How can nothingness take on a form?

Question

Everything in existence can be combined (mixed with) everything else. This is because all particles, no matter how small, can be exploded into energy. Also all energy (such as light and electricity) can behave like particles and all matter can behave like a wave (the particles it's composed of behave like waves). Matter is energy and energy is matter (energy has mass). Therefore, since all things in the universe can be combined, they must be made of the same thing. It doesn't make sense that two fundamentally, essentially different materials could be combined. If they were made of different stuff they could not be combined, because in their combination they would become the same stuff.

In the beginning, the entire universe exploded from a single point (or something like that) according to the big bang theory. This proves that everything can be combined, since all things originally were combined. Additionally, empty space (nothingness) also exists alongside matter and energy, which would seem to suggest that being and nonbeing arose from the same source at the beginning of the universe, while originally having been merged. In addition, there is the idea of the big crunch, which may happen at the end of the universe (it's sort of like an inverted big bang). At the end of the universe, all things will again be combined and become nothing. This proves that all matterenergy is actually curved nothingness or curved space, since it can be "mixed" with nonbeing by becoming completely uniform (having no form whatsoever, i.e. becoming nothing). Since everything in the universe can become nothing, it must be made of the same stuff (which is nothing).

In case this argument doesn't convince you, I will use Occam's razor: which theory is simplest, that all things in the universe are made of curved nothingness, or that there are two categories of material in the universe, nothingness and matterenergy? 


How can nothingness be curved/take on a form while remaining nothingness? Also, from a more conventional physics standpoint, how can space be curved (this is actually the same question I just asked)? In what way does a different curvature in space affect things moving through it? Is the actual empty space really curved, or is this "curvature" actually some kind of field residing in the empty space? And finally, how can there be holes in space (black holes)? Empty space is empty space, with nothing inside, how can it have a hole in it? (I know there are things in space, but it's the actual empty space which has holes in it, not the things inside it.) Are black holes really holes in space or is this false and just something I heard?

Why is it called space-time?

Remember, my main question is "how can nothingness be curved/take on a form?" The rest of the questions are secondary.

? · Accepted Answer

Quantum mechanics shows that "nothing," as a philosophical concept, does not exist.  There is always a quantum field with random fluctuations.

Relativity shows that space has a fabric, and it is warped by matter.  I suggest "The Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene.  He has a book and a PBS series that's online.

It used to be that science couldn't answer the question about the origin of the universe or of the Big Bang, but that didn't mean we should make up an answer (such as a god) and say that it was the cause.  Within the last few decades scientists have discovered some good answers.  Of course, a scientific explanation is more complex than simply saying, "God did it."

There are many well-respected physicists, such as Stephen Hawking, Lawrence Krauss, Sean M. Carroll, Victor Stenger, Michio Kaku, Alan Guth, Alex Vilenkin, Robert A.J. Matthews, and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek, who have created scientific models where the Big Bang and thus the entire universe could arise from nothing but a random quantum vacuum fluctuation in the quantum field -- via natural processes.

In relativity, gravity is negative energy, and matter and photons are positive energy.  Because negative and positive energy seem to be equal in absolute total value, our observable universe appears balanced to the sum of zero.  Our universe could thus have come into existence without violating conservation of mass and energy — with the matter of the universe condensing out of the positive energy as the universe cooled, and gravity created from the negative energy.

I know that this doesn't make sense in our Newtonian experience, but it does in the realm of quantum mechanics and relativity.  As Nobel laureate physicist Richard Feynman wrote, "The theory of quantum electrodynamics describes nature as absurd from the point of view of common sense.  And it agrees fully with experiment.  So I hope you can accept nature as she is — absurd."

For more about the Big Bang and its implications, watch the video at the 1st link - "A Universe From Nothing" by theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, read an interview with him (at the 2nd link), get his new book (at the 3rd link), or read an excerpt from his book (at the 4th link).  And, see the 5th link for "Quantum scientists make something out of nothing."
-

? · Answer

Whoa, you sound a bit confused. At the moment there's no indication that all materials are made of the same thing (at least if I can understand what you're saying). For example, protons and electrons combine (are attracted) due to columbic forces not because they're made of the same things. (unless maybe you go into string theory but that's beyond me). I don't think "nothing" is a thing. I don't even know of such a thing could exist in our universe. I have no idea what you're talking about with curved nothingness, space isn't nothingness... However, think of space as a fabric with us, planets, etc on the fabric. Now, to mathematically formulate his theories on relativity, Einstein considered time another inseperable dimension of space. He also described gravity not as a force but as curvatures in this space and time fabric. Because time is wrapped up with space, we can notice dilations in time around these areas of space curvature. Also, we can notice light bending with these curvatures (it's actually how he found evidence for it). Now then, black holes are areas where the gravity (read, curvature of space) is so intense, not even light can escape from it. It's just an extreme warping of this fabric (or sheet) called space-time. I think your main problem is nothingness. It doesn't quite make sense as space is by definition something.

Sandeep · Answer

These are very good questions. I will try my best to answer them. 
You are calling the space-time continuum "nothing". Why is this? 
When space-time can be bent, broken, slowed down, sped up. It is
basically like calling paper 2-d. Space-time is a very important thing
to all matter in the universe. This is because of gravity. Without space-time being
able to be bent, there is no gravity, according to Einstein's General Relativity.
So space-time is a lot of "stuff" and very busy to be called nothing.

Chris John · Answer

A black hole is not nothing. It is a region of space that contains so much mass that light cannot escape from it. Occam's razor is nonsense. Explanations are either true or false and not related to complexity.

Matt · Answer

Nothingness took the form of Lindsey Lohan.

Trending News

How can nothingness take on a form?

5 Answers