Scientists fascinated with alternative dimensions

For some time, science and science fiction have been obsessed with the idea of extra dimensions…. For some time, science and science fiction have been obsessed with the idea of extra dimensions. It was a complete breakthrough in scientific thinking when Einstein proposed that time could be considered a dimension rather than just a mysterious nature of the universe. Science fiction’s obsession is understandable. As four-dimensional beings, it is unfathomable that there might be 11 dimensions ‘mdash; as that new-fangled string theory would have you believe. What are these extra dimensions? Are they a physical reality, or are they just a mathematical curiosity? Case Western Reserve University would like to see if it can ‘see’ the extra dimensions, according to a recent article in ScienceDaily. They want to see if they can simulate a situation where the extra dimensions are a physical must. The unfortunate dilemma facing scientists today regarding the extra dimensions of the universe is that the extra dimensions do not show themselves in situations of normal energy. Even normal energy can be considered as hot as temperatures in the most powerful of particle accelerators. This might have been the case until someone decided to build the Large Hadron Collider. Extra dimensions begin to become visible when the very fabric of space and time begins to break down. The best example of this phenomenon in modern theoretical physics is the black hole, and previous accelerators could not match the power required to create ‘tame’ black holes for study. The Large Hadron Collider is helping, steadily, to provide glimpses into the real world of high-energy physics by simply ramping up operating energies. Experiments already performed in the Large Hadron Collider helped Case Western Reserve University go about its task of finding some more concrete evidence of extra dimensions. So how are Case Western’s researchers finding these elusive dimensions? They cannot view them under a microscope. In fact, if they think about them long enough, I am sure their brains begin to hurt, and they begin to think in a dangerously philosophical manner. Like good scientists who cannot fully understand something in nature, they are creating a model. And like good scientists of the computer age, they use an enormously fast computer program ‘mdash; skilled at crunching numbers ‘mdash; to do it. The computer program they developed, called BlackMax, is designed to work closely with scientists from the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider to study extremely small black holes, created in experiments involving collisions between extremely massive and extremely short-lived particles. Colliders up until this point have been unable to touch this level of experimentation, as the creation of the necessary massive particles required amounts of energy that were unavailable until now. The black holes created will be viewed throughout their lifespan, as the nature of their deaths is what fascinates scientists. Stephen Hawking became famous with his equations of black hole decay. After a period, black holes simply ‘evaporate,’ as they slowly release energy back into the universe. No one knows the true nature of black hole death, however, as a black hole is a difficult subject to successfully measure. BlackMax can help interpret data from the Large Hadron Collider. Case Western Reserve scientists hope that the simulation and interpretation capabilities of BlackMax will allow scientists at the Large Hadron Collider to understand their data. Hopes are high that the results will indicate the existence of extra dimensions and allow scientists to better create a quantum theory of gravity, ultimately unifying two discordant theories of physics. Ultimately the idea of tiny black holes throughout the universe is amazing. As long as Stephen Hawking finds a way to explain how black holes can evaporate and not slowly steal information from the universe, black holes may be all around us harmlessly taking a little bit here and a little bit there. Understanding them will be the key to fully understanding the nature of the universe, or at the very least, we might find out if string theorists really are as crazy as they sometimes sound.