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Unread 26-07-2005, 17:00
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Alan Anderson Alan Anderson is offline
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Re: are we alone in the universe?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Anderson
The number of different polarizations a given photon is capable of having.
The number of paths that lead from one place to another.
The number of directions you can point from a given location.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KenWittlief
if matter (and even time) is quantitized, is that really true?

I understood that space is digital, not linear. There is a minimun dimension below which you cannot make smaller increments- as if atoms or subatomic particles exist on a grid, with 'snap to grid' enabled ?
I think you're talking about the Planck length. It's not exactly evidence that space is digital; it's just that quantum effects mean you can't meaningfully measure a smaller distance. The "snap to grid" idea is amusing, though you have to account for the fact that exactly which gridpoint gets snapped to is a probabilistic choice, and things can sometimes jump from one point to another even if there's something else in the way.

Even if space is quantized, the number of directions from one intersection that eventually lead to another on a regular grid is unlimited -- you can always point between two destinations and find another one farther away. Even with a finite number of roads, the number of different trips one can take is unlimited -- you can always add another loop or round-trip down a path.
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