Parallel universes have been scrapped as science fiction rather than science. This charge is made on the grounds that parallel universes are undetectable. Therefore, they don’t qualify as legitimate science. Contrary to popular belief, however, data collected at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, may be able to detect the presence of alternative worlds.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) located in Geneva, Switzerland detected the long sought Higgs Bosson, otherwise known as the God particle, in 2012. The LHC underwent a temporary shut down after the discovery but is now back in full swing. Superseding the Higgs Boson, the LHC is fueled by a more ambitious project: detecting the fingerprints of parallel worlds.

Specifically, if the LHC detects the presence of miniature black holes at certain energy levels, then it will detect the fingerprints of multiple universes.

Critics of the LHC fear that creating mini black holes in a lab may have unintended consequences, such as swallowing the planet whole. Nevertheless, scientists claim the odds of the LHC laying waste to Earth are next to none, and that the benefits of the experiment far outweigh its risks.(1)

Gravity’s Rainbow

“As gravity can flow out of our universe into the extra dimensions, such a model can be tested by the detection of mini black holes at the LHC,” said visiting professor at the University of Waterloo, Mir Faizal.(2)

“We have calculated the energy at which we expect to detect these mini black holes in gravity’s rainbow [a new theory]. If we do detect mini black holes at this energy, then we will know that both gravity’s rainbow and extra dimensions are correct.”(2)

The energy levels at the LHC are twice the energy levels used to detect the Higgs Boson, making it possible to unearth the presence of mini back holes for the very first time. If the researchers detected the presence of mini black holes, then both gravity’s rainbow and extra dimensions would be verified.

The LHC replicates conditions similar to those at the big bang by smashing particles together at near light speed. Particles emerge and exist under these extreme conditions for a fraction of a second, but their imprint is recorded by detectors. The detectors shed light on the particles’s mass and shape.

According to Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, mass is not an intrinsic property of matter. Rather, it is a property of matter dependent upon how the object curves space and time.

According to Gravity’s rainbow, particles with different energies will see different spacetimes; gravity causes different wavelengths of light to behave differently.(1)

More Dimensions, Less Energy

It was originally thought that the LHC could not produce energy levels high enough to churn a specific class of mini black holes. However, if there are extra dimensions, then it would require less energy to produce the mini black holes; energy levels that the LHC can produce.

If the researchers do not detect the presence of mini black holes, three possibilities remain: One, extra dimensions don’t exist. Two, extra dimensions do exist but are too small to detect. Three, the parameters of gravity’s rainbow must be modified.(2)

On the other hand, if the LHC does detect the presence of mini black holes at high energy levels, it will provide evidence for the existence of extra dimensions and parallel universes.

Whether or not this “proves” the existence of parallel universes is a matter of debate. Nevertheless, the idea of parallel universes will definitively jump from realm of science fiction to the realm of science.

Sources include:

(1) Dailymail.Co.Uk

(2) IBTimes.co.uk