Inside the Mind of God
Breaking Down the Doors of Perception, Part 6
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B Y   D R.   M A N J I R   S A M A N T A - L A U G H T O N,   M D

Chapter 7:
Pretty Vacant, Part One

NOTHING EXISTS IN A VACUUM; everyone knows that. A vacuum is supposed to be empty, that's the whole point. So what if you were to find out it is not vacant, but a teeming mass of activity? Stranger still, 'empty' space could turn out to be a universal information source, hold the secret to psychic mediumship and even provide the solution to the world's energy problems. Enter the world of the pretty vacant.

Virtual Reality
In the previous chapter, we discussed how quantum physics introduced the idea that we can never be absolutely sure of the exact whereabouts of a particle: we can only say how likely it is to be in a certain position. This leads to the odd situation in which we can say that a particle is probably in a particular place, but there is a possibility that the particle could be anywhere in the universe.

Due to this consequence of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, physicists began to view the whole of the universe as a sea of potential particles.(1) These particles have the potential to appear anywhere, including in a vacuum, giving this sea of potential the title of the Quantum Vacuum (QV). What we previously saw as empty space is now thought to contain particles popping in and out of existence. They are sometimes known as virtual particles, as they only exist for a fleeting moment before disappearing again.

The QV would have remained a theoretical idea had its existence not been verified by experiment. It is possible to turn these virtual particles into real particles. When they become 'real' we can actually measure them because they have an effect on experimental apparatus. These effects are called Casimir forces.(2) Inspired by the fact that even a vacuum is alive with activity, some people are trying to utilize this energy. If they succeed, this would be a source of unlimited power, as it would literally be creating something out of nothing.(3, 4)

The QV is sometimes called the zero point field. This is because at zero point temperature, which is -273 degrees centigrade or zero degrees Kelvin on the Kelvin scale, all activity should cease. It is so cold at the absolute zero point that normal particles do not have the energy to move. Yet, experiments show that the QV remains active; it is still a teeming mass of activity.(5)

Out At Sea
What does it actually mean to say that particles pop in and out of existence? What is really happening in the field? The QV is a sea of light, full of particles called photons. The photons cycle through a creation and destruction process, and this is how they appear to exist and then disappear. A photon, which has no charge or mass, splits into two particles. These particles are equal and opposite to each other. One is a particle of matter, such as an electron, which has positive mass and negative charge. The other is a particle of antimatter, such as a positron, which has negative mass and positive charge. These particles can exist independently, but if they find each other they cancel out and become a photon of light again.(6)

Figure 6 - The antimatter-matter-photon cycle

This process of cycling in and out of existence occurs in the QV. A British physicist named Paul Dirac first predicted the existence of antimatter particles. He gained this insight whilst examining the behavior of electrons inside an atom.(7) When an electron gains energy it can move to a higher energy level inside the atom. This movement effectively leaves a hole in the lower energy level where it has just come from. Dirac predicted that the hole left by the particle with positive mass - the electron, would be filled by a particle with negative mass - the positron.

Figure 7 - Electron ascending energy level leaves positron hole

He also realized that the QV could be seen in a similar way: as the dance between antimatter, matter and light. Hence, the QV is sometimes known as the Dirac Sea. In the 1930s, the positrons Dirac had predicted were actually found by experimental physics. Today this principle of matter-antimatter annihilation is used in brain imaging: as part of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanning.

Dancing In the Photon Field
Whether it is known as the quantum vacuum, zero point field or the Dirac Sea, the concept of matter emerging from and interacting with a sea of photons has major implications for science. For example, these interactions may explain why objects display inertia. Inertia is the difficulty of objects to change their motion: either to start moving or to change from one speed to another. For many years the exact cause of inertia has been a mystery, but recently physicists have explored the idea that it is caused by an interaction between matter and the QV.(8)

If objects interact with the QV, then so must living organisms, as we are made of the same 'stuff' as non-living matter. Scientist Ervin Laszlo has concluded that we are in constant dynamic with the QV: dancing between a real and virtual world.(9) We think that our bodies are solid, but our very particles flip in and out of this virtual sea. The QV is also being seen as the mechanism behind the non-local connections we discussed in the previous chapter. It can be seen as a transmitter of information; a signal that is present in one part of the QV can be picked up in another distant part, like a ripple flowing across a sea.(10)

Information Waves
We have just mentioned that the QV can transmit information. How is it able to do that? To answer this question we need to revisit what we have learnt about quantum physics. So far, we have discussed the QV as consisting of particles of light, popping in and out of existence. However, as mentioned in previous chapters, particles are not only definite points, they behave as particles or waves depending on how we look at them. They exist as neither one nor the other, but both at the same time.

The QV can be described in another way: as a vast interconnecting network of light waves.(11) It is in this form that we can best envisage how light can hold information. It is well known that when two waves meet they can intersect or overlap. The point where they overlap is called an interference point. It is these interference points that can hold vast amounts of information.(12)

We see this happening in waves of water. Itzhak Bentov gives an example of an experiment to demonstrate this. Imagine a shallow pan of water. Now imagine dropping a pebble and then another one into the pan. The action of dropping the pebbles into the water would create waves radiating out from the pebbles. These waves would form interference patterns when they bumped into each other.

If we were to instantly freeze the pan of water, lift out the surface sheet of ice and shine the correct type of light through it, we would be able to see the image of the pebbles projected beyond the sheet of ice. (The correct type of light is a laser - more on this later.)

The interference patterns of the water have stored information about the pebbles! If we had never seen the pebbles in the first place and had only seen the sheet of ice, we would be able to tell where those pebbles had been in the tray. Information about the pebbles has been stored in the wave interference patterns.

Figure 8 - The information about the location
of pebbles has been stored in the ice.
(After Stalking the Wild Pendulum by Itzhak Bentov)

In fact, the interference patterns of waves are known as one of the most efficient information storage facilities we have; a small space can hold a vast amount of data. Just imagine the capacity for storage available to us in this dynamic field of information that surrounds us. If we are in constant interaction with this field all the time, what does this mean for the way in which we understand our lives? To explore this further we need to discuss a particular aspect of light: the laser.

The Laser Age
We are living in the age of the laser: our CD players and credit cards are daily evidence of this. CD players utilize lasers to read discs and the shiny picture on your credit card is a common example of something called a hologram, which has been created using laser technology. Many scientists are comparing the principles behind holograms with the way our entire universe operates.

Holograms, such as the picture on your credit card or the image of Princess Leia in the film Star Wars, are images that can appear three-dimensional or many-layered even though they are created with something flat. The image on your credit card can give the appearance of depth although you know that it is a flat strip. These images are made with lasers, which were discovered as a consequence of the findings of quantum physics and of Albert Einstein.

This Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, or LASER, is different from normal light because all the light beams are traveling in an orderly fashion; they are all in phase with each other. Normal light, such as in an ordinary household torch, diffuses out in different directions because the light beams are not in phase and not orderly.

Figure 9 - Light from a laser versus light from a torch

This orderliness makes lasers so useful in everything from CD players to surgical instruments. It is the use of lasers to create holograms that we shall go on to discuss, as this can help us to understand the QV.

In order to create a holographic three-dimensional image of an object, a laser beam is needed, which is split into two. The first beam is shone onto the object we wish to make an image of, let's say the object is an apple. Once the first beam has hit the object and bounced off it, the second beam then meets the first and they create an interference pattern. This interference pattern is captured on some photographic film.

The film itself does not look very interesting and consists of a swirling pattern. However, when another laser is shone through this film, a three-dimensional image appears of the original object: a virtual apple. The information about the apple has been stored in the interference patterns.

Figure 10 - The creation of a holographic film of an apple

Furthermore, the whole film is not necessary to produce the image. If you were to take a pair of scissors and cut out a small piece of the film then shine a laser through it, the whole image would be reproduced, not just a part. So an image of a whole apple can be produced from just a fragment of the film. This is because each part of the film contains the information of the whole image.(13)

Figure 11 - Producing a holographic image of an apple
by shining a laser through a holographic film

The Holographic Universe
So far we have discussed the QV and how it can be viewed as particles of light popping in and out of existence and also as interconnecting waves of light. These interference patterns can hold vast amounts of information, a fact seen in holograms. We have seen how a small piece of holographic film contains the information of the whole.

Now that we have understood these principles, we can explore how physicists are starting to view the entire universe as one big hologram. One of the pioneers of this holographic universe idea was David Bohm, whom we discussed in the last chapter.(14) He examined non-local connections and concluded that these are possible because everything in the universe arises from one source and just has the appearance of being separate.

Effectively, information does not travel anywhere, as seemingly separate parts of the universe are all part of the deeper whole. If the universe is not really separate, then we could also say that each part of the universe contains the information of the whole, just like a hologram. Bohm described the universe as holomovement to reflect its dynamic nature and the flow from light into matter and back again.

Bohm's concepts were pioneering at the time, but his concept of a holomovement of information does not sound dissimilar from ideas in modern mainstream physics. Physicists such as Lee Smolin and Leonard Susskind are currently working on a theory describing the universe that has some resemblance to Bohm's ideas, as seen in this quote from Smolin's book, Three Roads to Quantum Gravity.(15,16)

The hologram, the principle of relationship, and information flow are also key parts of the Bohmian view of reality. It seems that different people within physics are converging on the idea of the universe as a holographic web of information.

Join us next month for more
from Punk Science!

© 2006, Dr. Manjir Samanta-Laughton, MD, All Rights Reserved

Excerpted with permission from Punk Science: Inside the Mind of God by Dr. Manjir Samanta-Laughton, published by O Books (ISBN 1905047932). Available for purchase from your local bookseller, or any of the following online locations: www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.o-books.com.

For more information, check out www.PunkScience.com.

 
References for Chapter 7, Part One
(1) Heisenberg W. Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory. (Dover Publications) 2003.
( 2) Bortman H. Energy Unlimited. New Scientist. 22 January 2000; 32- 34.
(3) Walter R. Scientists Claim to Tap the Free Energy of Space. 2001 http://www.mufor.org/nmachine.html.
[cited January 2006].
(4) Barrow JD. The Book of Nothing. (Vintage) 2001.
(5) Bortman H. Energy Unlimited. New Scientist. 22 January 2000; 32- 34.
(6) Hawking S. A Brief History of Time. (Bantam) 1995.
(7) Pais A. Paul Dirac: The Man and His Work. (Oxford University Press) 1998.
(8) Davies P. Liquid Space. New Scientist. 3 November 2001; 30-34.
(9) Laszlo E. The Whispering Pond: a Personal Guide to the Emerging Vision of Science. (Element) 1999.
(10) McTaggart L. The Field. (Harper Collins) 2001.
(11) Talbot M. The Holographic Universe. (Harper Collins) 1996.
(12) Bentov I. Stalking the Wild Pendulum: on the Mechanics of Consciousness. (Inner traditions) 1988.
(13) Talbot M. The Holographic Universe. (Harper Collins) 1996.
(14) Bohm D. Wholeness and the Implicate Order. (Routledge classics) 2002.
(15) Bekenstein J.D. Information in the Holographic Universe. Scientific American. August 2003; 48-55.
(16) Smolin L. Three Roads to Quantum Gravity. (Phoenix) 2001.