Taking ‘We Are The Universe’ To A WHOLE New Level
This article discusses an intriguing chart created by Dr. Charles Lineweaver and graduate student Vihan Patel that plots a vast range of objects, from subatomic particles to superclusters, on a log-log-graph, based on their mass and radius. This method was chosen as it covers many orders of magnitude in both size and mass that exist between very small and very large objects. The chart reveals certain “forbidden” areas where the known laws of physics don’t allow objects to exist, and where quantum mechanics challenges the nature of singular objects.
One of the key features of the chart is a black line that separates the “forbidden by gravity” area from the space where familiar objects reside. Black holes are plotted along this line, showing their density decreases as their mass increases. Interestingly, when following this line upwards, it’s revealed that the entire observable universe, within the “Hubble radius,” also lies on this line. This implies that if a black hole were as large as the observable universe, their densities would be the same, leading to the speculative question: could the universe itself be a black hole?
Lineweaver and Patel acknowledge that they are not the first to propose this idea, though they arrived at it through unique means. Their mass measurement includes dark matter and dark energy (as energy and mass are interchangeable). They note that the universe has always been on this line, even billions of years ago when the Hubble radius was much smaller, which makes it less likely that its position on the line is a coincidence.
However, the idea of the universe as a black hole hinges on the assumption that everything outside the Hubble radius is a zero-density Minkowski space (a vacuum). Lineweaver, along with most cosmologists, considers this a flawed assumption, leaving the implications of their chart unclear. He suggests that the universe could be an “inside-out black-hole,” but emphasizes that this question requires much more contemplation.
Another obstacle to this theory is the unknown nature of the insides of black holes. The tension between general relativity and quantum mechanics, especially as they relate to the density at the center of black holes, remains unresolved, points out Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose.
Furthermore, the chart raises questions about the universe’s origins. It suggests that instead of starting as a singularity (a point of infinite density and temperature), the universe might have begun as an instanton, which has a specific size and mass. Lineweaver believes that the term “instanton” should be more familiar to the public as a plausible model for the universe’s origins, challenging the popular association of the Big Bang with a singularity.
This study, published in the American Journal of Physics, opens up a range of speculative but fascinating questions about the nature of the universe, black holes, and the fundamental laws of physics.
