​How HyVac Has Much Ado About Nothing (Part Two)

In the first part of this series, we navigated the exciting, yet still murky theory, of nothingness! Nothingness is vacuum energy that is far from nothing at all! Although space seems blank when we remove all objects, it has tiny particles that are affecting the universe as we know it.

Vacuum conditions are hugely important to physicists and having quality parts such as port covers and o rings make the experiment and lab conditions much more conducive to executing nothingness. At HyVac, we’re here for all of your explorations into the void! Follow along in today’s post for the conclusion on empty space.

The Impact of the Void

Imagine an empty space that has smaller — much smaller — particles than atoms. These tiny quantum fluctuations in spacetime make way for not only fundamental particles, but virtual black holes. We can’t observe these things so we have to rely on theoretical physics to try and understand what might be happening. There are many theories that tackle empty space and what it is, theories such as the string theory. We know we exist on a three-dimensional plane; we can move up and down, side to side, and forwards and backwards. And then there is time, time is often thought of as the fourth dimension. String theory suggests that it’s looking through empty space through a long and narrow tube — it looks like a linear line that is only one dimension, but when you observe it more closely, there are actually three! To understand these theories and have a concrete perception of empty space we’ll need to elicit the best and most complex mathematics to understand the complexities of nothingness.

Our Expanding Universe and the Nothingness of Vacuum Energy

Some theorists think that a cryptic fluctuation or transition occurred in the cosmos and triggered the expansion of the universe, and not only that, the theory that empty space gave rise to the actual universe! So, if fluctuations can occur in vacuum energy, then why couldn’t this happen in another corner of empty space that gives rise to a parallel universe or an infinite multiverse? Because we’re still in our infancy of our understanding of the universe and everything it encompasses, we just now in the last 50 years have uncovered the Big Bang, so scientists are still exploring the idea that perhaps there were multiple big bangs and many variations of a cyclic universe! And, it’s important to note that space is beyond vast — the volume of space that still has nooks and crannies to be probed by our telescopes are almost infinite.

If vacuum energy keeps expanding, will the universe end?

Theories predict that if the universe keeps on expanding in empty space at an advanced rate, it will only become colder and emptier. Particles may begin to dissolve and the universe would be even more empty space — emptier than it is now. Other theories present that the dark energy would reverse from repulsion to attraction in a collapse event dubbed the “Big Crunch.”

One more alternate theory comes from Roger Penrose. He purposes that as the universe continues to expand the only particles that will remain will be particles of light and photons, and that space will act as a kind of generator that will create a new Big Bang.

So, what is nothing?

Even if we can prove that our universe essentially came from a vacuum field, then you just have another question to answer: where did the empty space or vacuum energy come from? It’s the nature of the beast — when one question is answered, another one undoubtedly crops up! The great thing about science is it always makes progress. Back in the 1960s, the Big Bang was controversial to our understanding of the creation of the universe, and now we can say with some precision what the universe was like over 13 billion years ago right down to the nanosecond! With that in mind, the next 50 years will bring unimaginary scientific discoveries that will challenge and uncover what is now thought to be controversial.

Perhaps we do live in a multiverse with parallel universes all around. And, as scientists get closer to uncovering nothingness, this is a far cry from what philosopher’s ponder over when exploring the void.

Learn about the precision and quality we use with all of our American made vacuum fittings! Contact us today for more information!