The thermodynamics of a black hole
While supersymmetry does initially appear futile, its implications would be extensive. Provided that we lived in a holographic universe, the behaviour of the Higgs boson could be explored, explaining where mass comes from. Dark matter could also be investigated. Despite accounting for 30% of the composition of the universe, resulting in the strange nature of galactic rotation, it is not something we can perceive. Dark matter only interacts with gravity, and we have no way of studying it through observations, i.e., through light. By employing supersymmetry, the ubiquitous nature and behaviour of dark matter could be explored, perhaps even resolved (Jones, 2009). While supersymmetry is arguably the most important requirement for a holographic universe, there are other aspects of string theory that are fascinating. Arguably the biggest problem in physics is the contradiction between quantum mechanics and general relativity; string theory was in fact proposed to unite these two. To explain gravity, string theory proposes that the force is mediated through a hypothetical particle, called the graviton, in the way the electromagnetic force is mediated by the photon (Jones, 2009). This explanation is far from proven, as the particle has never been discovered and is quite messy, as it requires seven additional dimensions. While it is still not clear how these extra dimensions would function in a holographic universe, it is certainly interesting to consider the existence of quantum gravity. Furthermore, the holographic principle relies on our universe being AdS. To our current knowledge, our universe is dS (de-Sitter), meaning that it has positive curvature like a sphere and is constantly expanding. However, for the purpose of the holographic principle, our universe must have negative curvature like a saddle. If the universe possessed such an AdS structure, its boundary (edge) would be reflective and behave like a mirror. Therefore, any waves that hit the boundary would be reflected into the universe, hence matter/energy could potentially be directed into a concentrated region, forming a black hole. Such a black hole would contain an abundance of the matter in the universe, leaving nothing else to exist (Bluesci, 2020). Arguably the most significant way the holographic principle would refine our scientific way of thinking is the unification of gravity and quantum mechanics. Earlier I mentioned that general relativity and quantum mechanics cannot coincide, due to irregularities in space-time at a quantum level (Jones, 2009). Albert Einstein, the father of general relativity, famously despised quantum mechanics due to the ubiquity of chance, stating ‘God does not play dice with the universe’ (Britannica, 2022). Nevertheless, string theory attempts to unite these two ideas by suggesting that all particles are made from vibrating strings, including a hypothetical gravitational particle called the graviton. In this way, string theory shows how gravity can be visualized in the quantum realm, rather than the warping of space-time presented in general relativity. This model of quantum gravity is perhaps the most sought out theory in all of physics, as it would amount to the reconciliation of quantum mechanics and general relativity . The amalgamation between these ideas is referred to as the theory of everything . The applications of quantum gravity would be boundless, as it would explain irregularities in the cosmic inflation model. Our universe began as a singularity, a point of infinite density in which all the matter and energy was stored. This singularity expanded at an incredible rate. However, our current model of gravity prohibits this. At the singularity, gravity would become dominant, not allowing such expansion to take place (Kaku, 2022). One model of quantum gravity that seeks to resolve this issue is
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