All language subtitles for Quantum Revolution S01E02 - The Fullness of Space

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Many people think
that space is empty.

But is it?

In this episode, we explore
the fullness of space

and what it means to our
understanding of physics

and the universe.

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What is space?

Really when we think about it,
space is everywhere, as we saw.

Atoms are mostly
made out of space.

And the little jiggle that
we call the material world

is just an electrostatic
field that's

interacting with each other
and makes it seem solid.

So basically, we have less
solid and more solid space.

When we talk about vacuum
fluctuation in physics,

people have a tendency to think
we're talking about a chamber

that we pull all the air out
and it's got a vacuum in there.

That's not what
we're talking about.

We're talking about the
energy in the space, right?

The vacuum fluctuation
is the energy

that would still be there if
you remove all the molecules

in a vacuum chamber.

And so it's something
that's already there.

And it's not something
that occurs only

in a certain condition
or in a certain region

or under certain
vacuum condition.

But it's basically
the jiggle of space

everywhere, whether
we're talking

about space like intergalactic
space or interstellar space

or if we're talking about space
at the molecular structure

like the space between atoms,
the space inside the atom,

the space inside particles.

All this space jiggle with
electromagnetic fluctuation.

And these vacuum fluctuations
appear in many different ways

in physics.

When Paul Dirac wrote the
equations for quantum field

theory, it appeared that these
fluctuations were popping

particles in and out of
our reality continuously.

This was described
as the Dirac Sea,

a sea of energetic
particle popping in and out

of our reality continuously.

And so they were
deemed to be virtual

just because they're
not in existence

in our experience
for a very long time.

That doesn't mean
they're not there.

The word virtual
particles, here,

does not mean that they're
not real particles.

It just means that
they're only there

for a very short amount of time.

And so these fluctuations
are essential to our equation

in quantum theory.

Many of the subatomic
particles are

thought to emerge from
these fluctuations.

And this fluctuation
of the vacuum

actually is the basis from
which, for instance, Higgs

was able to write his
equation for the Higgs-Boson

and for the Higgs
Interaction, the Higgs Field,

which was thought to
be the basis of mass,

or the emergence of mass.

So it really is omnipresent
in quantum field theory,

in quantum theory.

And it is, as well,
becoming more and more

utilized in our physics
all over the place,

including at the
cosmological level when

we look at the surface of
black holes and their dynamics.

So it's really interesting that,
for the first time as well,

we were able to observe the
fluctuations of the vacuum

at the cosmological level near
the surface of a neutron star.

It seems a little strange to
think that particles can come

from nothing, from the vacuum.

The thing is is that the
vacuum is not nothing.

In fact, we are not able to
find anywhere in the universe

where there is nothing.

There is always
electromagnetic fluctuation.

And this field, the
quantum fluctuation

of the vacuum at
the quantum scale,

has been deemed, as
well, zero point energy,

because even at 0 Kelvin,
these equations show that there

would still be fluctuation.

There's nowhere where
we can stop the vacuum

from being the vacuum.

This is very significant because
it means that it's everywhere.

And it's fluctuating.

That means it has
energy everywhere.

And this energy is non-trivial.

It's a lot of energy.

When we look at the
energy that we require

to relate the energy
of mass, gravity,

the dynamic of our universe,
the creation of our universe,

and so on, then
all of a sudden we

realize that there is a source
of energy that's already

present that we call
vacuum fluctuation,

and that that source could
be the source of everything.

This means that there is
nothing either than the vacuum,

meaning that the vacuum
fluctuations, when they become

coherent, are able
to produce what

we call as our material world.

Now, we will discuss
that in more details.

But these vacuum
fluctuations, although

their earlier
interpretation was thought

to be completely random, we're
discovering that they may not

be random, that they may
be polarized and organized

in certain ways that when
they do become organized,

they produce what
we call matter.

And as matter get together,
then the organization

of this information
field, if you'd like,

could become something
that we understand

as the source of what we call
awareness or consciousness.

So there's lots of implication
to understanding these vacuum

fluctuations, how they work,
what's their energy level,

and very importantly as we
describe, with the Casimir

effect.

If enough of a gradient can
be created in the structure

of the vacuum, we can get the
vacuum to produce work for us

as it moves through
the gradient.

When vacuum fluctuations push
or pump the Casimir plates

back and forth, we
can theoretically

extract energy in what is
called the Casimir effect.

Consider that if this
is the energy that

is producing all of our reality,
then the amount of energy

we can extract is enormous.

Now, it's important to
realize when we're talking

about the vacuum, and we're
talking about these vacuum

fluctuations, we're not just
talking about vacuum out there

or vacuum inside atoms.

We're talking about
vacuum inside of you.

You're made out of molecules.

You're made out of atoms.

And so the space inside of you,
which is 99.9999% percent you,

is fluctuating as well.

And this is a motion that
you may think as stochastic.

And certainly,
that's the way it's

been thought of, meaning
that it is random,

it has no organization.

And that's why, in general, it
has been ignored, because it's

thought to be irrelevant
since it all cancels out

to the random function of it.

In fact, science is
discovering that there are

regions of space
that are stochastic,

or have random probability
distribution or pattern that

may be analyzed statistically,
but may not be predicted

precisely.

This is where the
material cannot be seen.

But it is observed that
those regions are organized.

And that is where
matter emerges.

This might be, as well,
the source of black holes.

And matter might just be
smaller black holes coming out

of bigger black
holes, and so on.

And so there is a
whole new understanding

of physics that emerge from
realizing that these vacuum

fluctuations that
you're made of may

be the source of
this material world

and the energy of the material
world that is equal to mass,

or the structure of reality.

Although we think of these
fluctuations as random,

randomness may only be
an artifact of the sample

that you're looking at.

Let me give you an example.

If you put your nose
into a Persian rug,

you're going to see
particles of dust.

And you're going to
see fibers of the wool

that the carpet is made of.

And you might see a
few different colors

of these other fibers being
there, and then grains of sand

because the carpet is not
perfectly clean, and dust,

and all this.

You might look at all this,
looked like a complete mess.

And you might not be able
to see a pattern at all.

And most likely, you won't.

If you're looking close,
you will not see a pattern.

But then as soon as
you back up and you

start getting more and more
of the field of vision,

then you start to see patterns.

You start to see that there's
beautiful design of this rug.

You see the colors
actually working together

to produce this amazing design.

So when we look at
the universe or we

look at large
portion of space, we

might think that it
all looks random.

But actually, if we
looked big enough,

we might actually find
order in something

as large as a universe.

We've started to see
something like that.

We start to see large structure
on the cosmological scales

when we look at super clusters.

We see organization
where they start

to look like they're organizing
as huge octahedron, tetrahedron

in the space, like a crystal.

And we see
organization, certainly,

at the molecular level.

What we're discovering
is that when

the structure of the
vacuum itself is organized,

it produces effects that
we see as our reality.

And that is very
profound because we

realize that all of reality
is part of one thing that

is organized by the structure
of spin, by angular momentum,

by the geometry of the field.

Imagine that you
tried to define space.

And you find that OK,
well you can always

divide to smaller and
smaller and smaller space.

You would never reach the end.

You can divide one in half,
and then in quarters, and then

in eighths, and so on and
so on and so on and so on.

You will never
arrive at the end.

If there is energy there, then
it has an infinite potential.

Clearly, this could
be a source of energy

with infinite potential for
humanity, a source of energy

that would give us something
that could be thought

of as gravity control.

There's all kinds of
application in realizing

that we are all bathing
in this infinite,

or very close to
infinite, level of energy

that we call the vacuum.

We're discovering that this
vacuum energy is everywhere,

and that it's
producing everything.

And so we are starting
to think maybe

we can become vacuum engineers.

We can engineer
the vacuum together

to do a little bit of
what we want it to do.

And if we are
successful at this,

the implications are amazing.

On an everyday level,
what you should take away

from this episode
is that you are

bathing in a field of energy.

Our body is made of
that field of energy.

It's called atoms,
molecules, or cells.

This field of energy is flowing
in and out of the human body

continuously.

When it flows out of you,
you call it thermodynamics.

You call it the heat
of your body and so on.

When it's flowing
into you, maybe you

call it thoughts
and the energy that

propels you throughout the day.

Becoming aware of
this energy, becoming

aware of this source of reality,
allows you to maybe start

to manipulate it or start to
interact with it in such a way

that you feel more energized,
you feel more aligned,

you feel more
empathy for the rest

of the things in the space.

You start to feel nature.

You start to feel one with
the structure of space

instead of feeling
isolated and separated.

You feel unified
with the universe.

And that might bring
you a sense of comfort,

a sense of connection
that can lead you

to incredible discoveries and
a sense of wellness that could

be transformative in your life.

So this is really what
I wanted to convey

in these first few episodes,
is that this is real.

It's been measured.

It's there.

We know it's there.

And it's rapidly
arriving to a place

where myself and many other
scientists are realizing, wow.

This could be the
source of everything.

And we're finally getting there.

And we can start
to interact with it

in a completely different way.

The separation we experience
is really an illusion.

Like for instance
right now, we are

interacting with the background
radiation of the galaxy.

We might not be aware of it.

But we are, because
it's in the space.

We're interacting with all
the electromagnetic fields

and so on.

There's all kinds of
levels of interaction

that we're not directly
conscious of, including

more gross ones like the
fact that we're breathing

and our heart is beating and
our liver is doing its thing,

kidneys are doing--

there's all kinds of things
happening that we're not

consciously manipulating.

They're still happening.

And so we are
discovering that we

are profoundly deeper
and more complex

than initially we might
interpret ourself.

And that depth and
complexity emerge

not from some
philosophical ideas,

but actually from, literally,
the mechanics of how

the physical world emerge.

There is a concept that is
common amongst truth seekers

or people on the spiritual path
that there are spiritual things

and there are material things.

That, as well, is a concept
of separation, fragmentation,

and isolation.

Is it possible that what we call
the spiritual world may just

be the physics that we
have yet to understand

about the physical world, which
includes the information flows

that we call consciousness
or awareness?

It's kind of a funny
thing when we say I,

because if this is all true and
the space is full and it has

infinite division possibility,
then everything has infinity

in it.

And saying I is a little
bit confusing because when

you say I am who I am or I
am one, which I do you mean?

Do you mean you meaning
all of your cells?

Do you mean you meaning
all of your atoms

and then all of your cells?

Do you mean you meaning
all of your protons,

and so on and so on and so on?

You can't really find the end
of I or the beginning of I

because you can
divide to infinity.

And to think of yourself as a
being with infinite potential

might be a more accurate
understanding of yourself.

Then, to think of yourself
as just this agglomeration

of cells that happened to
come together a few years ago

and that will come apart
in the next few years

may not be an
accurate description

of who you are in relationship
to the universe as a whole.

At the deepest
level, who are you?

Well, maybe you are the whole
individualized into you.

And so when you
say I, you're only

describing one scale of you.

There might be whole other
levels of scales of you

that you're not aware of
because we haven't understood

this level of depth of reality
that we are discovering now.

And that depth and
complexity emerge

not from some
philosophical ideas,

but actually from literally
the mechanics of how

the physical world emerge.

The idea that there
is spiritual things

and there's material
things is, as well,

a concept of separation and
fragmentation and isolation.

In fact, what we call the
spiritual world in these views

may just be the physics
that we hadn't understood,

the dynamics of
the physical world

which includes the
information flow

that we call consciousness
or awareness.

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