The universe could undergo a 'catastrophic change' that could alter absolutely everything, quantum machine shows The universe could undergo a catastrophe that would change absolutely everything, scientists have shown using a quantum machine.
About 50 years ago, quantum physicists suggested that the universe could be trapped in a so-called false vacuum, where it appears stable but could be about to move into a true vacuum and be even more stable.
They could then control the system to move from a false to true vacuum, tracking the process it at a small and short scale so that they could better understand it at the scale of the universe.
“If that is indeed the case, quantum mechanics would allow the Universe to eventually tunnel to the lowest energy state or the ‘true’ vacuum and that process would result in a cataclysmic global event.”.
The groundbreaking simulation allowed scientists to better understand a phenomenon that could entirely change the structure of the universe – and about which little is still known.
