For years, we believed that we live in a three dimensional world but an ongoing experiment suggest that the 3D universe is an illusion. We could actually be living in a 2D world, much like characters on a television show. Each character on the screen is actually a series of 2D pixels only that create a complete image.
Scientists believe that the Universe stores information in the same way, though the pixel is a lot smaller … about 10 trillion times the size of an atom. Although these pixels can’t be seen, all we see in the universe might actually be a series 2D pixels.
An experiment by U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Laboratory (Fermilab) in Illinois is seeking to find out if the universe is a two dimensional hologram.
A close-up of the Holometer at Fermilab:
The scientists are using a device called Holometer or holographic interferometer. It is the most sensitive device ever created to measure the quantum jitter of space itself.
The Holometer consists of two high-intensity laser beams, placed close to each other. Each beam sends one-kilowatt laser beam which is roughly equivalent to 200,000 laser pointers. The beams are split using a beam splitter and sent perpendicularly down two 40 meter arms.
The light is then reflected back to the splitter where they are combined creating fluctuations in brightness if there is motion. If that happens, it would mean that space is continually vibrating like a 2D wave.
