Science's biggest mystery is one that'll make you feel really really small. I'm talking about multiple universes. The theory of multiple or parallel universe is one that blurs the line between scientific reality and science fiction. You hear about this stuff in sci-fi movies, but is it actually possible? Well, the customary answer is that nobody knows for sure. That is why they are called theories. It is a pretty big topic of debate in science.
If you believe that multiple universe exists, then maybe you can feel a little better about having the great physicist Stephen Hawking in your camp! He had a very spectacular theory on multiple universes. Up until recent years, scientists were sure that there was only one universe that contained everything known to humankind. I'm talking about everything we know be it earth, galaxies, etc..
But one day back in 1954, a Princeton grad student by the name of Hugh Everett came up with the first theory of multiple universes. He believed that the universe was constantly splitting and that each of these splits became its own universe. This is now known as the Multiple World's theory. You can mostly imagine it as a flowchart that keeps branching off continuously. Hugh Everett's dissertation on his groundbreaking theory was impressive enough for him to earn his Ph.D. Over the years, scientists eventually kept coming back to it, adding their own versions, and now we've got all kinds of models on how this multiverse would look. Some believe that these universes are like bubbles, totally unseen by each other because, well we just don't have that kind of technology! There is also a model that shows universes looking like sheets of paper stacked on top of each other.
Another question that arises after this is, what would a parallel version of our world would look like! Well, some attributes of our universe may be different, while some are the same! Proving or disapproving their existence is no easy task, but science is close to taking the abstract and make it physical. That is, researchers from Tennessee Oak Ridge National Laboratory are currently putting together some equipment that could prove the existence of a mirror universe, almost like a reflection of our own. The idea is to blast a handful of subatomic particles through a 50 foot tunnel, past a really strong magnet, and into a wall at the end. If some of those particles come out as a mirror image of themselves on the other side, that means science has made a breakthrough a galactic proportions! Yes, a few little particles getting all messed up in a magnet and coming out the other side of a wall would be proof that multiverses can physically exist.
In theory, some scientists believe the Big Bang that started it all could've been two universes colliding and forming a new one. Well, after this many people say that what is the need or why do we emphasize on proofing the existence of parallel universe. Remember, a parallel universe may contain elements and physics that we've never seen before, and they could possibly be used in medicine and other fields as well. Plus, there is the possibility that we could travel to another universe if ours started having problems.
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