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PHVSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
monopole. Although monopoles-particles that carry only a single
north or south pole-have never been seen, it is believed that they dominated the original early universe. They are so massive that they are
extremely hard to create in the laboratory, but precisely because they
are so massive, if we injected even more energy into a monopole we
might be able to ignite a baby universe into expanding into a real universe.
Why would physicists want to create a universe? Linde says, "In
this perspective, each of us can become a god." But there is a more
practical reason for wanting to create a new universe: ultimately, to escape the eventual death of our universe.
THE EVOLUTION OF UNIVERSES?
Some physicists have taken this idea even further, to the very limits of
science fiction, in asking whether intelligence may have had a hand in
designing our universe.
In the Guth/Fahri picture, an advanced civilization can create a
baby universe, but the physical constants (e.g., the mass of the electron
and proton and the strengths of the four forces) are the same. But what
if an advanced civilization could create baby universes that differ
slightly in their fundamental constants? Then the baby universes
would be able to "evolve" with time, with each generation of baby universes being slightly different from the previous generation.
If we consider the fundamental constants to be the "DNA" of a universe, it means that intelligent life might be able to create baby universes with slightly different DNA. Eventually, universes would evolve,
and the universes that proliferated would be those that had the best
"DNA" that allow for the flourishing of intelligent life. Physicist Edward
Harrison, building on a previous idea by Lee Smolin, has proposed a
"natural selection" among universes. The universes that dominate the
multiverse are precisely those that have the best DNA, which is compatible with creating advanced civilizations, which in turn create more
PHVSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
monopole. Although monopoles-particles that carry only a single
north or south pole-have never been seen, it is believed that they dominated the original early universe. They are so massive that they are
extremely hard to create in the laboratory, but precisely because they
are so massive, if we injected even more energy into a monopole we
might be able to ignite a baby universe into expanding into a real universe.
Why would physicists want to create a universe? Linde says, "In
this perspective, each of us can become a god." But there is a more
practical reason for wanting to create a new universe: ultimately, to escape the eventual death of our universe.
THE EVOLUTION OF UNIVERSES?
Some physicists have taken this idea even further, to the very limits of
science fiction, in asking whether intelligence may have had a hand in
designing our universe.
In the Guth/Fahri picture, an advanced civilization can create a
baby universe, but the physical constants (e.g., the mass of the electron
and proton and the strengths of the four forces) are the same. But what
if an advanced civilization could create baby universes that differ
slightly in their fundamental constants? Then the baby universes
would be able to "evolve" with time, with each generation of baby universes being slightly different from the previous generation.
If we consider the fundamental constants to be the "DNA" of a universe, it means that intelligent life might be able to create baby universes with slightly different DNA. Eventually, universes would evolve,
and the universes that proliferated would be those that had the best
"DNA" that allow for the flourishing of intelligent life. Physicist Edward
Harrison, building on a previous idea by Lee Smolin, has proposed a
"natural selection" among universes. The universes that dominate the
multiverse are precisely those that have the best DNA, which is compatible with creating advanced civilizations, which in turn create more