Realistic Simulations Are Inevitable Component1 #268265
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+Citations (1)
- CitationsAdd new citationList by: CiterankMapLink[1] Physicists propose experiment to test hypothesis that reality is just a computer simulation
Author: Joel Shurkin Publication info: 14 DEC 2012 Cited by: James Berrier 8:48 PM 25 April 2013 GMT URL:
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Excerpt / Summary Discussing simulation researchers: “they assume that any future simulators would use some of the same techniques current scientists use to run simulations, with the same constraints. The future simulators would map their universe on a mathematical lattice or grid, consisting of points and lines. This would not be an everyday grid but a ‘hypercube’ consisting of four dimensions, three for space, and one to represent points in time.” An example relevant to current research is lattice quantum chromodynamics, which explores the effects of the strong nuclear force, one of the four fundamental forces in the universe, on tiny elementary particles such as quarks and gluons. In this approach, the particles jump from point to point on a grid, without passing through the space between them. The simulations cause time to pass in a similar way, like the frames of film passing through a movie camera, so that the time that passed between frames is not part of the simulation. This style of simulation requires less computer power than treating space and time as a continuum. The article demonstrates that researchers assume that future simulators will use a similar approach, looking at the behavior of very high-energy cosmic ray particles to see whether there is a grid in the energy as a start. This source includes the common argument that because reality simulations are already in production, the logical conclusion is that they will expand in quality and scope in future years. |