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Full-Text Articles in Physics
A Potential Foundation For Emergent Space-Time, Kevin H. Knuth, Newshaw Bahreyni
A Potential Foundation For Emergent Space-Time, Kevin H. Knuth, Newshaw Bahreyni
Physics Faculty Scholarship
We present a novel derivation of both the Minkowski metric and Lorentz transformations from the consistent quantification of a causally ordered set of events with respect to an embedded observer. Unlike past derivations, which have relied on assumptions such as the existence of a 4-dimensional manifold, symmetries of space-time, or the constant speed of light, we demonstrate that these now familiar mathematics can be derived as the unique means to consistently quantify a network of events. This suggests that space-time need not be physical, but instead the mathematics of space and time emerges as the unique way in which an …
Physics: Rethinking The Foundations, Kevin H. Knuth
Physics: Rethinking The Foundations, Kevin H. Knuth
Physics Faculty Scholarship
Physics is traditionally conceived of as a set of laws that universally governs the behavior of physical systems. These laws, however they are decreed, are believed to govern the behavior of not only everything in the universe, but the form of the universe itself. However, this traditional concept of physics as a universal governance is at odds with our modern theories of quantum mechanics and relativity, which place the observer and information in a central role. In this talk, I aim to rethink the foundations and attempt to build physics from the bottom up based on a very simple foundational …
Information-Based Physics: An Intelligent Embedded Agent's Guide To The Universe, Kevin H. Knuth
Information-Based Physics: An Intelligent Embedded Agent's Guide To The Universe, Kevin H. Knuth
Physics Faculty Scholarship
In this talk, I propose an approach to understanding the foundations of physics by considering the optimal inferences an intelligent agent can make about the universe in which he or she is embedded. Information acts to constrain an agent’s beliefs. However, at a fundamental level, any information is obtained from interactions where something influences something else. Given this, the laws of physics must be constrained by both the nature of such influences and the rules by which we can make inferences based on information about these influences. I will review the recent progress we have made in this direction. This …