Monday, April 30, 2007

Zero; The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife

At last I think I've found the answer to my question, "Is there any such thing as nothing?" Here is how Charles Seife puts it in his book "Zero; The Biography of a Dangerous Idea:"

"A zero in quantum mechanics means that the entire universe -- including the vacuum -- is filled with an infinite amount of energy: the zero-point energy. This, in turn, leads to the most bizarre zero in the universe: the phantom force of nothing."

And

"The vacuum is never truly empty. Instead, it is seething with these virtual particles; at every point in space, an infinite number are happily popping up and disappearing."

While I am a long way from understanding the math and physics of this, I believe it points to the idea that all of space is filled with a force that can manifest as particles. I call this force God, but you may call it "stuff" or anything else. The point is simply that you can't get away from existence.

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