John Wheeler derived the concept of the quantum foam in 1955. It is also referred to as spacetime foam and bears a superficial resemblance to the old concept of the ether (or aether). John Archibald Wheeler (born 1911) is an American theoretical physicist. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The aether (also spelled ether) is a substance concept, historically used in science and philosophy. ...

The quantum in quantum foam comes from quantum mechanics, and the foam comes from the idea that at extremely small distances (of the order of the Planck length), the energy of spacetime itself ceases to be smooth, and resembles instead a kind of rapidly changing foam. Jump to: navigation, search Fig. ... The Planck length is the natural unit of length, denoted by . ... Jump to: navigation, search This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. ... Foam The most general definition of foam is a substance that is formed by trapping many gas bubbles in a liquid or solid. ...

Importance

The importance of quantum foam is that it is thought to give rise to a sea of virtual particles that pop into existence for an very short time (on the order of the Planck time), given by the uncertainty principle. The time of existence is dependent on the energy the virtual pair "borrows" from the universe. These virtual particles make their existence known by the Casimir effect. The quantum foam can be thought of as the uncertainty principle at work on the measurement of the vacuum energy. There will always be constant quantum fluctuations in the energy, even at absolute zero. Hence, these quantum fluctuations are often referred to as "zero-point energy". In the description of the interaction between elementary particles in quantum field theory, a virtual particle is a temporary elementary particle, used to describe an intermediate stage in the interaction. ... The Planck time is the natural unit of time, denoted by tP. It is considered the smallest possible measurement of time. ... In 1948 Dutch physicist Hendrik B. G. Casimir of Philips Research Labs predicted that two uncharged parallel metal plates will be subject to a force pressing them together. ... Unsolved problems in physics: Is zero-point energy physical, and if so, are there any practical applications and does it have any connection with dark energy? In a quantum mechanical system such as the particle in a box or the quantum harmonic oscillator, the lowest possible energy is called the...

The "foamy" spacetime could have a very complex structure, much like that of a storm-tossed sea. Wormholes may be able to form in the quantum foam, possibly providing hyperspatial links to other universes. However, their time of "existence" is very small, and so not much would be able to be done with it. Nevertheless, the hyperspatial nature of the quantum foam may account for such diverse physical properties as inertia, propagation of light, and time flow. 2D analogy to a wormhole. ...

Reginald Cahill has developed a theory called Process Physics, which describes space as a quantum foam system in which gravity is an inhomogeneous flow of the quantum foam into matter. According to this theory, the so-called spiral galaxy rotation-velocity anomaly may be explained without the need for dark matter. Process physics is a model of reality that replaces general relativity and unifies it with quantum theory. ... A spiral galaxy is a type of galaxy in the Hubble sequence which is characterized by the following physical properties: Spiral Galaxy M74 presents a face-on view of its spiral arms. ... In cosmology, dark matter refers to hypothetical matter particles, of unknown composition, that do not emit enough electromagnetic radiation to be detected directly, but whose presence can be inferred from gravitational effects on visible matter such as stars and galaxies. ...

Various scientists have theorized that quantum foam is an incredibly powerful source of zero point energy. It has been estimated that one cubic centimeter of space contains enough zero point energy to boil all the world's oceans. However, estimates of this energy vary widely due to the huge disparity in the calculations of the quantum foam density, which vary more than 1:10¹⁰⁰. Physicist Michio Kaku calls this enormous uncertainty in the quantum-foam density estimation the largest disparity for any quantity in all of physics. Dr. Michio Kaku (ミチオ カク) is a Japanese American theoretical physicist, tenured professor and noted contributor to string field theory. ...

See also

• Dirac sea
• Hawking radiation
• Hyperspace
• Planck time
• "Rolling ball" topology
• Vacuum energy
• Wormhole
• Zero-Point Energy

The Dirac sea is a theoretical model of the vacuum as an infinite sea of particles possessing negative energy. ... a black hole formul , in natural units with G, c, and k equal to 1, and where is the surface gravity of the horizon. ... Jump to: navigation, search In physics, hyperspace is a theoretical entity. ... The Planck time is the natural unit of time, denoted by tP. It is considered the smallest possible measurement of time. ... Jump to: navigation, search In topology, quantum mechanics and geometrodynamics, rolling-ball arguments are used to describe how the perceived geometry and connectivity of a surface can be scale-dependent. ... Vacuum energy is an underlying background energy that exists in space even when devoid of matter. ... 2D analogy to a wormhole. ... Unsolved problems in physics: Is zero-point energy physical, and if so, are there any practical applications and does it have any connection with dark energy? In a quantum mechanical system such as the particle in a box or the quantum harmonic oscillator, the lowest possible energy is called the...

References

• John Archibal Wheeler with Kenneth Ford. Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam. 1995.
• Reginald T. Cahill. Gravity as Quantum Foam In-Flow. June 2003.
• Process Physics Resource Index