Multiverse
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| - | '''Time''' is a component of a [[measurement|measuring system]] used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify the motions of objects. Time has been a major subject of [[religion]], [[philosophy]], and [[science]], but defining time in a non-controversial manner applicable to all fields of study has consistently eluded the greatest scholars. | + | The '''multiverse''' (or '''meta-universe''', '''[[metaverse]]''') is the [[hypothetical]] set of multiple possible [[universe]]s (including the historical universe we consistently experience) that together comprise everything that exists and can exist: the entirety of [[space]], [[time]], [[matter]], and [[energy]] as well as the [[physical law]]s and [[physical constant|constants]] that describe them. The term was coined in 1895 by the American philosopher and psychologist [[William James]]. |
| - | ==Time travel== | + | |
| - | :''[[Time travel in fiction]], [[Grandfather paradox]]'' | + | |
| - | Time travel is the concept of moving backwards and/or forwards to different points in time, in a manner analogous to moving through [[space]], and different from the normal "flow" of time to an earthbound observer. In this view, all points in time (including future times) "persist" in some way. Time travel has been a [[plot device]] in [[fiction]] since the 19th century. Traveling backwards in time has never been verified, presents many theoretic problems, and may be an impossibility. Any technological device, whether fictional or hypothetical, that is used to achieve time travel is known as a [[Time travel|time machine]]. | + | |
| - | A central problem with time travel to the past is the violation of [[causality]]; should an effect precede its cause, it would give rise to the possibility of a [[temporal paradox]]. Some interpretations of time travel resolve this by accepting the possibility of travel between [[Many-worlds interpretation|branch points]], [[Multiverse|parallel realities]], or [[universe]]s. | + | The various universes within the multiverse are sometimes called [[parallel universe (fiction)|parallel universe]]s. |
| - | Another solution to the problem of causality-based temporal paradoxes is that such paradoxes cannot arise simply because they have not arisen. As illustrated in numerous works of fiction, [[free will]] either ceases to exist in the past or the outcomes of such decisions are predetermined. As such, it would not be possible to enact the [[grandfather paradox]] because it is a historical fact that your grandfather was not killed before his child (your parent) was conceived. This view doesn't simply hold that history is an unchangeable constant, but that any change made by a hypothetical future time traveler would already have happened in his or her past, resulting in the reality that the traveler moves from. More elaboration on this view can be found in the [[Novikov self-consistency principle]]. | + | The structure of the multiverse, the nature of each universe within it and the relationship between the various constituent universes, depend on the specific multiverse hypothesis considered. Multiverses have been hypothesized in [[cosmology]], [[physics]], [[astronomy]], [[religion]], [[philosophy]], [[transpersonal psychology]] and [[fiction]], particularly in [[science fiction]] and [[fantasy]]. In these contexts, parallel universes are also called "alternative universes", "quantum universes", "interpenetrating dimensions", "parallel dimensions", "parallel worlds", "alternative realities", "alternative timelines", and "dimensional planes," among others. |
| - | ==See also== | + | == See also == |
| - | * [[Term (time)]] | + | * [[Impossible world]] |
| - | * [[Father Time]] | + | * [[Modal realism]] |
| - | * [[Horology]] | + | * [[Omniverse]] |
| - | * [[Kairos]] | + | * [[Roger Penrose]] |
| - | + | * [[Parallel universe (fiction)]] | |
| - | ===Books=== | + | |
| - | * ''[[A Brief History of Time]]'' by [[Stephen Hawking]] | + | |
| - | * ''[[About Time (book)|About Time]]'' by [[Paul Davies]] | + | |
| - | * ''[[An Experiment with Time]]'' by [[J. W. Dunne]] | + | |
| - | * ''[[Einstein's Dreams]]'' by [[Alan Lightman]] | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ===Organizations=== | + | |
| - | ''Leading scholarly organizations for researchers on the history and technology of time and timekeeping'' | + | |
| - | * [[Antiquarian Horological Society]] – AHS (United Kingdom) | + | |
| - | * [[Chronometrophilia]] (Switzerland) | + | |
| - | * [[Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chronometrie]] – DGC (Germany) | + | |
| - | * [[National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors]] - NAWCC (United States of America) | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ===Miscellaneous arts and sciences=== | + | |
| - | * [[Anachronistic]] | + | |
| - | * [[Date and time notation by country]] | + | |
| - | * [[List of cycles]] | + | |
| - | * [[Network Time Protocol]] (NTP) | + | |
| - | * [[Nonlinear (arts)]] | + | |
| * [[Philosophy of physics]] | * [[Philosophy of physics]] | ||
| - | * [[Rate (mathematics)]] | + | * [[Philosophy of space and time]] |
| - | + | * [[Reductionism]] | |
| - | ===Miscellaneous units of time=== | + | * [[Simulated reality]] |
| - | * [[Fiscal year]] | + | * ''[[The Fabric of Reality]]'' |
| - | * [[Half-life]] | + | * As contrary concepts |
| - | * [[Hexadecimal time]] | + | ** [[Determinism]] |
| - | * [[Season]] | + | ** [[Fatalism]] |
| - | * [[Tithi]] | + | ** [[Predestination]] |
| - | * [[Unix epoch]] | + | |
| - | + | ||
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The multiverse (or meta-universe, metaverse) is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes (including the historical universe we consistently experience) that together comprise everything that exists and can exist: the entirety of space, time, matter, and energy as well as the physical laws and constants that describe them. The term was coined in 1895 by the American philosopher and psychologist William James.
The various universes within the multiverse are sometimes called parallel universes.
The structure of the multiverse, the nature of each universe within it and the relationship between the various constituent universes, depend on the specific multiverse hypothesis considered. Multiverses have been hypothesized in cosmology, physics, astronomy, religion, philosophy, transpersonal psychology and fiction, particularly in science fiction and fantasy. In these contexts, parallel universes are also called "alternative universes", "quantum universes", "interpenetrating dimensions", "parallel dimensions", "parallel worlds", "alternative realities", "alternative timelines", and "dimensional planes," among others.
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See also
- Impossible world
- Modal realism
- Omniverse
- Roger Penrose
- Parallel universe (fiction)
- Philosophy of physics
- Philosophy of space and time
- Reductionism
- Simulated reality
- The Fabric of Reality
- As contrary concepts
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Multiverse" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
