Cellular Automata
A cellular automaton is a system consisting of a grid (often times 2 dimensional) of cells each having state, which could be a simple on/off or could be any number of scalar and/or vector values.
The system progresses using a discrete concept of time called a time step. Inherent in the system is a static set of rules that dictate how the state of each cell progresses for each time step. This progression is a function of the current state of the cell and the state of the cell's neighbors.
For example, perhaps the most famous cellular automaton is Conway's Game of Life. In Conway's game of life the world consists of a 2 dimensional square grid of cells. Each cell can be either on or off. The neighbors of a cell consist of the 8 cells directly surrounding it. If exactly 2 neighbors are on, then the state of the cell will not change. If exactly 3 neighbors are on then the state of the cell will be turned/remain on. In all other cases the state of the cell will be turned/remain off.
This simple set of rules is able to exhibit an amazing amount of complexity. Initially, when the cells of such a system are randomly populated the progression of state will be quite chaotic. However, over time, patterns will automatically arise.
For example, if a closed subset of cells has a certain state at time t and that subset of cells returns to that same state at a later time, the cells will be in a stable state loop and continue that loop into perpetuity (or until it is disrupted somehow, i.e., stops being a closed subset). Perhaps the cells remain in the same state each time step giving the loop a period of 1. Or perhaps the cells loop back after 2, 3 or more steps, giving their loop a period of 2, 3 or more steps.
Such simple cellular automata have a number of similarities to Universe X. For example Universe X is also made up of a set of discrete cells, in this case 3 dimensional. These cells also have state and the state changes of these cells often loop back creating stable state loops.
In Universe X these loops can persist for long periods of time, have properties of their own and interact with other stable state loops. These stable state loops are the basis of all "matter" in Universe X.
The matter of Universe X is not fundamental. It is an artifact of the properties of aexels. It is not made up of particles; it is not made up of waves; it does not displace the aether. Matter is made up of stable state loops that exist on top of the aether.
However, there are also some differences between Universe X and most cellular automata. Unlike the static cells of Conway's game of life, the cells of Universe X are dynamic; they can move, they can be created and they can be destroyed.
The aexels of Universe X are created and destroyed as a direct result of the state changes of the aexels themselves. The aexels move because they exert a force on one another, but ultimately this motion is first initiated by the creation and destruction of the aexels themselves.
Another somewhat speculative difference is that although the new states of our simple cellular automata are usually based on the current states of the cell and their neighbors, it is probably the case that the state change of an aexel is a function of the change of state rather than just the absolute state of the neighborhood.
In a cellular automaton, a computer will calculate each time step in its entirety before moving the system forward. There is no such master computer in Universe X. There is simply a time delay in transferring a state change from one aexel to its neighbors. In Universe X this delay is called a 'tic'.
Each aexel in Universe X can only directly affect its neighbors and this effect takes one tic of time to occur. Therefore the fastest a signal can move across a field of aexels in Universe X is one aexel per tic.
In Universe X, one aexel per tic is referred to as 'the speed of light'.
Kinematics
Kinematics is the study of motion absent of force. In our universe, such motion is quite straightforward. Generally things in Universe X are less complicated than in our own universe, but in this case things in Universe X are considerably more complicated.
In the Cellular Automata section, a stable state loop was described as a closed set of cells with a certain state at time t, that returns to that same state at some later time. However, this definition is perhaps unnecessarily restrictive.
If one observes Conway's Game of Life long enough they may notice a very interesting phenomenon. Occasionally a pattern of cells arise that while persisting; does not do so in place; it "moves". The most common such stable state loop in Game of Life is called a glider, which repeats its pattern every 4 time steps while translating diagonally by one cell during those 4 time steps.
Similarly, all of the stable state loops in Universe X have the ability to translate across a field of aexels. However, due to the 'tic' time delay in transferring state from one aexel to its neighbor, this motion is strictly bound by the 'speed of light' (i.e., one aexel per tic). This translation is one of the forms of motion possible in Universe X.
But there is another entirely different way in which a stable state loop can move. Since the aexels themselves can move, it is possible for a stable state loop that is not translating across an aexel field at all, to simply move along with aexels it is sitting upon, like a leaf floating down a stream. And since this motion is not dependent on the signal delay between neighboring aexels, its speed is in no way bounded.
And of course a stable state loop could be (and most of the time probably is) experiencing both of these forms of motion simultaneously.
There are some rather sticky ramifications to all of this. In our universe a single particle moving in the absence of force can be described entirely by a velocity vector (ignoring quantum effects for the time being). In Universe X, in order to accurately understand the motion of a stable state loop it is necessary to know the translating velocity of the loop measured in aexels per time as well as both the velocity of the aexels measured in distance per time and density of those same aexels, which in a simple system could be constant, but in more complex situations could vary from place to place.
Gravity
Gravity is the tendency of objects with mass to move towards one another.
Isaac Newton first described the Gravity of our universe as a force that all objects exert on one another across any arbitrarily large distance, proportional to their mass and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. But, he acknowledged some discomfort with this idea:
"That one body may act upon another at a distance through a vacuum without the mediation of anything else, by and through which their action and force may be conveyed from one another, is to me so great an absurdity that, I believe, no man who has in philosophic matters a competent faculty of thinking could ever fall into it."
When Albert Einstein described his theory of Relativity he shifted our understanding of Gravity. He described gravity as being a result of the warping of spacetime caused by all objects with mass.
But, even with Newton and Einstein's contributions to Gravity we still really don't understand what Gravity is and why it exists. In our own universe, Gravity remains a mystery.
But, in Universe X, Gravity is a quite simple and mundane phenomenon.
In Universe X there exists many different types of stable state loops. There are potentially three ways these loops could interact with the aexels:
- they could destroy aexels:
It is quite certain that there are loops that destroy aexels in Universe X. In Universe X these loops are referred to as 'matter'. This article, 'Gravity', pertains to these types of loops.
- they could create aexels:
That there exists loops that create aexels in Universe X is somewhat speculative, but for a number of reasons not a tremendous leap. The article 'Darkness' pertains to these type of loops.
- they could do neither:
Given the cellular automata analogy to Universe X, it's easy to imagine the existence of loops that don't affect the aexels; that neither create or destroy them. However, perhaps it is necessary to consider the possibility that these loops are less prevalent than one might initially guess. The 'Equivalence' and 'Electromagnetism' articles discuss these possibilities further.
Generally, the loops that destroy aexels can be thought to have a destruction coefficient, which measures the rate at which the aexels are destroyed. In Universe X, this destruction coefficient is called 'mass'. As matter destroys the aexels, more aexels get pulled in because the aether's crystalline nature does not allow the individual aexels to ever get too far apart.
Imagine a round table with a table cloth upon it. On the table cloth there are plates and glasses and silverware. In the center of the table is a little hole. A person crawls under the table and grabs the table cloth through the hole and then begins to pull the table cloth through the hole. All of the items on the table will begin to slide towards the center of the table. The dishware sitting on the table cloth will appear to be 'attracted' to the center.
In Universe X as various concentrations of matter continually destroy the aether between one another that matter itself will continually tend to clump together. As that clump of matter gets bigger and bigger (or perhaps more precisely, more and more dense) the velocity at which the aether is pulled towards the clump will increase.
At some point, certain clumps in Universe X get so big (dense) and the velocity of the aexels flowing towards the clump becomes so great that a signal moving at one aexel per tic ('the speed of light') will not be able to escape the clump. In Universe X, any clump that draws aether in at the speed of light is referred to as a black hole.
Dilation
Perhaps one of the most magical aspects of our universe is the phenomenon of time dilation.
In our universe time dilation is the variation in the perceived rate of time of various frames of reference based on their relative velocity to one another as well as the relative difference in their gravitational field strength. That the rate of time itself can vary in our universe is severely magical in and of itself.
But, perhaps the most magical aspects of time dilation arise from the fact that in our universe there are no special frames of reference. For example, two space ships traveling parallel to one another in opposite directions near the speed of light will both note that their clocks are running at a different rate than the other ship's clocks. But, the really weird part is that both ships will see their own clock running faster and the opposing ship's clocks moving slower.
In Universe X, however, no such time dilation occurs. There is however an analogous phenomenon, which is perhaps better described as 'animation dilation'.
Previously, the stable state loops of Universe X have been discussed as single entities. However, the loops themselves have properties of their own and are able to interact with other loops in order to create increasingly large and complex composite systems.
Let's classify all loops in Universe X into one of two categories: loops that translate at the speed of light (one aexel per tic) and loops that translate at less than the speed of light.
It would be nice to give names to these two categories, but there aren't great analogous names from our Universe that can be used. One could almost use the term 'boson' for speed of light travelers and 'fermion' for sub-light travelers, but some bosons (such as W, Z and Higgs) move at less than the speed of light. Still, perhaps, they can be a model for new names in Universe X.
It may be the case that all translation in Universe X is at one aexel per tic. But, that some loops move directly in a straight line and therefore the loop itself translates at the speed of light and other loops have internal motion that alternates back and forth in some manner causing the net speed of translation to be less than the speed of light.
As such, let's refer to those loops that translate directly in a straight line (at the speed of light) as 'edisons' (ed-i-sans) and those loops that translate in some sort of alternating fashion (at less than the speed of light) as 'teslons' (tes-lans).
In Universe X teslons can interact with one another in order to create increasingly complex composite systems. The interaction of these teslons will entirely be mediated by edisons. Therefore the rate that the teslons will animate will entirely be dependent on the amount of time it takes the edisons to move back and forth between them.
Exactly how this happens in Universe X is still a subject of speculation, but in broad strokes, teslons continually generate edisons. When one of these edisons interacts with a different teslon it invokes a reaction. (Conjecture on the exact nature of this reaction is further discussed in the Electromagnetism section.)
In this way, complex static or dynamic systems of teslons can be formed. The rate at which a dynamic system will animate will be highly dependent on the amount of time it takes edisons to travel back and forth between the teslons.
For two stationary teslons separated by a fixed number of aexels the edisons will travel between them at one aexel per tic. However, if the teslons are both translating across the aexel field, the amount of time it takes edisons to move between them will vary based on the direction of motion of the edisons relative to the translating motion of the teslons across the aexel field.
In some cases the time will be less, in others the time will be more, but in all cases the time of the roundtrip journey of an edison between the teslons will increase as the rate of translation increases. This increased time will result in a slow down of the rate of the animation of the composite system of loops.
This dilation in Universe X is substantially different than the dilation of our universe. For one thing, there IS a special frame of reference in Universe X. A system will animate most quickly when it is not translating across the aexels at all, allowing the edisons to move most quickly between the teslons.
In Universe X dilation is not an observational phenomena. It is a real physical phenomena that is entirely dependent on a system's rate of translation. A system not translating at all will animate quickest; other systems will animate slower and slower as their rate of translation increases towards the speed of light, i.e. one aexel per tic.
In Universe X, two observers translating across the aexels in different frames will both agree on the relative animation rate of the two systems. Both will see a fast system and a slow system and they will both agree on which is which. There is no twin paradox in Universe X.
Let's try to calculate the animation dilation in Universe X as a function of the translational velocity of a system across an aexial field. Two loops are arranged perpendicular to the aexial flow (north / south). A signal traveling at c is sent out from one to the other and back.
The question is how long does this roundtrip journey take?
First, let's look at the case where v = 0, the loops are not moving at all relative to the aexial field. In this case the total distance traveled is 2d at a speed of c and total time, t = 2d/c.
In the second case, the loops are translating across the aexels at some non-zero velocity, therefore the signal must travel a greater distance along the aexial field in order to complete its journey. The journey north takes time, t_n. The signal therefore travels c * t_n while the system moves v * t_n. Using the Pythagorean theorem we then get:
So, for a system of loops translating across an aexial field the signals traveling between loops will take longer and therefore the animation of that system will slow down entirely as a function of the rate of translation across the aexels and that slowing down will be by the (perhaps familiar) equation above.
Contraction
Length Contraction is a phenomenon that causes all things to shrink in the direction of motion or in the direction of gravity.
In our universe, length contraction, similar to time dilation, has no special frames of reference, length contraction is an observational phenomena. Two parallel spaceships passing each other at high speed will both see meter sticks on the other ship as being smaller then their own.
In Universe X, however, length contraction is a physical phenomenon and like dilation, is entirely a function of the rate of translation of a system across an aexel field. A system that is not translating across an aexel field will experience no length contraction at all. However, a system that is translating across an aexel field will experience a contraction in the direction of translation (or aexel flow from the perspective of the system itself) that is entirely a function of the rate of that translation.
In our universe there is a feature of nature called Lorentz covariance which indicates that the speed of light is constant across all frames of reference.
In Universe X this concept would appear to break down quickly. For any system that is translating across an aexel field it would seem that the speed of light parallel to the direction of the aexel flow would be different than the speed of light perpendicular to the flow.
Certainly, in Universe X, the speed of light is always one aexel per tic. But, since the aexels themselves can move and since they can vary in density it would seem it might be easy to detect variations in the distance traveled per time.
However, Lorentz covariance also holds in Universe X, just as it does in our universe. And it does so because of length contraction.
In the Dilation article we calculated the increased amount of time needed to bounce an edison moving at the speed of light between two teslons when the edison is sent out orthogonal to the direction of translation (north / south).
For this article let's now repeat the same calculation but for an edison sent out parallel to the direction of translation (east / west). Let's start by calculating when the velocity of translation is zero.
In this case the signal travels 2d (the distance to the target) at a velocity of 'c' (the speed of light), so total time, t is 2d/c.
Now let's start translating the same system over the aexel field. While the signal is moving to the right it is 'chasing' the target therefore the total distance it needs to cover is 'd' the distance to the target plus v*t_e, v being the velocity of translation and t_e being the time needed to hit the target moving to the right. Let's calculate that time, t_e:
Once the signal bounces off the target back to the source, the source will be moving towards the signal so the total distance that needs to be covered is d minus v*t_w, the translation velocity times the time needed to return to the source. Let's calculate that time t_w:
The total time, t' is equal to the sum of t_e and t_w. Let's compare it to the time when the system is not translating at all.
For the orthogonal case we saw that the time increased by a factor of gamma, but in this parallel case the time is increasing by a factor of gamma squared. Which would mean that for a translating system two edisons sent out at the same time, both bounced off equidistant teslons, one orthogonal to the direction of translation, one parallel, the two signals would return at different times. Unless...
Length Contraction occurs and the length of things in the direction of translation are reduced by a factor of gamma. In that case both signals would return at the exact same moment and the 'speed of light' would appear to be the same in both directions.
The amount of contraction precisely masks the change in the speed of light caused by the flow of aexels. In Universe X, a meter stick's length itself is a function of the speed of light. As the speed of light changes; the meter stick's length changes.
Measuring the speed of light with a meter stick is essentially a tautological exercise. A meter stick uses the speed of light to measure the speed of light and not shockingly it always comes out to be: the speed of light.
One other important thing to note, is that this contraction only applies to the physical items in the system that is translating, not to the rest of the non-translating universe that happens to lie along the direction of translation.
If a ship is heading towards some distant star, the amount of contracted meter sticks that will fit between the ship and the star will increase as the translation speed of the ship increases. The distance to the star itself will not contract and therefore the distance to the star will appear to increase as the ship's speed increases.
Darkness
Astronomers observing our own universe have noticed some problems with our current understanding of Physics. There are two major issues: One, is that for unknown reasons the universe itself appears to be expanding. The other is that the galaxies of our universe appear to have greater gravitational pull than they should based on the amount of mass that they contain.
From these observations they realized that our universe contains dark energy which causes the universe to expand and dark matter which gives the galaxies more mass than they appear to have. The mass of dark energy and dark matter account for about 96% of the mass of the universe. Our observable universe only accounts for 4% of what exists. 96% percent of the mass of the our own universe has never been observed.
Luckily, once again, Universe X isn't nearly so magical.
Previously, we have mentioned 3 types of stable state loops:
- Loops that destroy aexels
- Loops that create aexels
- Loops that do neither
This article concerns the 'loops that create aexels'. Let's call those loops 'antimatter'.
In our universe, there is a phenomenon known as pair creation. Of the many known particles of our own universe each has an antiparticle that is equal and opposite in every way. If a matter loop destroys aexels then perhaps it's the case that an antimatter loop creates them.
And while the matter of Universe X clumps up into galaxies and stars and planets continually drawing in aexels as a drain in a tub continually draws in water. The antimatter of Universe X spreads out as a dust permeating the space between those galaxies continually creating new aether between the galaxies causing the space between them to continually increase.
It has been observed that at times a particle and its antiparticle can be created. Similarly, if a particle and its antiparticle meet they can each be destroyed. As such perhaps it's the case that the total matter in Universe X is always equal to the total antimatter. And if a matter loop destroys aexels at the same rate that an antimatter loop creates them then perhaps the total number of aexels is always in balance.
This net teleportation of aexels from inside of galaxies to outside of galaxies could then account for a red shift of photons traveling through the antimatter dust; making a steady state universe appear to be expanding.
Alternatively, Universe X may have been initially seeded with more antimatter loops or perhaps the rate that antimatter loops create aexels is greater than the rate the matter loops destroy them and Universe X really is expanding.
If this explains the 'Dark Energy' of Universe X, what about the 'Dark Matter'?
The aexels of Universe X form a crystal like lattice. They sit in a potential well not wanting to get too far away from one another, but also not wanting to get too close. It can be difficult to tell the difference between a pull and a push.
The destruction of aexels in Universe X looks like a pull. The creation of aexels in Universe X will look like a push. If the galaxies of Universe X are filled with matter loops pulling from the inside, perhaps they are also surrounded by antimatter loops pushing from the outside; the same antimatter loops that are causing the aether between galaxies to expand.
As such the antimatter dust of Universe X both causing the 'expansion' of the aether between galaxies and the push on the galaxies from the outside which can be difficult to differentiate from a pull coming from the inside.
Equivalence
E=mc²
Often times the mass-energy equivalence principle is incorrectly described to be a conversion formula; representing the ability to convert energy into mass or mass into energy at the stipulated rate. However, the mass-energy equivalence principle says something dramatically more bold: It says that the total mass of a system and the total energy of a system are always related to one another by the c² factor.
But, how could this possibly be true? What is mass really? What is energy really? This equation strongly implies that mass and energy are two sides of the same coin.
In our universe both mass and energy are conserved quantities. Our own sun loses about 4 x 10^9 kg of mass every second through the fusion process which radiates about 3.6 x 10^26 joules of photons. If mass is a conserved quantity and if photons are massless, where did that mass go? Theoretically, a box with massless mirrored interior walls with light bouncing around inside will have a mass equal to the energy of the photons inside divided by c². Could it be that massless photons do in fact have mass in some manner of thinking?
When initially thinking about Gravity in Universe X, it was hypothesized that 'mass' destroys aexels; it was also hypothesized that energy was the translation of that mass across an aexel field. Thinking back to the classification of Universe X's loops between those that move at the speed of light, edisons and those that move less than the speed of light, teslons; it was easy to imagine teslons being the destroyers and creators of aexels because they have mass while perhaps the edisons, such as photons, doing neither because they don't have mass.
But, thinking about a star radiating photons and losing mass, perhaps it's not 'mass' that destroys aexels, but rather 'translation' that destroys aexels. Perhaps the 'mass' of teslons is simply the internal translations of the components of the loop. And photons while translating also destroy aexels, but always in their wake, never internal to themselves, explaining why the 'mass' of photons is so ambiguous.
As such, if photons actually do destroy aexels, then are there in fact any loops that neither create or destroy aexels? This question and some potential candidates are further explored in the 'Electromagnetism' section.
- potential energy
The energy of any system has 3 forms: mass, kinetic and potential. If the previous explanation explains the equivalence of mass and energy for mass energy and kinetic energy, what is the explanation for potential energy? How could potential energy have mass; how could it have translation; how could it destroy aexels?
Consider two protons in Universe X on a static aexel field directly translating towards one another. We know there is a single quantity that can be called 'mass' or 'energy' or 'aexel destroying loops' that is always conserved. With the help of Aristotle, let's name this stuff 'hyle' which is the word Aristotle used for the primordial matter that made up all things.
Each of the protons has a fixed amount of hyle from their intrinsic mass. They also have an amount of hyle represented in the kinetic energy of their translation.
As the protons approach one another their speeds begin to slow until finally for an instant, both protons come to a complete stop. At that point they still have their internal hyle, but the protons' kinetic hyle is now zero. Has the quantity of hyle been conserved; where has it gone?
The quantity has been conserved because it is now stored in the photons that are being passed back and forth between the two protons. The amount of hyle in those photons is exactly equal to the kinetic energy of the photons when they were infinitely far apart.
In Universe X potential energy is actually just more kinetic energy.