Exploring Holographic Universe Theory

In summary: Is the holographic principle related to string theory?The holographic principle is a conjecture about quantum gravity theories, proposed by Gerard 't Hooft and improved and promoted by Leonard Susskind, claiming that all of the information contained in a volume of space can be represented by a theory that lives in the boundary of that region. In other words, if you have a room then you can model all of the events within that room by creating a theory that only takes into account what happens in the walls of the room. Leonard Susskind is a theoretical physics professor at Stanford University who is widely considered to be one of the most entertaining mavericks in the field of string theory.
  • #1
flyfisher
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Hi everyone,
I am curious as to the current thinking on the concept of the holographic universe. Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I see my post has been moved. Shall I take that to mean that the holographic universe concept is no longer considered a valid theory?
 
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  • #2
flyfisher said:
Hi everyone,
I am curious as to the current thinking on the concept of the holographic universe. Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I see my post has been moved. Shall I take that to mean that the holographic universe concept is no longer considered a valid theory?
I don't think it ever gained the status of a theory. The best you could say about it was that it was an interesting train of speculation.
 
  • #3
the holographic universe theory is an interesting on but as zoobyshoe said it never really made it as a 'proper' theory. I am going to see if i can find some interesting pages on it, its pretty much the only theory out there that's even atempted to explain the nature of omnipresent information within the universe so at least someones having a go. :tongue2:
 
  • #4
Overdose said:
the holographic universe theory is an interesting on but as zoobyshoe said it never really made it as a 'proper' theory. I am going to see if i can find some interesting pages on it, its pretty much the only theory out there that's even atempted to explain the nature of omnipresent information within the universe so at least someones having a go. :tongue2:
Thank You, I appreciate anything you come up with.
 
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  • #7
Thanks for the assistance. I'll be reading all of the links.
 
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In which extent can this ideas be brought in some relation to the holographic principle? Is there any work in that direction?
 
  • #9
String theory and holographic princple

I was looking at the holographic princple article...
The holographic principle is a speculative conjecture about quantum gravity theories, proposed by Gerard 't Hooft and improved and promoted by Leonard Susskind, claiming that all of the information contained in a volume of space can be represented by a theory that lives in the boundary of that region. In other words, if you have a room then you can model all of the events within that room by creating a theory that only takes into account what happens in the walls of the room
Leonard Susskind is a theoretical physics professor at Stanford University who is widely considered to be one of the most entertaining mavericks in the field of string theory
Is the Holographic princple and string theory both realted?
 
  • #10
The holographic principle in its narrow sense is that if you have a "bulk" on which a type of physics called Conformal Field Theory takes place, and the boiundary of this bulk has the geometric shape of an anti-deSitter space, then the geometric (Einstein) dynamics on the boundary encodes all the information there can be about the physics of the conformal field theory on the bulk; this was shown by Maldacena and he conjectured that the universe works that way; we live on the four dimensional ant-deSitter space (approximately) and our physics is the "shadow" of physics in the bulk. Lisa Randall's recent book "Warped Passages" describes her extension of Maldacena's idea. Maldacena's idea is known as the AdS/CFT conjecture, and goes by the nickname holographic conjecture, because the boundary is "like a hologram" in containing all the information about a higher dimensional reality.

Maldacena's conjecture was inspired by the properties of a black hole; all the information that a black hole shows to the world is expressed on its boundary, the event horizon. For example the entropy of the black hole is proportional to the area of the horizon, not to the volume it encloses.

Padmanabhan has just this week published a paper entitled "Dark Energy, the Mystery of the Millenium" in which he applies the thermodynamics of horizons, and the information encoding of three dimensional volumes by two dimensional horizons, to cosmology.
 
  • #11
selfAdjoint, what you are describing there is the Maldacena conjecture, which is a realization of the holographic principle, I belive. The holographic principle is a more general statement that applies to every finite, compact region of space. It is derived from the "Bekeinstein argument". This argument, or gedankenexperiment, goes as follows: Consider a compact region of space within a definite area and with a value of entropy that is greater than the entropy of a black hole of the same area, SBH. Consider that you are able to add slowly matter to this compact region without slightly chaging the outside entropy. Sooner or later the density will be high enough to create a black hole and this will fix the entropy to the value SBH, according to the laws of black hole thermodynamics. Since the outside entropy was not changed, this implies a violation of the second law of thermodynamics. Thus, the conclusion is that SBH must be the highest value for the entropy of any finite, compact region of space. This is the "Bekenstein bound". The holographic principle follows as a conjecture about the localization of the real physical degrees of freedom that are determined by the Bekenstein bound and thus by the area of the boundary.
 
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  • #12
Bohm's Holographic theory turned out to be an incomplete hidden variable interpretation of QM- the Everett Many Worlds Theory- and the idea of a multiverse was much more successful and ushered in the field of quantum computing http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/0104033

IMO- the more mystical ideas associated with the holographic theory aren't so crazy in light of interferring parallel universes coupled with the active imagination and maleable perseptions of the human brain- certainly still not scientific by any means- but definitely not entirely dismissable as superstition or trickery either-

"The quantum theory of parallel universes is not the problem, it is the solution. It is not some troublesome, optional interpretation emerging from arcane theoretical considerations. It is the explanation—the only one that is tenable—of a remarkable and counter-intuitive reality. " "Quantum computation is... a distinctively new way of harnessing nature... It will be the first technology that allows useful tasks to be performed in collaboration between parallel universes. " ~David Deutsch
 
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1. What is the basis of the Holographic Universe Theory?

The Holographic Universe Theory suggests that the three-dimensional reality we experience is actually a projection of information stored on a two-dimensional surface, much like a hologram. This means that the entire universe, including all matter and energy, can be explained as a holographic representation.

2. How does the Holographic Universe Theory relate to quantum physics?

The Holographic Universe Theory is closely related to quantum physics, as it suggests that the fundamental building blocks of the universe are not particles, but tiny bits of information. This aligns with the concept of quantum entanglement, where particles can be connected regardless of distance, suggesting that they are not truly separate entities but rather part of a larger interconnected system.

3. What evidence supports the Holographic Universe Theory?

There is currently no concrete evidence to fully support the Holographic Universe Theory. However, some physicists have found that certain aspects of the universe can be explained more easily with a holographic model, such as the black hole information paradox. Additionally, experiments with holographic technology have shown that a three-dimensional image can be created using only two-dimensional data, lending some credibility to the concept.

4. Are there any challenges to the Holographic Universe Theory?

One of the main challenges to the Holographic Universe Theory is the lack of a complete mathematical framework to fully explain it. Additionally, some experts argue that the theory may be too simplistic to fully explain the complexities of the universe, and that it may not accurately account for the effects of gravity.

5. How does the Holographic Universe Theory impact our understanding of reality?

If the Holographic Universe Theory is proven to be true, it would fundamentally change our understanding of reality. It would mean that everything we perceive as solid and three-dimensional is actually a projection of information, blurring the lines between what is real and what is simply a construct of our minds. It would also have significant implications for fields such as cosmology and quantum physics, potentially leading to new discoveries and advancements in these areas.

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