Do infinitesimals actually exist in the physical realm (besides singularities)? Im mainly talking about distance. Does distance have a minimum length before it no longer exists, or do infinitesimal lengths exist all around us in an infinite quantity?
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Here's a number for you to ponder over: 1.616199 . . . ×10^−35 metres
It's called the Plank length; see Source 1 for more information.
In string theory it represents the order of magnitude of the size of a string, from whose properties all other particles are derived / made up.
In cosmologies consistent with string theory, it is the smallest theoretically measureable unit. Nothing smaller than that makes sense. And, if you think of spacetime as a fabric, as Brian Greene describes, the Plank length is the smallest unit of the fabric.
So even spacetime is not continuous if this theory holds; everything ultimately reduces to a quantum structure.
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It's called the Plank length; see Source 1 for more information.
In string theory it represents the order of magnitude of the size of a string, from whose properties all other particles are derived / made up.
In cosmologies consistent with string theory, it is the smallest theoretically measureable unit. Nothing smaller than that makes sense. And, if you think of spacetime as a fabric, as Brian Greene describes, the Plank length is the smallest unit of the fabric.
So even spacetime is not continuous if this theory holds; everything ultimately reduces to a quantum structure.
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Apologies to Max Planck for misspelling his name!!!
Also, my " ..smallest theoretically measureable unit" should have read "length" instead of "unit".
And, I apologize for committing both errors in 1 sentence: " . . the Plank length is the smallest unit of the fabric." That didn't merit 5 stars!
Also, my " ..smallest theoretically measureable unit" should have read "length" instead of "unit".
And, I apologize for committing both errors in 1 sentence: " . . the Plank length is the smallest unit of the fabric." That didn't merit 5 stars!
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