The multiverse (or meta-universe, metaverse) is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all physical matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space, although this usage may differ with the context . The term Universe may be used in slightly different contextual senses, denoting such concepts as the cosmos, (including our universe) that together comprise everything that physically Physics is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the world and universe behave exists In common usage, existence is the world we are aware of through our senses, and that persists independently without them. In academic philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning, being contrasted with essence, which specifies different forms of existence as well as different identity conditions for objects and properties. Philosophers: the entirety of space Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of the boundless four-dimensional continuum known as spacetime. In mathematics one examines ' and time Time is "a nonspatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future." It is used to sequence events, to quantify the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify and measure the motions of objects and other changes. Time is quantified in, all forms of matter Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects are made. Typically, this includes atoms and other particles which have mass. However in practice there is no single correct scientific meaning; each field uses the term in different and often incompatible ways. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and, energy In physics, energy is a quantity that can be assigned to every particle, object, and system of objects as a consequence of the state of that particle, object or system of objects. Different forms of energy include kinetic, potential, thermal, gravitational, sound, elastic, light, and electromagnetic energy. The forms of energy are often named and momentum In classical mechanics, momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object (p = mv). In relativistic mechanics, this quantity is multiplied by the Lorentz factor. Momentum is sometimes referred to as linear momentum to distinguish it from the related subject of angular momentum. Linear momentum is a vector quantity, since it has a, and the physical laws A physical law or scientific law is a scientific generalization based on empirical observations of physical behavior . Laws of nature are observable. Scientific laws are empirical, describing the observable laws. Empirical laws are typically conclusions based on repeated scientific experiments and simple observations, over many years, and which and constants A physical constant is a physical quantity that is generally believed to be both universal in nature and constant in time. It can be contrasted with a mathematical constant, which is a fixed numerical value but does not directly involve any physical measurement that govern them. The term was coined in 1895 by the American philosopher and psychologist William James William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a medical doctor. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism. He was the brother of novelist Henry James and of diarist Alice James.^[1] The various universes within the multiverse are sometimes called parallel universes.

The structure of the multiverse, the nature of each universe within it and the relationship between the various constituent universes, depend on the specific multiverse hypothesis considered. Multiverses have been hypothesized in cosmology Cosmology , in strict usage, refers to the study of the Universe in its totality as it now is (or at least as it can be observed now), and by extension, humanity's place in it. Though the word cosmology is recent (first used in 1730 in Christian Wolff's Cosmologia Generalis), study of the universe has a long history involving science, philosophy,, physics Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through space-time, as well as all applicable concepts, such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves, astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere (such as the cosmic background radiation). It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the formation and development of the universe, philosophy Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is distinguished from other ways of addressing fundamental questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. The word "philosophy" comes from the, transpersonal psychology Transpersonal psychology is a form of psychology that studies the transpersonal, self-transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human experience and fiction Fiction is any form of narrative which deals, in part or in whole, with events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary and invented by its author(s). Although fiction often describes a major branch of literary work, it is also applied to theatrical, cinematic, documental, and musical work. In contrast to this is non-fiction, which deals, particularly in science fiction Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with the impact of imagined innovations in science or technology. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically established or scientifically postulated laws of nature . Exploring the consequences of such differences and fantasy Fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting. Many works within the genre take place in fictional worlds where magic is common. Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction in that it does not provide a logical explanation for the scientifically impossible events. In these contexts, parallel universes are also called "alternative universes", "quantum universes", "interpenetrating dimensions", "parallel dimensions", "parallel worlds", "alternative realities", and "alternative timelines", among others.

Multiverse hypotheses in physics

Tegmark's classification

Cosmologist Max Tegmark has provided a taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word finds its roots in the Greek τάξις, taxis and νόμος, nomos (meaning 'law' or 'science'). Taxonomy uses taxonomic units, known as taxa (singular taxon) of universes beyond the familiar observable universe In Big Bang cosmology, the observable universe consists of the galaxies and other matter that we can in principle observe from Earth in the present day, because light from those objects has had time to reach us since the beginning of the cosmological expansion. Assuming the Universe is isotropic, the distance to the edge of the observable universe. The levels according to Tegmark's classification are arranged such that subsequent levels can be understood to encompass and expand upon previous levels, and they are briefly described below.^[2][3]

Level I: Beyond our cosmological horizon

A generic prediction of chaotic inflation is an infinite ergodic In physics and thermodynamics, the ergodic hypothesis says that, over long periods of time, the time spent by a particle in some region of the phase space of microstates with the same energy is proportional to the volume of this region, i.e., that all accessible microstates are equiprobable over a long period of time. A long period of time will universe, which, being infinite, must contain Hubble volumes realizing all initial conditions.

Accordingly, an infinite universe will contain an infinite number of Hubble volumes, all having the same physical laws A physical law or scientific law is a scientific generalization based on empirical observations of physical behavior . Laws of nature are observable. Scientific laws are empirical, describing the observable laws. Empirical laws are typically conclusions based on repeated scientific experiments and simple observations, over many years, and which and physical constants A physical constant is a physical quantity that is generally believed to be both universal in nature and constant in time. It can be contrasted with a mathematical constant, which is a fixed numerical value but does not directly involve any physical measurement. In regard to configurations such as the distribution of matter Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects are made. Typically, this includes atoms and other particles which have mass. However in practice there is no single correct scientific meaning; each field uses the term in different and often incompatible ways. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and, almost all will differ from our Hubble volume. However, because there are infinitely many, far beyond the cosmological horizon In physical cosmology, a cosmological horizon is the maximum distance from which particles could have traveled to the observer in the age of the universe. It represents the boundary between the portion of the universe which could have conceivably been observed at a given time (the observable universe) and the unobservable regions of the universe, there will eventually be Hubble volumes with similar, and even identical, configurations. Tegmark estimates that an identical volume to ours should be about 10¹⁰¹¹⁵ meters away from us, (a number larger than a googolplex A googolplex is the number 10googol, which can also be written as the number 1 followed by a googol zeros).^[4][5]

Level II: Universes with different physical constants

In the chaotic inflation theory, a variant of the cosmic inflation In physical cosmology, cosmic inflation, cosmological inflation or just inflation is the theorized exponential expansion of the universe at the end of the grand unification epoch, 10−36 seconds after the Big Bang, driven by a negative-pressure vacuum energy density. The term "inflation" is also used to refer to the hypothesis that theory, the multiverse as a whole is stretching and will continue doing so forever, but some regions of space stop stretching and form distinct bubbles, like gas pockets in a loaf of rising bread. Such bubbles are embryonic level I multiverses. Linde and Vanchurin calculated the number of these universes to be on the scale of 10¹⁰¹⁰⁷.^[6]

Different bubbles may experience different spontaneous symmetry breaking In physics, spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs when a system that is symmetric with respect to some symmetry group goes into a vacuum state that is not symmetric. When that happens, the system no longer appears to behave in a symmetric manner. It is a phenomenon that naturally occurs in many situations resulting in different properties such as different physical constants A physical constant is a physical quantity that is generally believed to be both universal in nature and constant in time. It can be contrasted with a mathematical constant, which is a fixed numerical value but does not directly involve any physical measurement.^[4]

This level also includes John Archibald Wheeler John Archibald Wheeler was an eminent American theoretical physicist. One of the later collaborators of Albert Einstein, he tried to achieve Einstein's vision of a unified field theory. He is also known for having coined the terms black hole, quantum foam and wormhole and the phrase "it from bit"'s oscillatory universe theory and Lee Smolin's fecund universes Lee Smolin is an American theoretical physicist, a researcher at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Waterloo theory.

Level III: Many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics

Hugh Everett's many-worlds interpretation Many-worlds is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that asserts the objective reality of the wavefunction, but denies the reality of wavefunction collapse. It is also known as MWI, the relative state formulation, theory of the universal wavefunction, parallel universes, many-universes interpretation or just many worlds (MWI) is one of several mainstream interpretations of quantum mechanics An interpretation of quantum mechanics is a statement which attempts to explain how quantum mechanics informs our understanding of nature. Although quantum mechanics has received thorough experimental testing, many of these experiments are open to different interpretations. There exist a number of contending schools of thought, differing over. In brief, one aspect of quantum mechanics is that certain observations cannot be predicted absolutely. Instead, there is a range of possible observations each with a different probability. According to the MWI, each of these possible observations corresponds to a different universe. Suppose a die A die is a small polyhedral object, usually cubic, used for generating random numbers or other symbols. This makes dice suitable as gambling devices, especially for craps or sic bo, or for use in non-gambling tabletop games is thrown that contains 6 sides and that the result corresponds to a quantum mechanics observable In physics, particularly in quantum physics, a system observable is a property of the system state that can be determined by some sequence of physical operations. For example, these operations might involve submitting the system to various electromagnetic fields and eventually reading a value off some gauge. In systems governed by classical. All 6 possible ways the die can fall correspond to 6 different universes. (More correctly, in MWI there is only a single universe but after the "split" into "many worlds" these cannot in general interact.)^[7]

Tegmark argues that a level III multiverse does not contain more possibilities in the Hubble volume than a level I-II multiverse. In effect, all the different "worlds" created by "splits" in a level III multiverse with the same physical constants can be found in some Hubble volume in a level I multiverse. Tegmark writes that "The only difference between Level I and Level III is where your doppelgängers In fiction, folklore, and popular culture, a doppelgänger ( pronunciation ) is a tangible double of a living person that typically represents evil. In the vernacular, the word doppelgänger has come to refer (as in German) to any double or look-alike of a person. The word is also used to describe the sensation of having glimpsed oneself in reside. In Level I they live elsewhere in good old three-dimensional space. In Level III they live on another quantum branch in infinite-dimensional Hilbert space The mathematical concept of a Hilbert space, named after David Hilbert, generalizes the notion of Euclidean space. It extends the methods of vector algebra and calculus from the two-dimensional Euclidean plane and three-dimensional space to spaces with any finite or infinite number of dimensions. A Hilbert space is an abstract vector space." Similarly, all level II bubble universes with different physical constants can in effect be found as "worlds" created by "splits" at the moment of spontaneous symmetry breaking in a level III multiverse.^[4]

Related to the many-worlds idea are Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics (he proposed the parton model). For his contributions to the development of quantum's multiple histories The concept of multiple histories is closely related to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. In the same way that the many-worlds interpretation regards possible futures as having a real existence of their own, the theory of multiple histories reverses this in time to regard the many possible past histories of a given event as interpretation and H. Dieter Zeh's many-minds interpretation.

Level IV: Ultimate Ensemble

The Ultimate Ensemble hypothesis of Tegmark himself. This level considers equally real all universes that can be defined by mathematical structures. This also includes those having physical laws A physical law or scientific law is a scientific generalization based on empirical observations of physical behavior . Laws of nature are observable. Scientific laws are empirical, describing the observable laws. Empirical laws are typically conclusions based on repeated scientific experiments and simple observations, over many years, and which different from our observable universe. Tegmark writes that "abstract mathematics is so general that any TOE The theory of everything is a putative theory of theoretical physics that fully explains and links together all known physical phenomena, and, ideally, has predictive power for the outcome of any experiment that could be carried out in principle. Initially, the term was used with an ironic connotation to refer to various overgeneralized theories that is definable in purely formal terms (independent of vague human terminology) is also a mathematical structure. For instance, a TOE involving a set of different types of entities (denoted by words, say) and relations between them (denoted by additional words) is nothing but what mathematicians call a set-theoretical Set theory is the branch of mathematics that studies sets, which are collections of objects. Although any type of object can be collected into a set, set theory is applied most often to objects that are relevant to mathematics model, and one can generally find a formal system In formal logic, a formal system consists of a formal language and a set of inference rules, used to derive (to conclude) one expression from one or more other expressions (premises) antecedently supposed (axioms) or derived (theorems). The axioms and rules may be called a deductive apparatus. A formal system may be formulated and studied for its that it is a model of." He argues this "implies that any conceivable parallel universe theory can be described at Level IV" and "subsumes all other ensembles, therefore brings closure to the hierarchy of multiverses, and there cannot be say a Level V."^[8]

Jürgen Schmidhuber, however, says the "set of mathematical structures" is not even well-defined, and admits only universe representations describable by constructive In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking. Normally the job is managed by the project manager and supervised by the construction manager, design engineer, mathematics, that is, computer programs A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task for a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute the instructions. The same program in its human-. He explicitly includes universe representations describable by non-halting programs whose output bits converge after finite time, although the convergence time itself may not be predictable by a halting program, due to Kurt Gödel Kurt Gödel (German pronunciation: [kʊʁt ˈɡøːdl̩] ; April 28, 1906, Brno, Moravia – January 14, 1978, Princeton, New Jersey, USA) was an Austrian-American logician, mathematician and philosopher. One of the most significant logicians of all time, Gödel made an immense impact upon scientific and philosophical thinking in the 20th century,'s limitations.^[9][10][11] He also explicitly discusses the more restricted ensemble of quickly computable universes.^[12]

Cyclic theories

In several theories there is a series of infinite, self-sustaining cycles (for example: an eternity While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existence for a limitless amount of time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside time. By contrast, infinite temporal existence is then called "sempiternity." An eternal being exists outside time; by contrast, a sempiternal being exists throughout an of Big Bang-Big crunches).

M-theory

A multiverse of a somewhat different kind has been envisaged within the multi-dimensional extension of string theory known as M-theory, also known as Membrane Theory.^[13] In M-theory our universe and others are created by collisions between p-branes in a space with 11 and 26 dimensions (the number of dimensions depends on the chirality of the observer);^[14][15] each universe takes the form of a D-brane.^[14][15] Objects in each universe are essentially confined to the D-brane of their universe, but may be able to interact with other universes via gravity, a force which is not restricted to D-branes.^[16] This is unlike the universes in the "quantum multiverse", but both concepts can operate at the same time.

Anthropic principle

The concept of other universes has been proposed to explain why our universe seems to be fine-tuned for conscious life as we experience it. If there were a large number (possibly infinite) of different physical laws (or fundamental constants) in as many universes, some of these would have laws that were suitable for stars, planets and life to exist. The weak anthropic principle could then be applied to conclude that we would only consciously exist in those universes which were finely-tuned for our conscious existence. Thus, while the probability might be extremely small that there is life in most of the universes, this scarcity of life-supporting universes does not imply intelligent design as the only explanation of our existence.

WMAP cold spot

Laura Mersini-Houghton claims that the WMAP cold spot may provide testable empirical evidence for a parallel universe within the multiverse.

Criticisms

Non-scientific claims

Critics claim that many of these theories lack empirical testability, and without hard physical evidence are unfalsifiable; outside the methodology of scientific investigation to confirm or disprove.

Occam's Razor

Critics argue that to postulate usually unobservable universes just to explain our universe seems contrary to Occam's razor.^[17][18]

Tegmark answers: "A skeptic worries about all the information necessary to specify all those unseen worlds. But an entire ensemble is often much simpler than one of its members. This principle can be stated more formally using the notion of algorithmic information content. The algorithmic information content in a number is, roughly speaking, the length of the shortest computer program that will produce that number as output. For example, consider the set of all integers. Which is simpler, the whole set or just one number? Naively, you might think that a single number is simpler, but the entire set can be generated by quite a trivial computer program, whereas a single number can be hugely long. Therefore, the whole set is actually simpler. Similarly, the set of all solutions to Einstein's field equations is simpler than a specific solution. The former is described by a few equations, whereas the latter requires the specification of vast amounts of initial data on some hypersurface. The lesson is that complexity increases when we restrict our attention to one particular element in an ensemble, thereby losing the symmetry and simplicity that were inherent in the totality of all the elements taken together. In this sense, the higher-level multiverses are simpler. Going from our universe to the Level I multiverse eliminates the need to specify initial conditions, upgrading to Level II eliminates the need to specify physical constants, and the Level IV multiverse eliminates the need to specify anything at all." He continues "A common feature of all four multiverse levels is that the simplest and arguably most elegant theory involves parallel universes by default. To deny the existence of those universes, one needs to complicate the theory by adding experimentally unsupported processes and ad hoc postulates: finite space, wave function collapse and ontological asymmetry. Our judgment therefore comes down to which we find more wasteful and inelegant: many worlds or many words. Perhaps we will gradually get used to the weird ways of our cosmos and find its strangeness to be part of its charm."^[4]

Multiverse hypotheses in philosophy and logic

Modal realism

Possible worlds are a way of explaining probability, hypothetical statements and the like, and some philosophers such as David Lewis believe that all possible worlds exist, and are just as real as the actual world (a position known as modal realism).^[19]

Trans-world identity

A metaphysical issue that crops up in multiverse schema that posit infinite identical copies of any given universe is that of the notion that there can be identical objects in different possible worlds. According to the counterpart theory of David Lewis, the objects should be regarded as similar rather than identical.^[20][21]

Fictional realism

The view that because fictions exist, fictional characters exist as well. There are fictional entities, in the same sense as that in which, setting aside philosophical disputes, there are people, Mondays, numbers and planets.^[22][23]

Multiverse hypotheses in religion and spirituality

Hinduism

The concept of multiple universes is mentioned many times in Hindu Puranic literature, such as in the Bhagavata Purana:

"Lord Śiva said: My dear son, I, Lord Brahmā and the other devas, who rotate within this universe under the misconception of our greatness, cannot exhibit any power to compete with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for innumerable universes and their inhabitants come into existence and are annihilated by the simple direction of the Lord." (Bhagavata Purana 9.4.56)

Islam

There are exactly seven verses in the Quran that specify that there are seven heavens. One verse says that each heaven or sky has its own order, possibly meaning laws of nature. Another verse says after mentioning the seven heavens "and similar earths".

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149–1209), in dealing with his conception of physics and the physical world in his Matalib, "explores the notion of the existence of a multiverse in the context of his commentary" on the Qur'anic verse, "All praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds." He raises the question of whether the term "worlds" in this verse refers to "multiple worlds within this single universe or cosmos, or to many other universes or a multiverse beyond this known universe." Al-Razi disagreed with the Aristotelian and Avicennian view of the impossibility of multiple universes. This disagreement arose from his affirmation of atomism, as advocated by the Ash'ari school of Islamic theology, which entails the existence of vacant space in which the atoms move, combine and separate.^[24] He argued that God has the power to fill the vacuum with an infinite number of universes.^[25]

Planes of existence

Certain religions and esoteric cosmologies propound the idea of a whole series of subtle emanated planes or worlds.

Afterlife

Many religions include an afterlife existence in realms, such as heavens and hells, which may be very different from the observable universe.

Eschatology

Eschatological scenarios may include a new different world after the end time of the current one. For example, Hindu cosmology includes the idea of an infinite cycle of births and deaths and an infinite number of universes with each cycle lasting 8.4 billion years.^[26]

Similar eschatological scenarios appear in other religions, in the form of belief in there being a new and different world after the end time of the current one.

In popular culture

Literature

The term Multiverse was notably used in 1962 by science fiction author Michael Moorcock, though not for the first time in literature, having previously been used by both William James in 1895 and John Cowper Powys in his 1955 novel The Brazen Head (p. 279). The author and editor Paul le Page Barnett, best known by the pseudonym John Grant, later used the term polycosmos for a similar concept binding together a number of his works. He formed the word from Greek morphemes where 'multiverse' uses Latin.^[27]

Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle Takes place in a parallel universe where the allies lost WWII. The novel follows several characters, one of whom travels to what is implied as an alternate universe for a short time.(our own)

In the World of Tiers novels (1965) by Philip José Farmer, the background of the stories are set in a multiverse where godlike beings are able to create a number of pocket universes at their whim. Our own universe is part of this series, but interestingly its boundary appears to end at the edge of the solar system.

In a 1971 short story "All the Myriad Ways", author Larry Niven explores the psychological implications of Multiverse theory. The story somewhat erroneously postulates that since a split in the Multiverse is created at each decision point, the number of suicides would rise dramatically as people consider how the possibility of ending their lives would impact the many versions of the universe. The idea is that simply considering the act causes all possible outcomes to occur in somewhat equal proportion. While the story is highly entertaining, this notion is pure fiction, and is not supported by any significant theory of muitiple universes.

The way in which Robert A. Heinlein used interlocking characters and settings in his novels have led to his worlds being described as a multiverse.^[28]

In C.S. Lewis's series The Chronicles of Narnia, multiple universes exist within a monotheistic, rather than a naturalistic framework. At the will of Aslan (who corresponds to the Christian God), the main characters enter different universes through various means, including a forest containing pools of water. A leap into any pool will take one into a universe with natural laws and even a structure differing from our own. (In Narnia, for instance, the world is not spherical, but flat, and the brave mouse Reepicheep travels to the end of it in order to enter "Aslan's Country".)

In Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials the lead characters enter parallel universes by using a knife to cut into the fabric of reality.

The novel Timeline by Michael Crichton uses the multiverse theory as a mechanism for travel back to medieval times to research the Hundred Years' War.

A 2000 Dean Koontz Novel, From the Corner of His Eye, is based entirely around the belief in multiple realities. At least four characters in the book have special abilities based around the use of multiple realities.

Film

In the 2001 Jet Li film, The One, Jet Li's character travels to several different universes to carry out his deadly deeds.

Although not explicitly described as such in the film, the alternate reality experienced by the George Bailey and Clarence characters in the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life may be interpreted as a parallel universe.

The 2009 film Star Trek features the characters of Spock and Nero traveling backwards in time by means of a black hole, drastically altering the timeline. Though this is not a true alternate universe, it presents an altered history within our "original" universe.

Television

In the 2010 season of Lost a new "flash sideways" storyline seemed to show a parallel universe where the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 land safely in Los Angeles and the island they originally crashed on is now underwater. The idea that it was a parallel universe arose from events in the previous season involving several main characters on the island that had traveled back in time to the year 1977. In the episodes leading up to the end of the 2009 season it was implied that detonating a hydrogen bomb within a pocket of electromagnetic energy could reset time and make it so Oceanic Flight 815 never crashed, which leads to the characters who are stuck in 1977 detonating the bomb in the final moments of the season finale. When the 2010 season opened with what appeared to be two different timelines, one where the plane never crashed and one where the characters that detonated the bomb are back to their original time yet still stuck on the island, it seemed to imply to the viewers that the bomb had created a parallel universe instead of just resetting the one they were in like they had thought it would. However, in the 2010 series finale, it is revealed that the bomb did not reset time or create a parallel universe. Instead the "flash sideways" world is actually a super flash forward set after all the events on the island that shows a spiritual gateway to the afterlife, created by the characters to find one another after they die and to allow themselves to let go of their physical lives before moving on, rather than an actual parallel universe in the physical sense.

During the "Android Arc" in Dragon Ball Z, the show's main character, Son Goku dies from an incurable heart virus roughly two and a half years after killing Frieza and his father King Cold. Six months later, a pair of androids appear and kill all of the Z fighters (except for Son Gohan and infant Trunks). As a result of this divergent timeline, several key characters are not born. These characters are: Goten, Pan, Bra, Marron and Uub. Trunks, now nearly an adult, travels 20 years into the past where/when the main timeline viewers are familiar with exists.

In the network movie Turtles Forever, the 2003 turtles meet their 1980s conterparts, claiming that they came from an alternate universe. It is later revealed that there is a multiverse of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The television show Sliders was based entirely on the possibility of parallel universes. In each episode the stars experienced an alternate universe through the use of a device that would create a portal through which to travel to those alternate realities.

In the season 8 premiere of Family Guy, Stewie and Brian use an enhanced device to travel to different universes. They temporarily stay in a world where dogs are the dominant species before returning to their world.

The Fox show Fringe explores an alternate universe as part of its series-wide plot. The show also touches on crossing over to the other side, the advancement of science and technology bringing two worlds together, as well as the possibility of two worlds colliding and bringing one of them to an end.

Several storylines in the Star Trek and Doctor Who franchises have involved multiverses. Examples include: "Mirror, Mirror" (and sequels) in Star Trek: The Original Series; "Parallels" in Star Trek: The Next Generation; and "Inferno", "Rise of the Cybermen" and "Turn Left" in Doctor Who.

Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe also have episodes where people travel to different parallel universes and alternate timelines. Episodes include "There but for the Grace of God", "2010", "2001", "Moebius" parts 1 and 2, "Before I Sleep", "Mackay and Mrs. Miller", "The Last Man", "Vegas" and "Time".

Spellbinder (TV series) is mostly all about travelling to parallel universes in the two seasons that it had.

Other fictional uses

In the card game Magic: The Gathering the different worlds that the characters of the game inhabit are located throughout what is described as the multiverse. Certain characters called "Planeswalkers" have the ability to travel to different planes within the multiverse.

Both DC Comics and Marvel Comics have made extensive use of the multiverse concept, with DC adopting the notion (later adapted by Marvel) of numbering the many different versions of Earth presented, which culminated in the Crisis on Infinite Earths story arc of the 1980s, and its later sequels Infinite Crisis, 52 and Final Crisis. An example of Marvel using the multiverse concept is the Marvel Zombies series and the Ultimate line of comics which take place in an alternate universe.

The world of The Chronicles of Chrestomanci is also a multiverse.

In the manga 'Katekyo Hitman Reborn!', the main antagonist of the future arc, Byakuran, is capable of moving between parallel universes, and he also manages to bring himself from one universe to another.

The Legend of Zelda series has a similar instance as the Lost example above from the ending of Ocarina of Time, where Link was sent back in time to his childhood to attempt to relive the seven years he lost while he was asleep. This created a timeline "split" resulting in two separate continuities covering several games—one continuity leading into the direct sequel Majora's Mask, and the other leading into The Wind Waker.

In the anime Gurren Lagann each main character is trapped in their own multiverse (Referred to as the Multiverse Labyrinth) This is an attempt to trick them into losing their sense of reality, thus rendering them unable to continue the final fight. To escape, the main character's wife (who is not present) inserts a beacon into the group multiverse illusions, using a neutral memory of a beloved character to create a group realization and thus escape.

In the fictional series of Robert Jordan's World of the Wheel of time, the main character Rand Al Thor at one time uses his One power to channel power through a Portal stone which causes him and his troupe to experience lives in various probability universes, which however always end with his death (he is a pivotal character in the series on account of the dark one).

See also

• The Fabric of Reality
• Philosophy of physics
• Philosophy of space and time
• Reductionism
• Simulated reality
• Omniverse
• Modal realism
• Impossible world
• Parallel Universe in Fiction
• As contrary concepts
  • Determinism
  • Fatalism
  • Predestination

References

Notes

1. ^ James, William, The Will to Believe, 1895; and earlier in 1895, as cited in OED's new 2003 entry for "multiverse": "1895 W. JAMES in Internat. Jrnl. Ethics 6 10 Visible nature is all plasticity and indifference, a multiverse, as one might call it, and not a universe."
2. ^ Tegmark, Max (May 2003). "Parallel Universes". Scientific American.
3. ^ Tegmark, Max (January 23 2003) (PDF). Parallel Universes. http://www.wintersteel.com/files/ShanaArticles/multiverse.pdf. Retrieved 2006-02-07. (PDF)
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "Parallel universes. Not just a staple of science fiction, other universes are a direct implication of cosmological observations.", Tegmark M., Sci Am. 2003 May;288(5):40-51.
5. ^ http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/astro-ph/pdf/0302/0302131v1.pdf
6. ^ Zyga, Lisa "Physicists Calculate Number of Parallel Universes", PhysOrg, 16 October 2009.
7. ^ Tegmark, Max, The Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: Many Worlds or Many Words?, 1998. Deutsch, David, David Deutsch's Many Worlds, Frontiers, 1998.
8. ^ Tegmark, Max (January 23 2003) (PDF). Parallel Universes. http://www.wintersteel.com/files/ShanaArticles/multiverse.pdf. Retrieved 2006-02-07. (PDF).
9. ^ J. Schmidhuber (1997): A Computer Scientist's View of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pp. 201-208, Springer: IDSIA - Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence
10. ^ J. Schmidhuber (2000): Algorithmic Theories of Everything arXiv.org e-Print archive
11. ^ J. Schmidhuber (2002): Hierarchies of generalized Kolmogorov complexities and nonenumerable universal measures computable in the limit. International Journal of Foundations of Computer Science 13(4):587-612 IDSIA - Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence
12. ^ J. Schmidhuber (2002): The Speed Prior: A New Simplicity Measure Yielding Near-Optimal Computable Predictions. Proc. 15th Annual Conference on Computational Learning Theory (COLT 2002), Sydney, Australia, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, pp. 216-228. Springer: IDSIA - Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence
13. ^ Steven Weinberg(2005)"Living in the Multiverse"
14. ^ ^{a b} Richard J Szabo, An introduction to string theory and D-brane dynamics (2004)
15. ^ ^{a b} Maurizio Gasperini, Elements of String Cosmology (2007)
16. ^ Paul Halpern, The Great Beyond, 2005
17. ^ Trinh, Xuan Thuan (2006). Staune, Jean. ed. Science & the Search for Meaning: Perspectives from International Scientists. West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Foundation. p. 186. ISBN 1599471027.
18. ^ Baird, Eric (2007). Relativity in Curved Spacetime. Chocolate Tree. p. 241. ISBN 0955706807.
19. ^ Lewis, David (1986). On the Plurality of Worlds. Basil Blackwell.
20. ^ Deutsch, Harry, "Relative Identity", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer '02), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
21. ^ Paul B. Kantor "The Interpretation of Cultures and Possible Worlds", 1 October 2002
22. ^ IngentaConnect Home
23. ^ The Australian National University
24. ^ Adi Setia (2004). "Fakhr Al-Din Al-Razi on Physics and the Nature of the Physical World: A Preliminary Survey". Islam & Science 2. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0QYQ/is_2_2/ai_n9532826/. Retrieved 2010-03-02
25. ^ John Cooper (1998). "al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din (1149-1209)". Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Routledge). http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H044.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-07
26. ^ Carl Sagan, Placido P D'Souza (1980s). Hindu cosmology's time-scale for the universe is in consonance with modern science.; Dick Teresi (2002). Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science – from the Babylonians to the Maya.
27. ^ "John Grant" interviewed by Lou Anders. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
28. ^ [Robert A. Heinlein: A Reader's Companion, James Gifford, Nitrosyncretic Press, Sacramento, California, 2000.]

Bibliography

• Bernard Carr, ed. (2007) Universe or Multiverse? Cambridge Univ. Press.
• Deutsch, David (45841 1985). Splash. ed. Quantum theory, the Church-Turing principle and the universal quantum computer (Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A 400 ed.). pp. 97–117.
• Ellis, George F.R.; U. Kirchner, William R. Stoeger (2004). "Multiverses and physical cosmology". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 347: 921–936. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07261.x. http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0305292. Retrieved 2007-01-09.

External links

• Aurélien Barrau, "Physics in the Multiverse."
• --------, "Multiple Universes?" (in French). Review of Carr (2007).
• Paul Davies (2004) "Multiverse Cosmological Models," Mod.Phys.Lett. A 19: 727-744.
• David Deutsch (2001) "The Structure of the Multiverse."
• Max Tegmark, "Parallel universes. Not just a staple of science fiction, other universes are a direct implication of cosmological observations."
• BBC Horizon -Parallel Universes.
• Michael Price's Everett FAQ.
• Jürgen Schmidhuber, "The ensemble of universes describable by constructive mathematics."
• Interview with Tufts cosmologist Alex Vilenkin on his new book, "Many Worlds in One: The Search for Other Universes" on the podcast and public radio interview program ThoughtCast.
• Joseph Pine II about Multiverse, Presentation at Mobile Monday Amsterdam, 2008
• Multiverse - Radiodiscussion on BBC Four with Melvyn Bragg

Categories: Physical cosmology | Science fiction themes | Quantum mechanics | Universe

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