"Except you're not looking back at yourself now, in the present."

http://fusion.net/story/127646/dont-freak-out-but-the-universe-may-be-a-hologram/

FUSION


WHATTTTTTTT

Don’t freak out, but the universe may be a hologram

by Danielle Wiener-Bronner

April 29, 2015 4:20 PM

Everything you know to be true may be an illusion, specifically, an optical illusion, according to scientists who suggest our universe is a hologram. This is not the first time the possibility has been raised, but it is the most convincing.

New research from scientists at the Vienna University of Technology concludes that the holographic principle is possible in the context of a mostly flat space-time continuum. Let’s back up.

The holographic principle was first proposed by theoretical physicists Gerard’t Hooft and Leonard Susskind back in 1993. PBS’s Kate Becker explains:

“The holographic principle, simply put, is the idea that our three-dimensional reality is a projection of information stored on a distant, two-dimensional surface. Like the emblem on your credit card, the two-dimensional surface holds all the information you need to describe a three-dimensional object — in this case, our universe.”

The principle serves as a way to solve the black hole information paradox — according to quantum physics, all information is lost within a black hole, but according to the general theory of relativity, information can never be fully destroyed. Again, Becker explains why the holographic principle resolves the quandary:

“All the information in our three (spatial) dimensional universe can be “stored” on a two-dimensional surface. In the context of the black hole information paradox, this suggested that information about the stuff in the black hole could somehow be encoded on the surface of the event horizon.”

Voila, paradox solved.

A stellar-mass black hole in orbit with a companion star located about 6,000 light years from Earth.

What a black hole looks like, maybe. Artist’s rendition via NASA.

But the holographic principle has been thought to only be possible in a very extreme space-time configuration, far from how we believe our universe to be constructed. Back to our scientists from Vienna, who wanted to find out if the holographic principle is plausible in a space-time continuum that resembles our own. Report co-author Arjun Bagchi explained to Fusion in an email:

“The evidence so far has been confined to gravity theories in peculiarly curved spaces called Anti de Sitter (AdS) spaces… Our work is an attempt to make the Holographic Principle work for space times which are more ‘usual’ than AdS, specifically flat space times.”

Lead author Daniel Grumiller further explained that the study is the first to find identical results in 2D as in 3D. That result means the holographic principle holds — we can glean the same information in two dimensions as we could in three. Per Grumiller:

“We calculate [a specific physical observable] for the first time in a specific 2-dimensional quantum field theory (without gravity), and independently in a specific 3-dimensional gravitational theory that describes flat spacetimes. We found that both results agree with each other.”

Bagchi added: “This provides evidence that our previous construction was correct and there is a notion of Holography in flat space times.”

Evidence of a possible holographic universe, however, is not proof of one. And we are a long way from proof, said Grumiller:

“A fully fledged mathematical proof of the holographic principle may be too much to ask, though it may be possible to achieve such a proof under simplified circumstances (for instance, in lower dimensions or in highly symmetric toy model theories). I would say that the best procedure is to collect as many independent hints and checks as possible.”

If the universe really is a holographic universe, then we are all holograms. Chew on that.










http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-exposure_photography


Long-exposure photography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Long-exposure photography or time-exposure photography involves using a long-duration shutter speed to sharply capture the stationary elements of images while blurring, smearing, or obscuring the moving elements. Long-exposure photography captures one element that conventional photography does not: time. The paths of bright moving objects become clearly visible. Clouds form broad bands, head and tail lights of cars become bright streaks, stars form trails in the sky and water smoothes over. Only bright objects will form visible trails, however, dark objects usually disappear. Boats during daytime long exposures will disappear, but will form bright trails from their lights at night.


Solargraphy

Solargraphy is a technique in which a fixed pinhole camera is used to expose photographic paper for an extremely long amount of time (sometimes half a year). It is most often used to show the path taken by the sun across the sky. One example of this is a single six-month exposure taken by photographer Justin Quinnell, showing sun-trails over Clifton Suspension Bridge between 19 December 2007 and 21 June 2008. Part of the Slow light: 6 months over Bristol exhibition, Quinnell describes the piece as capturing "a period of time beyond what we can perceive with our own vision." This method of solargraphy uses a simple pinhole camera securely fixed in a position which won't be disturbed. Quinnel constructed his camera from an empty drink can with a 0.25mm aperture and a single sheet of photographic paper.

On February 3, 2015 a pinhole camera used in a Georgia State University solargraphy art project was blown up by the Atlanta bomb squad. The device, one of nineteen placed throughout the city, had been duct-taped to the 14th Ave. bridge above I-75/85; traffic was shut down for two hours, and the remaining cameras were later removed by authorities.



- posted by H.V.O.M - Kerry Wayne Burgess 04:44 AM Pacific Time Spokane Valley Washington USA Friday 01 May 2015