Quantum Foam

NOTHING IS AS SMOOTH AS IT APPEARS!

I think nature's imagination is so much greater than man's, she's never going to let us relax 

- Richard Feynman

 A Merry Christmas to every Atheist in advance and Happy Winter Vacations to those who are believers of Holidays like me! "Nothing is as Smooth as it Appears!" as the title of this post reads out, doesn't convey a lecture on 'Philosophy of Life' as it appears, but is an onset of a very mysterious and interesting Cosmological concept, that seems to be gripping on the Reality!

Quantum Foam

It particularly deals with "Quantum Foam". So, let me ask one question, Is the Empty space really Empty? "Yes" as the established science speaks, it is devoid of anything, not even the so called 'Luminiferous ether' is present there. But, it is not so satisfying looking at a quiet space and no imaginable disruptions! So, 'Quantum Mechanics' came out with a new concept 'Quantum foam'. I know it still seems baseless so let me substantiate it with one more common concept. Take a 'smooth' glass or wooden surface. Look closely, is it actually smooth enough? The answer is 'No'. In fact, as go deep into the curls of dimensions, it will look nothing different than the 'Himalayas' on a small scale. in the same way, the space looks empty, but is not so.

If nothing is perfectly empty actually, one question arises at the same time, why it doesn't affect the laws of Physics till now? Or our whole assumptions of Vacuum was a mistake and needs a Restart to everything we have learnt till now? Suspense, right? No, you need not go to your 9th standard and learn the revised form now because of the property it exhibits. The time duration for which the particles come into existence is infinitesimally small. That means before you even know there was something, there is nothing again. This can be easily understood by a practical situation.

Think of naughty boy who is roaming in a supermarket. He saw his favorite chocolate in there and decides to have it but finds that he owns no money. So, temptation forces him to lift the chocolate in his hand for stealing but suddenly keeps it back at the same place again as his moral responds within seconds before anyone watches or notices him. Does this momentary thought of stealing make him a thief in real life? The answer is 'No' but that thought is enough to describe his personality from now onwards! In the same way, a particle pops out of nowhere and vanishes to unknowns, this very small existence doesn't make it existing as a particle in real and large scale world but is enough to affect others which are sensitive enough to get affected!

The space is full of these Quantum foam and affects some of the natural phenomena. Light that comes from very far away Galaxies provide a strong evidence for this concept. Due to the Quantum Foam particles, they face some obstacles and thus each photon takes a different amount of time to reach a particular distance. This minute delays add up to significant errors and making them go out of phase while traveling millions of light years.

As you already may have witnessed the greatness of two Grand theories as what we call them as, that are Einstein's General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics but unfortunately studies suggest that only one of them is correct if unified! But, now Physicists believe that 'Quantum Foam' maybe the missing link among the considered Physics. In addition to that, it may provide some support to the missing mass in Universe known as 'Dark Matter' in direct or indirect way!

The word 'foam' actually seems pretty irrelevant according to me as a better, more meaningful word could have been used in spite of the current one. Maybe Physicists lack a 'Cisco Ramon' in their Labs!

So, keep Foaming your mind with Imagination and Ideas just like our Today's concept and hope You'll enjoy the upcoming mysteries of Space!

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