ARE BLUE, AND THE COOLEST AREAS RED.
KOSTAS THINKS THIS MAP OF PRIMORDIAL ENERGY
HOLDS STRIKING SIMILARITIES TO HIS HOLOGRAPHIC SIMULATION.
Skenderis: WHAT WE'RE FINDING IS THAT
THE PATTERNS WE'RE COMPUTING
USING THE HOLOGRAPHIC THEORY AGREE REMARKABLY WELL
WITH WHAT WE SEE IN THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND.
I THINK THIS RESEARCH PROVIDES THE FIRST EVIDENCE
THAT OUR UNIVERSE MAY BE HOLOGRAPHIC.
Narrator: IT MAY NOT BE OBVIOUS TO THE UNTRAINED EYE,
BUT FOR KOSTAS, IT'S A MATCH.
HIS SIMULATION SHOWS THE SAME VARIATIONS IN TEMPERATURE
THAT CAN BE FOUND IN THE COSMOS TODAY.
HIS RESEARCH COULD TURN OUT TO BE THE SMOKING GUN EVIDENCE
THAT OUR UNIVERSE REALLY IS HOLOGRAPHIC.
IT'S ABSOLUTELY EXCITING.
IT'S MIND-BLOWING.
Greene: THE HOLOGRAPHIC IDEA IS SO NEW
THAT IT'S GOING TO GO THROUGH MANY INCARNATIONS
AS PEOPLE TEAR IT APART, PUT IT BACK TOGETHER,
REINTERPRET IT, INTRODUCE NEW MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS.
BUT EVERY TIME AN EXOTIC IDEA
IS ABLE TO MAKE CONTACT WITH OBSERVATIONAL DATA,
THAT IS WHAT WILL PROPEL US ONWARDS
TO TRY TO MAKE MORE REFINED TESTS OF THESE IDEAS.
Tremblay: OUR UNDERSTANDING THE COSMOS IS DEFINED
MORE BY WHAT WE DON'T KNOW THAN WHAT WE DO ACTUALLY KNOW.
AND SO,ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO BE A SCIENTIST
IS TO JUST ALLOW THE IMPOSSIBLE TO BE POSSIBLE IN YOUR HEAD.
Narrator: THESE IDEAS OFFER A TANTALIZING NEW BIRTH STORY
FOR THE UNIVERSE,
BUT THEY REMAIN ON THE FRINGES OF THEORETICAL PHYSICS,
BORDERING ON SCIENCE FICTION.
WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION -- IS ANYTHING REALLY REAL?
♪
Narrator: ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SCIENTISTS CONTINUE TO PROVE
THE VALIDITY OF THEIR HOLOGRAPHIC THEORY.
FROM GALAXIES TO PLANETS AND PEOPLE,
THEIR MATHEMATICAL VISION OF THE UNIVERSE
SUGGESTS OUR REALITY COULD BE A HOLOGRAM.
THE PRINCIPLE SUGGESTS THE REAL UNIVERSE EXISTS
IN TWO DIMENSIONS,
AND OUR LIVES ARE JUST A PROJECTION.
IF THIS IS TRUE, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND HARD EVIDENCE
OF THE HOLOGRAM IN ACTION.
IF YOU IMAGINE SCIENCE FICTION FILMS
AND DEPICTIONS OF HOLOGRAMS IN THOSE FILMS,
THOSE HOLOGRAMS OFTEN GLITCH TO GIVE AWAY TO THE AUDIENCE
THAT THIS IS A FAKE REPRESENTATION.
AND SO WHAT IF, YOU KNOW, THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE
ALSO HAD KIND OF "GLITCHES,"
AND THOSE GLITCHES COULD BE OUR OBSERVABLES?
Narrator: THE IDEA THAT A HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE
COULD BE GLITCHING COMES DOWN TO QUANTUM PHYSICS.
IT'S CALLED THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE.
THIS THEORY SUGGESTS THAT SUBATOMIC PARTICLES
FLASH IN AND OUT OF EXISTENCE LIKE FIREFLIES,
MAKING REALITY GLITCHY AT THE MOST MICRO LEVEL.
AND IN A HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE,
THIS GLITCHY NATURE OF REALITY MAY BE STRONGER.
♪
TODAY, AT THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S FERMILAB,
CRAIG HOGAN MASTERMINDS AN EXPERIMENT
TO SCAN THE UNIVERSE FOR HOLOGRAPHIC GLITCHES.
Hogan: WE'RE DRIVING ALONG
ONE OF THE OLD BEAM LINES AT FERMILAB
TO AN EXPERIMENT CALLED THE HOLOMETER.
WE PUT THIS TOGETHER OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS TO STUDY
THE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP SPACE AND TIME.
Narrator: IT'S A TALL ORDER FOR CRAIG.
IF THESE GLITCHES EXIST,
THEY WILL ONLY BE FOUND ON MICROSCOPIC SCALES.
WHEN YOU ZOOM IN ON AN OBJECT --
PAST MOLECULES, ATOMS, AND ELECTRONS --
YOU ENTER A QUANTUM WORLD WHERE NOTHING IS FIXED.
TINY GRAINS OF PURE INFORMATION CALLED QUANTUM BITS,
OR QUBITS, CONSTANTLY SHIFT AROUND.
IN HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE, THE QUBITS MOVE IN LAYERS --
2-D SLICES SHIFTING ONE AFTER THE OTHER.
THIS SYNCHRONIZED JITTER
PRODUCES TINY GLITCHES IN REALITY,
THAT MAY BE DETECTED, BUT ONLY BY THE MOST SENSITIVE EQUIPMENT.
♪
THESE GLITCHES, IF THEY TRULY EXIST,
ARE A THOUSAND TIMES SMALLER THAN A PROTON IN AN ATOM --
A SCALE SO SMALL,
MANY SCIENTISTS THINK IT'S UNDETECTABLE.
WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO PICK UP SOMETHING WHICH IS
SO SMALL AND SUBTLE
IT NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN SEEN BEFORE.
Narrator: CRAIG HAS DEVELOPED THIS MULTIMILLION DOLLAR MACHINE
TO HUNT THESE MINISCULE GLITCHES.
IT'S CALLED THE HOLOMETER.
IT USES A LASER BEAM RULER
TO SEARCH FOR HOLOGRAPHIC GLITCHES
IN THE FABRIC OF SPACE AND TIME.
WE'RE SENDING LASER LIGHT INTO AN EXPLORATION
OF SPACE AND TIME, AND THIS IS WHERE THAT STARTS,
'CAUSE THIS IS WHERE THE LIGHT IS GENERATED,
BACK HERE IN THIS VERY POWERFUL LASER.
Narrator: THIS EQUIPMENT SUPERCHARGES A LASER BEAM,
TO GIVE IT A MILLION TIMES MORE POWER
THAN A REGULAR LASER POINTER.
THE HIGH-POWERED LASERS SPLIT INTO TWO BEAMS.
THE BEAMS FIRE SIMULTANEOUSLY DOWN TWO 65-FOOT-LONG TUBES.
AT THE END OF EACH TUBE IS A MIRROR,
WHICH BOUNCES THE LASER BACK DOWN THE LENGTH OF THE TUBE.
ANY GLITCHES IN THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE
COULD MOVE THE MIRRORS LESS THAN 3 BILLION BILLIONTHS OF A FOOT.
THE HOLOMETER IS PROGRAMMED
TO DETECT THESE CHANGES IN LENGTH.
IF QUANTUM GLITCHES ARE REALLY OCCURRING IN THE UNIVERSE,
CRAIG BELIEVES BOTH LASERS WILL DETECT THEM,
BUT AT DIFFERENT TIMES.
SO, THE MEASUREMENT WE'RE DOING IS TO SEE
WHETHER MIRRORS EVER STAND PERFECTLY STILL.
IF SPACE AND TIME, WITH NOTHING IN IT,
IS MADE OF PARTICLES OR QUANTUM THINGS,
THE PREDICTION IS IT SHOULD NEVER STAND PERFECTLY STILL.
EVERYTHING SHOULD BE JITTERING OR ROTATING A TINY BIT
AND WE'RE USING INTERFEROMETERS TO LOOK FOR THAT EXOTIC MOTION
ON THE VERY SMALLEST SCALES.
Narrator: THE TEAM NEEDS TO MAKE SURE
THAT ANY MOVEMENT DETECTED IS, IN FACT,
FROM THE NATURE OF SPACE/TIME,
NOT FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD INTERFERING WITH THE LASERS.
SO THEY CONDUCT TESTS AT NIGHT TO ENSURE ACCURACY.
Hogan: IF WE TRY TO DO THE MEASUREMENT DURING THE DAY,
PEOPLE ARE COMING AND GOING FROM WORK,
THE SUN SHINES ON THINGS, THE GROUND EXPANDS,
AND IT ALL MOVES BY A TINY AMOUNT.
AND THAT MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO GET REALLY CLEAN DATA
TO UNLOCK THE APPARATUS DURING THE DAY.
SO WE WAIT TILL NIGHT, WHEN IT CALMS DOWN.
Narrator: CRAIG HAS BEEN WORKING ON
THIS LASER-POWERED HOLOGRAPHIC RULER
FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS.
BUT JUST AS IT ACHIEVED THE SENSITIVITY NEEDED,
THE LASER FAILED THEM.
SO WE'VE REINSTALLED THE LASERS,
AFTER GETTING THEM REFURBISHED.
THE TEAM'S IN THERE NOW, LINING UP THE BEAMS
AND GETTING READY TO DO A NEW ROUND OF DATA-TAKING
THIS SUMMER.
Narrator: THERE'S NO GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS,
BUT FOR CRAIG, IT'S WORTH THE EFFORT.
IF WE LEARN ABOUT HOW SPACE AND TIME REALLY WORK
AT A DEEPER LEVEL, THE QUANTUM LEVEL,
WE'RE GOING TO BE UNLEASHING ALL KINDS OF NEW POSSIBILITIES.
IT'S REAL HARD TO SPECULATE WHAT THOSE MIGHT BE,
BUT, YOU KNOW,
IF YOU THINK ABOUT SCIENCE FICTION POSSIBILITIES,
LIKE TELEPORTATION, THAT'S WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO INVOLVE.
IF YOU WERE ABLE TO MEASURE QUANTUM FLUCTUATIONS,
VIBRATIONS FROM THE QUANTUM NATURE OF THE UNIVERSE,
TAKING PLACE IN THE FABRIC OF SPACE AND TIME,
THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR DISCOVERIES
THAT OUR SPECIES HAS EVER ACCOMPLISHED.
Narrator: CRAIG'S TEAM CONTINUES TO FINE TUNE THEIR EQUIPMENT.
AND ONCE THE SYSTEM IS STABLE,
IT MAY BE THE KEY TO FINDING OUT IF THE UNIVERSE IS HOLOGRAPHIC.
♪
THE HOLOGRAPHIC THEORY COULD REVOLUTIONIZE
THE WAY WE LOOK AT THE UNIVERSE.
BUT WHILE CRAIG CONTINUES HIS SEARCH,
RESEARCHERS IN THE NETHERLANDS MIGHT HAVE BEATEN HIM TO IT.
♪
Narrator: SCIENTISTS ACROSS THE WORLD ARE SEARCHING
FOR EVIDENCE THAT THE UNIVERSE IS A HOLOGRAM.
THEY FIND CLUES IN THE INNER WORKINGS OF BLACK HOLES
AND IN THE EARLIEST IMAGES OF THE INFANT UNIVERSE.
THEY CONSTRUCT HOLOGRAMS YOU CAN TOUCH
AND BUILD MASSIVE MACHINES
TO CHECK THE FABRIC OF SPACE/TIME FOR GLITCHES.
BUT SO FAR, ONLY THE SMALLEST HINTS OF EVIDENCE HAVE EMERGED.
THAT IS, UNTIL NOW.
SOME RESEARCHERS THINK A GALAXY-SIZED CLUE
HAS BEEN STARING US IN THE FACE FOR OVER 40 YEARS.
♪
ERIK VERLINDE BELIEVES AN UNUSUAL PROPERTY
OF THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE
COULD EXPLAIN A DECADES-OLD PUZZLE.
Verlinde: WE ARE CURRENTLY TRYING TO DEVELOP
A NEW WAY OF THINKING ABOUT GRAVITY.
IT STARTS FROM THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE NORMAL LAWS OF PHYSICS,
SPINNING GALAXIES DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MASS
TO STOP THEIR STARS BEING FLUNG INTO SPACE.
SO SCIENTISTS HAVE INVENTED A SUBSTANCE
THAT ADDS GRAVITY TO THESE GALAXIES,
HOLDING THEM TOGETHER,
AND MAKING THEIR EQUATIONS ADD UP.
THEY CALL THIS INVISIBLE SOURCE OF GRAVITY
DARK MATTER.
ONLY WITH DARK MATTER IN THE MIX
CAN THE SHAPE OF SPIRAL GALAXIES MAKE SENSE.
Greene: WE BELIEVE THAT THERE'S DARK MATTER
BECAUSE WHEN WE STUDY THE MOTION OF STARS IN ORBITING GALAXIES,
THEY'RE NOT TRAVELLING AT THE RIGHT SPEED.
THEY'RE TRAVELLING TOO FAST.
SO SOMETHING HAS TO BE PULLING ON THEM THAT WE DON'T SEE,
AND WE SUGGEST THAT MAYBE THERE'S SOME DARK STUFF
OUT THERE, EXERTING GRAVITATIONAL PULL,
AND THAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MOTION OF THE STARS.
Narrator: BUT THERE'S A TWIST.
NO MATTER HOW HARD WE LOOK, WE CAN'T FIND ANY EVIDENCE
THAT DARK MATTER PARTICLES ACTUALLY EXIST.
SCIENTISTS HAVE GONE TO EXTREME LENGTHS
TO DETECT TRACES OF DARK MATTER PARTICLES.
ONE STUDY HAS BUILT THIS LABORATORY
DEEP INSIDE A MOUNTAIN.
THE EXPERIMENT IS DESIGNED TO FIND DARK MATTER PARTICLES
PASSING THROUGH THESE LARGE TANKS OF XENON.
IT COSTS $160 MILLION,
AND SO FAR, THEY'VE FOUND NOTHING.
Thaller: ONE OF THE REAL PROBLEMS
WITH OUR VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE RIGHT NOW,
IS WE APPEAR TO UNDERSTAND VERY LITTLE OF IT.
TAKE THE CASE OF DARK MATTER.
WE SEE THE PRESENCE OF SOMETHING OUT THERE
THAT SEEMS TO HAVE GRAVITY, BUT NOTHING ELSE.
YOU COULDN'T TOUCH IT OR SMELL IT.
IT DOESN'T INTERACT WITH US IN ANY OTHER WAY.
IT JUST HAS GRAVITY.
AND THIS DOESN'T REALLY MAKE SENSE,
HOW WE FOUND AN ENTIRELY NEW PHASE OF MATTER,
THAT HAVEN'T EVEN FOUND A SINGLE PARTICLE OF AN EXAMPLE OF.
Narrator: ERIK'S CONVINCED WE CAN'T FIND DARK MATTER,
BECAUSE IT DOESN'T EXIST.
AND IT'S APPARENT EFFECTS ARE REALLY JUST A FLAW
ON THE CONVENTIONAL LAWS OF PHYSICS.
I'VE CONCLUDED THAT WE NEED TO DEVELOP
A NEW THEORY OF GRAVITY.
Narrator: THE LAWS OF GRAVITY WERE FIRST PROPOSED
BY ISAAC NEWTON IN THE 17th CENTURY.
THEY REINFORCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOTION OF THE PLANETS,
AND ALL OUR EXPLORATIONS INTO SPACE.
DARK MATTER KEEPS THESE LAWS IN TACT.
BUT THE HOLOGRAPHIC THEORY
BLOWS THEM CLEAN OUT OF THE WATER.
♪
ERIK'S FORMULA SUGGESTS
THAT THE IMPOSSIBLE-LOOKING GALAXIES
ARE A NATURAL FEATURE OF A HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE.
INSTEAD OF DARK MATTER HOLDING THE SPEEDING STARS IN CHECK,
IT'S THE HOLOGRAPHIC HORIZON THAT PROVIDES THE EXTRA GLUE.
THE TWO DIMENSIONAL GALAXY ON THE HOLOGRAPHIC BUBBLE
PROVIDES A 3-DIMENSIONAL FRAMEWORK
THAT EXTENDS THROUGH OUR UNIVERSE,
LIKE COSMIC PUPPET STRINGS.
THESE HOLOGRAPHIC TETHERS HOLD ON
TO FAST-ROTATING GALAXIES LIKE ANCHORS,
PREVENTING THEIR SPEEDING STARS FROM FLYING OFF
INTO INTERGALACTIC SPACE.
WE'VE BEEN ASSUMING THAT THE UNIVERSE
IS MORE AND MORE STRANGE,
IN FORMS THAT WE CAN'T EVEN REACT TO.
INSTEAD, WE MAY HAVE MISSED THE UNDERLYING NATURE
OF THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE.
Narrator: ERIK'S THEORY MIGHT STACK UP ON PAPER,
BUT COULD IT REALLY BE TRUE?
♪
Narrator: THEORETICAL PHYSICIST ERIK VERLINDE'S
HOLOGRAPHIC VISION OF GRAVITY
CHALLENGES OVER 300 YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC THINKING.
AND EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS REQUIRE EXTRAORDINARY PROOF.
SO, ERIK SEARCHES FOR EVIDENCE.
IN ORDER TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN THESE GALAXIES,
YOU NEED TELESCOPES OR OTHER WAYS OF OBSERVING
WHAT THE GRAVITATIONAL FIELD LOOKS LIKE AROUND THE GALAXY.
AND THEN IT'S THE ASTRONOMERS THAT NEED TO TEST THESE IDEAS.
♪
Narrator: ERIK'S THEORIES PREDICT
HOW THE STRENGTH OF GRAVITY VARIES
ACROSS THE DISK OF A GALAXY.
IF THE UNIVERSE IS HOLOGRAPHIC,
THIS VARIATION SHOULD BE OBSERVABLE THROUGH TELESCOPES.
BUT ERIK CAN'T DO IT ALONE.
WE REALLY NEED, LITERALLY, MILLIONS OF BACKGROUND GALAXIES.
YEAH.
Narrator: ASTROPHYSICIST MARGOT BROUWER
SCOURS THE UNIVERSE TO MEASURE THE VARIATION OF GRAVITY
IN DIFFERENT GALAXIES.
ERIK HAS MADE THE PREDICTION HOW THE STRENGTH OF GRAVITY
IN A GALAXY VARIES FROM ITS CENTER,
UP TO VERY LARGE DISTANCES.
SO WE'VE USED THE DATA FROM THESE GALAXIES
TO PUT ERIK VERLINDE'S THEORY TO THE TEST.
Narrator: MEASURING THE GRAVITY ACROSS DISTANT GALAXIES
IS A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR MARGOT.
LUCKILY, THE COSMOS CREATES A WEIRD OPTICAL ILLUSION
TO HELP HER.
SOME GALAXIES ARE SO MASSIVE,
THEY BEND LIGHT AROUND THEM,
AN EFFECT CALLED GRAVITATIONAL LENSING.
THE STRONGER THE GRAVITY,
THE MORE THE BACKGROUND APPEARS TO WARP.
IT'S A PRICELESS TOOL FOR MARGOT'S STUDIES.
YOU NEED A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF GALAXIES
TO GET A SIGNIFICANT SIGNAL. -OKAY.
Narrator: MARGOT NEEDS TO TRAWL VAST AREAS OF THE COSMOS
FOR DATA TO EVALUATE THIS RADICAL IDEA.
TO TEST ERIK VERLINDE'S THEORY
WE STUDIED MORE THAN 33,000 GALAXIES.
♪
Narrator: MARGOT MAPS THE DISTRIBUTION OF GRAVITY
IN THESE GALAXIES BY LOOKING AT HOW THEY DISTORT THE LIGHT
FROM MILLIONS OF GALAXIES BEHIND THEM.
SHE THEN COMPARES THE RESULTS
TO THE PREDICTIONS MADE BY ERIK'S FORMULAS.
INCREDIBLY, ERIK'S THEORY IS AN ALMOST PERFECT FIT
FOR THE UNIVERSE WE SEE AROUND US.
THE SPIRAL GALAXIES THAT HAVE MYSTIFIED ASTRONOMERS
FOR DECADES COULD JUST BE A NATURAL FEATURE
OF THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE.
ERIK VERLINDE'S THEORY
GIVES A SLIGHTLY MORE ELEGANT SOLUTION.
BUT WHERE WE HAVE TO ADJUST THE THEORIES OF GRAVITY
TOWARDS THIS-- YEAH, QUITE EXTRAORDINARY.
Narrator: ASTRONOMERS NOW HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE WAY
OF UNDERSTANDING THE COSMOS,
ONE THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE DARK MATTER.
I KNEW, IMMEDIATELY, WHEN I SAW IT,
THAT THIS WAS SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT,
THAT THIS WAS SOMETHING SPECIAL,
AND THAT I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO SEE IT,
AND THAT FELT AMAZING.
Thaller: ISAAC NEWTON USED THE LAWS OF MATHEMATICS
TO WONDERFULLY DESCRIBE HOW OBJECTS ACCELERATE,
HOW PLANETS ORBIT AROUND STARS.
BUT THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT WEREN'T QUITE RIGHT.
AND THEN HE NEEDED EINSTEIN.
EINSTEIN DIDN'T PROVE NEWTON WRONG.
HE TOOK NEWTON'S IDEAS AND EXPANDED THEM
TO DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES.
HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE NOW TAKES US ONE STEP FURTHER.
SOMETIMES OUR IDEAS ARE FLAT OUT WRONG.
BUT THE AMAZING THING OF THE LAST 100 YEARS
IS THAT WE'VE SEEN THAT MANY OF THESE NUTTY,
CRAZY-SOUNDING IDEAS HAVE BEEN BORNE OUT BY OBSERVATION.
Narrator: MORE EVIDENCE WILL BE NEEDED
BEFORE THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY IS CONVINCED.
BUT WITH GROUND-BREAKING THEORETICAL WORK,
AND INNOVATIVE EXPERIMENTAL TESTS
TAKING PLACE ACROSS THE WORLD,
THE EVIDENCE MIGHT SOON PROVE IF WE ARE LIVING IN A HOLOGRAM.
I AM A GREAT FAN OF THE HOLOGRAPHIC IDEAS,
THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE.
IT NATURALLY EMERGES FROM THE EQUATIONS
THAT WE'VE BEEN STUDYING FOR 30-40 YEARS.
AND IT ALSO FEELS RIGHT.
IT REALLY FEELS LIKE IT CAPTURES THE CURIOUS QUALITY OF GRAVITY
IN A MANNER THAT REALLY BEFITS BOTH THE DATA
AND OUR THEORETICAL PREJUDICES.
SO I THINK THERE'S A VERY, VERY GOOD CHANCE
THAT THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE IS CORRECT.
THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE IS AN INTERESTING IDEA.
IT MAY EVEN BE RIGHT. IT MAY NOT. WE DON'T KNOW YET.
WE'RE STILL FIGURING THIS STUFF OUT.
BUT I THINK WHAT IT'S TELLING US IS THAT OUR KNOWLEDGE
OF THE UNIVERSE, RIGHT NOW, IS INCOMPLETE.
WE'RE PRETTY SMART AND WE'VE COME A LONG WAY.
THERE'S STILL A LONG WAY TO GO.
IF, HYPOTHETICALLY, THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE
WERE SHOWN TO BE TRUE,
THAT'S SAYING THAT THIS 4-DIMENSIONAL SPACE/TIME
THAT WE LIVE IN ISN'T ACTUALLY REAL,
IT'S MORE OF A SIMULATION.
I CAN'T THINK OF ANY MORE, YOU KNOW,
TRANSFORMATIONAL, LIKE, "WHOA!" MOMENT IN SCIENCE THAN THAT.
♪
Narrator: THE HOLOGRAPHIC THEORY
STILL SITS ON THE FRINGES OF PHYSICS.
BUT IT'S BOLD IDEAS HAVE ALREADY SENT SHOCK WAVES
THROUGH THE WORLD OF SCIENCE.
I DO BELIEVE THAT THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE
HAS COMPLETELY CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK
ABOUT ALMOST ALL FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS.
ONLY TIME WILL TELL
IF THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE IS REAL.
EVERYTHING WE THOUGHT WE KNEW ABOUT THE UNIVERSE.