QUANTUM GRAVITY

Quantum Gravity - The Physics Of Matter And Energy At The Tiniest Scales

For many years, physicists have been attempting to combine two completely dissimilar theories. Is it possible that a more accommodating theary can be formulated and it alters the way we think about everything, including time and gravity.

It is both the biggest and the smallest of problems. Scientists currently use two different rulebooks to describe how nature functions. There is general relativity, which explains gravity and everything it governs beautifully, including planets in orbit, galaxies merging, and the dynamics of the entire expanding universe. That's a lot. The other three forces-electromagnetism, the two nuclear forces, and gravity-are handled by quantum mechanics. When it comes to explaining what happens when a uranium atom decays or when a light particle strikes a solar cell, quantum theory is quite good. That isn't much.

Quantum Gravity In The Context Of Quantum Mechanics - The High-Energy Physics Of Space,Time,Matter And Energy

Around a century ago, Albert Einstein stunned the world with his revolutionary theory of relativity. Since then, scientists all over the world have worked hard to prove, refine, and extend his profound grasp of gravity and spacetime.

Numerous observations made in the subsequent decades have confirmed Einstein's theories, including those of gravitational lensing, redshift, changes in planetary orbits, and more recently, gravitational waves and black hole observations.

Despite our progress in observing gravity's more obvious macro impacts, there is still a gap - nay, a chasm - in our comprehension of gravity in relation to another important discovery: quantum mechanics, the study of matter and energy at their tiniest scales.

Researching On Quantum Gravity - Is It A Quantum Force?

An experiment is being considered to find out if gravity is a quantum force.

The only one of the four fundamental forces of existence that hasn't found a partner in quantum theory is gravity. The electromagnetic force, the weak force, which governs radioactive decay, and the strong force, which holds neutrons and protons together in the atomic nucleus, have all combined with quantum theory to accurately describe the universe at the smallest scales, where the laws of quantum mechanics must take centre stage.

The universe at its explosive beginning, when it was smaller than an atomic diameter, or the centre of a black hole are examples of places where Einstein's theory of general relativity, which characterises gravity as a curvature of space-time, fails to explain. Quantum mechanics should prevail in that field.

However, throughout the past eight decades, expert after expert-including Einstein-has failed to connect gravity and quantum theory. So, can we say that gravity is a quantum force?

New Insights Into Quantum Gravity - How The Classical Behavior Of Macroscopic Objects Emerges From Microscopic Constituents

Researchers are doing experiments that are intended to shed fresh light on quantum gravity. How the classical behaviour of macroscopic objects originates from microscopic components that adhere to quantum mechanics laws is a long-standing subject in physics that will be tackled by the researchers.

The peculiar behaviour of very small things, such as photons and electrons, is well recognised. They can behave as particles or waves, appear simultaneously in various locations, and curiously interact over very long distances because of the laws of quantum mechanics. Why these tendencies are not seen in larger things is a mystery.

Quantum Gravity's Explanation Of The Dark Sector And Black Holes

You would be shocked if a theoretical physicist named anything other than quantum gravity and the dark sector when asked about the deepest mysteries in physics. such as: How can General Relativity and quantum theory be reconciled? Describe Dark Matter. How about Dark Energy?

Most physicists find that these are what keep them up at night. Numerous solutions to these issues have been put forward, but none of them fully explain the issues. The situation is about to change, though, thanks to a new theory put forth by a researcher, who holds a licentiate degree in physics and electronics. This theory offers a self-consistent theory of quantum gravity that explains the Dark sector and is consistent with observations.

Quantum Gravity May Be Able To Resolve The Proton Radius Puzzle

A proton's official radius is 0.88±0.01 femtometers (fm, or 10^-15m). Both hydrogen spectroscopy and electron scattering tests, in which an electron beam is fired at a proton and the way the electrons scatter is used to quantify the proton's size, were utilised by the researchers to arrive at that value.

However, recently when scientists attempted to further increase the accuracy of the proton radius value using a third experimental technique, they obtained a value of 0.842±0.001 fm, which was 7 deviations off from the official value. Instead of using atomic hydrogen, which has an electron orbiting the proton, these tests used muonic hydrogen, in which a negatively charged muon orbits the proton. A muon can more precisely estimate the proton size since it orbits a proton closer than an electron because it is 200 times heavier than an electron.

Black Hole Is Subject To The Loop Quantum Gravity Hypothesis By Theorists

Researchers have applied the Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) theory to a condensed black hole.
In doing so, they imply that there is a portal to another universe at its heart rather than a singularity, as they explain in their work that was published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

The idea that the universe was created in a single Big Bang event has long been held by theoretical physicists; Einstein's ideas supported this idea. The issue with this way of thinking is that the singularity, which should exist at the instant shortly before the Big Bang, cannot be described by the theory of general relativity.