On 13 November 2014 15:23, John Clark <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Wed, Nov 12, 2014 at 6:35 PM, LizR <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > the number of quantum states available inside a given volume is >> proportional to the volume > > > Although it's counter intuitive the maximum number of quantum states > you can put inside a sphere is actually proportional to the sphere's area > not its volume. Yet another aspect of the weird quantum world. > I asked Max about this (paraphrasing the question slightly but I hope not changing its essence)... > Hi Max > > I mentioned your Scientific American article "Parallel universes" and how > you calculated the distance to the nearest identical observer, Hubble > sphere and so on, by counting the number of quantum states that can be > packed into a Hubble volume. > > To which someone replied, what about the Beckenstein bound? It only allows > a number of states proportional to the surface area of a volume, so how can > you count states across googolplexes of light years as though space was > behaving in a "normal Euclidean manner" ? > > To which I had to say, hang on, I'll ask. If you could spare a moment to > explain the logic of this situation, and in particular whether the BB is of > any significance, I would be very grateful. > > Best wishes, > Liz > and he replied: > It’s precisely the Bekenstein bound that says that our universe can only > be in about a googolplex different ways (see chapter 6 in my book). > ;-) > That doesn't seem to quite address the question, so I have now asked for further elucidation. My guess is that the BB only applies to regions of the universe that are in causal contact (that light has had time to cross since the "other" BB). But I'll see if Max comes back with any thoughts on the matter. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
