Are we simply vibrations, barely more than nothing?

[Confounding]

An atom is 99.99% empty space. It's just protons, neutrons and electrons interacting. Well, we are nothing but atoms at the end of the day. Everything that's you is made out of atoms, each 99.99% empty space. Would it then be accurate to say we are 99.99% empty space? Is our wholeness an illusion?

The universe is ever expanding from the origin of the big bang. Perhaps the bang never really stopped, and we're just conscious parts of an inconceivably large explosion.

 

[MaryL]

I refer you to Vsauce, great vids about science, math and stuff that will blow you away...

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

An atom is 99.99% empty space. It's just protons, neutrons and electrons interacting. Well, we are nothing but atoms at the end of the day. Everything that's you is made out of atoms, each 99.99% empty space. Would it then be accurate to say we are 99.99% empty space? Is our wholeness an illusion?

The universe is ever expanding from the origin of the big bang. Perhaps the bang never really stopped, and we're just conscious parts of an inconceivably large explosion.

Go punch a brick wall as hard as you can. There's space between those atoms too.

 

[Crepitus]

An atom is 99.99% empty space. It's just protons, neutrons and electrons interacting. Well, we are nothing but atoms at the end of the day. Everything that's you is made out of atoms, each 99.99% empty space. Would it then be accurate to say we are 99.99% empty space? Is our wholeness an illusion?

The universe is ever expanding from the origin of the big bang. Perhaps the bang never really stopped, and we're just conscious parts of an inconceivably large explosion.

Deep.

Too deep, I'm out.

 

[Wuwei]

An atom is 99.99% empty space. It's just protons, neutrons and electrons interacting. Well, we are nothing but atoms at the end of the day. Everything that's you is made out of atoms, each 99.99% empty space. Would it then be accurate to say we are 99.99% empty space? Is our wholeness an illusion?

The universe is ever expanding from the origin of the big bang. Perhaps the bang never really stopped, and we're just conscious parts of an inconceivably large explosion.

One way to think of it is that we don't interact with atoms with that void of empty space between them. We interact with the electric field around those atoms. They have a much more far reaching extent. If you punch a brick wall, it's the atomic "glue" of the electric field that causes a disappointing broken knuckle, the atoms don't make contact.

 

[Confounding]

An atom is 99.99% empty space. It's just protons, neutrons and electrons interacting. Well, we are nothing but atoms at the end of the day. Everything that's you is made out of atoms, each 99.99% empty space. Would it then be accurate to say we are 99.99% empty space? Is our wholeness an illusion?

The universe is ever expanding from the origin of the big bang. Perhaps the bang never really stopped, and we're just conscious parts of an inconceivably large explosion.

One way to think of it is that we don't interact with atoms with that void of empty space between them. We interact with the electric field around those atoms. They have a much more far reaching extent. If you punch a brick wall, it's the atomic "glue" of the electric field that causes a disappointing broken knuckle, the atoms don't make contact.

Yeah, but we're still kinda just empty space held together by electric fields. The physical part of us barely exists at all. There's something very humbling about putting it into perspective. It's a miracle that any of us exists at all. I used to go the wrong way with it and let it depress me, but now I am thankful for every moment of life.

 

[Wuwei]

Yeah, but we're still kinda just empty space held together by electric fields. The physical part of us barely exists at all. We are dust in the wind. There's something very humbling about putting it into perspective.

If you want to blow your mind further, experiments show that carbon molecules can act as waves. That further evaporates ourselves to nothingness.

Wave-particle duality seen in carbon-60 molecules – Physics World

 

[IsaacNewton]

An atom is 99.99% empty space. It's just protons, neutrons and electrons interacting. Well, we are nothing but atoms at the end of the day. Everything that's you is made out of atoms, each 99.99% empty space. Would it then be accurate to say we are 99.99% empty space? Is our wholeness an illusion?

The universe is ever expanding from the origin of the big bang. Perhaps the bang never really stopped, and we're just conscious parts of an inconceivably large explosion.

Physically yes, that is all we are. A bunch of vibrating particles. But, assembled into a pattern that was never seen before and will never be seen again. And those particles previously made up a million ants, or a Stegosaurus, or a a fern in the Triassic. Or all of them. And since all of these particles are the universe we are in fact the universe opening it's eyes for the briefest moment to glance in the mirror.

 

[Confounding]

An atom is 99.99% empty space. It's just protons, neutrons and electrons interacting. Well, we are nothing but atoms at the end of the day. Everything that's you is made out of atoms, each 99.99% empty space. Would it then be accurate to say we are 99.99% empty space? Is our wholeness an illusion?

The universe is ever expanding from the origin of the big bang. Perhaps the bang never really stopped, and we're just conscious parts of an inconceivably large explosion.

Physically yes, that is all we are. A bunch of vibrating particles. But, assembled into a pattern that was never seen before and will never be seen again. And those particles previously made up a million ants, or a Stegosaurus, or a a fern in the Triassic. Or all of them. And since all of these particles are the universe we are in fact the universe opening it's eyes for the briefest moment to glance into the mirror.

It makes me think that if something supernatural does exist in the universe it must be similar to the force. Just a cosmic energy that is the source and destination of all life.

 

[petro]

Reminds me of the holographic principle.
Study reveals substantial evidence of holographic universe | University of Southampton
Questions on the nature of reality and our limited ability to perceive our universe I always find fascinating.

 

[evenflow1969]

Reminds me of the holographic principle.
Study reveals substantial evidence of holographic universe | University of Southampton
Questions on the nature of reality and our limited ability to perceive our universe I always find fascinating.

Be carefull introducing that idea! I do not think most people on this site are ready for that one. We recently saw a black hole swallow gas and the implications of what we witnessed help support that idea in a big way. This may be to much for some members!

 

[G.T.]

Good thread man...and they're good and humbling questions for us human knowledge seekers. Knowing the answers is what we seek but. ..what if not knowing is a better stasis.

 

[numan]

'
The fundamental laws of physics are founded on symmetry principles which imply that the universe arose out of a state of simplicity, non-differentiation and zero energy that closely approximates absolute Nothingness.
.

 

[numan]

'
One of the consequences of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle — that you can’t know a quantum state’s energy exactly for a finite duration of time — means that when you’re talking about very short time intervals, there are large uncertainties in the energy of a system. Over short enough timescales, the energies are large enough that particle-antiparticle pairs wink in-and-out of existence all the time!

Take two identical, uncharged, parallel metal plates, and put them close to one another. The vacuum fluctuations in between the plates cause there to be a pressure pushing the plates together. This isn’t the gravitational force or an electromagnetic force, but a force due to empty space itself.

Now, that’s what we know we can get, even from nothing. But there are many things we can’t do, either practically or theoretically: violate charge or energy conservation, decrease the total entropy of the Universe, or figure out where our initially inflating Universe came from. (Yet!) But we definitely can get something for nothing; quantum field theory not only allows it, it demands it.


The only true vacuum that has ever been found is the space between two human ears.

Space boils with energy -- it can be bent, twisted, curved -- it is quite different from "Nothing."

The Cassimir Effect is hard, experimental proof of this. The force between the two plates arises because the longer wave lengths of the virtual particles which fill space cannot "fit" between the two plates -- the distance between the two plates is too short for them. So there are more virtual energies outside the plates than between them, which creates the pressure which drives them together -- and the experimental results agree closely with the theoretical predictions.

Moreover, the elementary particles have magnetic moment -- due to their quantum mechanical spin. It should be 2 exactly -- but external effects due to interactions with the virtual particles and energies of the vacuum change this figure, for the electron's anomalous magnetic moment, to : 2.00231930436153(53).

At last reading, this is the most accurately measured figure in the entire history of physics, and is the most accurate fit between theoretical calculation and experimental measurement that has ever been achieved.

The quantum flux of virtual particles is clear and proven, and the vacuum is NOT "Nothing" !!
.

 

[G.T.]

'
One of the consequences of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle — that you can’t know a quantum state’s energy exactly for a finite duration of time — means that when you’re talking about very short time intervals, there are large uncertainties in the energy of a system. Over short enough timescales, the energies are large enough that particle-antiparticle pairs wink in-and-out of existence all the time!

Take two identical, uncharged, parallel metal plates, and put them close to one another. The vacuum fluctuations in between the plates cause there to be a pressure pushing the plates together. This isn’t the gravitational force or an electromagnetic force, but a force due to empty space itself.

Now, that’s what we know we can get, even from nothing. But there are many things we can’t do, either practically or theoretically: violate charge or energy conservation, decrease the total entropy of the Universe, or figure out where our initially inflating Universe came from. (Yet!) But we definitely can get something for nothing; quantum field theory not only allows it, it demands it.


The only true vacuum that has ever been found is the space between two human ears.

Space boils with energy -- it can be bent, twisted, curved -- it is quite different from "Nothing."

The Cassimir Effect is hard, experimental proof of this. The force between the two plates arises because the longer wave lengths of the virtual particles which fill space cannot "fit" between the two plates -- the distance between the two plates is too short for them. So there are more virtual energies outside the plates than between them, which creates the pressure which drives them together -- and the experimental results agree closely with the theoretical predictions.

Moreover, the elementary particles have magnetic moment -- due to their quantum mechanical spin. It should be 2 exactly -- but external effects due to interactions with the virtual particles and energies of the vacuum change this figure, for the electron's anomalous magnetic moment, to : 2.00231930436153(53).

At last reading, this is the most accurately measured figure in the entire history of physics, and is the most accurate fit between theoretical calculation and experimental measurement that has ever been achieved.

The quantum flux of virtual particles is clear and proven, and the vacuum is NOT "Nothing" !!
.

I think Krauss' book should have chosen a different term in order to be received by the layman more accurately.