We have probably all heard the saying, “You can’t make something out of nothing.” Though, apparently, that is untrue. Our universe’s physics is more complex. Recently, scientists demonstrated the validity of a quantum theory that was first put forth 70 years ago: humans can make matter out of nothing.
Decades Trying to Make Matter from Nothing
Simply manipulating empty space—the pinnacle of physical nothingness—in the right way will inevitably result in something emerging. For example, when two particles collide in the void of empty space, sometimes additional particle-antiparticle pairs appear.
There are several conservation laws in the universe. These laws control momentum, charge, energy, and so forth. Scientists have spent years attempting to figure out how to produce matter from nothing in their quest to comprehend these laws fully; this feat is considerably more complicated than it sounds. Although we have previously made matter invisible, making it out of thin air is another ballgame.
Theories on Creating Matter Out of Nothing
As quantum physicists have sought to understand the Big Bang and its possible causes, they have developed a plethora of hypotheses for creating matter from nothing. For example, new particles can occasionally form when two particles collide in empty space. Some theories also suggest an electromagnetic field with sufficient strength could produce matter and antimatter from nothing.
Nevertheless, accomplishing any of these tasks has always seemed unachievable. However, that has not stopped researchers from trying; their work appears to have paid off. According to Big Think, in early 2022, a team of researchers developed powerful enough electric fields in their lab to level the unique properties of graphene.
Creating Particle-Antiparticle Pairs from Nothing
The researchers used these fields to create particle-antiparticle pairs from nothing. This proved that it is possible to create matter out of nothing, a theory initially stated in 1951 by Julian Schwinger, one of the pioneers of quantum field theory.
Although Fritz Sauter, Werner Heisenberg, and Hans Euler were among those who first proposed the theory in the 1930s, Schwinger did the hard work to quantify precisely under what conditions this effect should develop. As a result, it has come to be known as the Schwinger effect.
The creation of particle-antiparticle pairs from nothing, ripped from the quantum vacuum by electric fields themselves, is another example of how the universe displays the seemingly impossible: it is possible to produce something from nothing.
