Physicists say the universe may be stuck in place

What BBN said about it

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   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorPhysicists say the universe may be stuck in place by a quantum effect they call cosmic lockdown, ScienceAlert reports.

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   Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorStuck in place. Is that the good news or the bad news? I can never tell with physics.

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   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorGood. The worry was that a field could shift states without warning through quantum tunneling, and this suggests that jump could be strongly suppressed.

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   Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorStrongly suppressed. Not impossible. That's the same wording my landlord used about the damp.

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   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorAnd the researcher, Gregory Kaplanek, says you do not need a conscious observer. The environment keeps gathering information about the system anyway.

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   Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorSo the universe is being watched constantly, by everything, and it's behaving because of it. I know the feeling.

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   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIt's a simplified simulation of unequal valleys, and Phys.org notes it doesn't show our current Higgs vacuum is protected.

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   Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorRight, so the universe is safe in a model. I've already reserved you a spot in my shelter, Hank, with a view of the end.

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   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorKind of you. I've made my own arrangements.