Tag: mathematics

One-Electron Universe Theory A Crazy Idea!

In the last science article, we have understood the concept of the Mars Rover. In this article, we will learn the concept of the One-Electron Universe Theory.

One-Electron Universe:

It is the hypothesis that all electrons and positrons are manifestations of a single entity moving backwards and forwards in time. In simple terms, according to this theory, there is only one electron that moves backwards and forward in time. 

By moving and interacting with the past and the future, the electron bounces itself in the past and future. It interacts with itself an infinite number of times and produces an infinite number of electrons.

The basic idea of the one-electron theory is that every single electron in the universe is the one same electron travelling forwards and backwards in time. The idea is a bit crazy! One the other hand, the approach was revolutionary for the time.

Let us understand the history behind this idea.

History:

In the Spring of 1940, one of the famous physicist, John Wheeler called his favourite student Richard P Feynman. Wheeler said that all the electrons have the same charge and mass because they all are the same electron.

Wheeler got this idea because all the electrons have the same charge and identical mass. So he anticipated that all the electrons are a single electron. 

The same electron moves back and forth in time and interacts with itself an infinite number of times. By interacting with itself, it produces an infinite number of electrons. 

According to this theory, when an electron moves backwards in time, its a positron. Which is an antimatter particle of an electron.

Positron: A positron is the opposite of an electron. It has a positive electric charge.

Mathematically the one-electron universe theory has a very significant impact on many quantum mechanics calculations. But it failed to answer the question, if this theory is right, why there is very less antimatter found in the universe compared to normal matter.

Let us understand a few of the applications of the one-electron theory.

Applications:

  • This theory was very helpful in getting many calculations of quantum mechanics.
  • One-Electron universe if the first theoretical basis of time travel.

In conclusion, the one-electron theory might not be successful in experiments. But the premise of this helped us solve a lot of physics problems. This theory is also the basis of the recent Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece “Tenet.”

Simple Understanding Of The Complex Universe Part-8.

In the last article, we have understood the concept of wormholes. In this article, we shall understand the concept of “Chaos Theory.”

Chaos Theory:  In simple terms, we can define chaos theory as the study of how tiny variations can have huge effects within a moving system. In scientific terms, chaos theory, in science and mathematics, the study of apparently random or unpredictable behaviour in systems directed by deterministic laws.

Most of us think that chaos theory is a philosophical term rather than a scientific or physics term. But we forget the fact that science is the study of everything. Like most of the revolutionary physics discoveries like the theory of relativity, quantum physics etc., the chaos theory is also born when classical laws of physics are questioned. Let us understand the history of chaos theory.

History Of Chaos Theory: 

The history of Chaos Theory goes very long back in the realm of science, with Newtons Laws of Motion, it was believed that every movement in the space and around is predictable. As the math was perfect, no one questioned it. There were a few scientists who asked what would happen if the movements were not precise but were rejected due to lack of proof.

In the 1800s there was the concept of “Laplace’s demon” which changed the course of the standard physics. “Laplace’s Demon” concerns the idea of determinism, particularly the belief that the past ultimately determines the future. It is proposed by “Marquis Pierre Simon de Laplace”. This caught the eye many of the physicists and their many theories, but none could theoretically prove it. 

In the early 1900s, a French mathematician by the name “Henri Poincare” began studying orbits in the solar system. Initial work on the solar system, done by the physicists like Newton, had developed nice, finished equations that showed how orbits worked. Poincare decided to see what might happen if he added more elements into these equations.

When Poincare changed the initial starting point of some of the orbits in the solar system, he found very different results! Poincare found that even minimal changes to the initial equations made it almost impossible to predict how orbits might work. This discovery by Poincare led people to refer to him as the father of chaos.

In 1961 an MIT mathematician named “Edward Norton Lorenz” was running his weather calculations on a computer. He developed a computer program based on intricate mathematical formulas that generated weather patterns. After a few months, Lorenz decided he wanted to see the weather patterns again. So, he re-entered all of the data but got very different results! 

Lorenz was shocked to see this, and he checked the data very thoroughly. He found that he made a decimal error at a point, and the data was very different from which he got initially. By this, Lorenz developed “chaos theory.”

Chaos theory has a very widely used idea called “The Butterfly Effect.”

Butterfly Effect: It is a metaphor that is is meant to prove that small, unimportant events can lead to meaningful results over time. For example, if a butterfly flaps its wings in Tokyo, there might be a tornado in Texas. 

Now let us understand the applications of Chaos Theory.

Applications Of Chaos Theory:

  • Turbulence: With the mathematical approach of chaos theory, we can understand and predict turbulence. 
  • Weather: Using the math of chaos theory, we can predict the weather, as weather is non linear. 
  • Stock Market: Using the equations of chaos theory, and by adjusting its values, we can predict the stock market results.

We can say that chaos theory can be used when the data is not linear, and we need accurate results using the same non-linear data.