Melvin Vopson, a physicist from the University of Portsmouth, introduces a novel perspective on gravity.
This artist’s impression illustrates the evolution of the universe, starting with the Big Bang on the left. Then, the microwave background is depicted, followed by the formation of the first stars, which ends the dark ages of the universe, and continues with the emergence of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss/Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
There is a theory positing that the entire universe is intrinsically informative and operates akin to a computational process, a perspective shared by many notable thinkers.
This line of thinking emerges from the domain of information physics, suggesting that physical reality is fundamentally composed of structured information.
In his latest paper, Dr. Vopson presents findings indicating that gravity stems from a computational process inherent in the universe.
He posits that gravity may be influenced by the organization of information related to matter throughout the universe.
Employing the second law of information dynamics, he demonstrates that universal matter and its objects could be considered as the universe endeavors to organize and compress information.
“My findings support the notion that the universe might operate like a vast computer, or that our reality represents a simulated configuration,” Dr. Vopson remarked.
“In the same way that computers strive to save space and enhance efficiency, the universe may do the same.”
“This presents a new outlook on gravity—it’s about the universe’s effort to stay organized, rather than simply pulling.”
Dr. Vopson has previously posited that information is fundamental and that all elementary particles harbor self-information, similar to how cells in biological entities carry DNA.
The current paper reveals how the spatial pixelation of fundamental cells serves as a medium for data storage, and how the information contained within these cells contributes to the physical properties and coordinates of space-time simulacra.
Each cell is capable of registering information in binary format, meaning an empty cell records a digital 0, while a cell containing matter records a digital 1.
“This process mirrors the design of a digital computer game, a virtual reality application, or other advanced simulations,” Dr. Vopson explained.
“As a single cell can accommodate multiple particles, the system evolves by relocating particles in space, merging them into a singular large particle within a single cell.”
“This sets the rules established in the computing system, causing attraction, which requires minimizing informational content and potentially reducing computational demand.”
“In simple terms, tracking and calculating the position and momentum of a single object is much more computationally efficient than managing multiple objects.”
“Therefore, gravitational attraction appears as yet another optimization mechanism within the computational process aimed at compressing information.”
“This study offers a fresh insight into gravity, affirming that its appeal arises from the fundamental urge to decrease information entropy in the universe.”
“The findings reveal significant conceptual and methodological distinctions, suggesting that gravity functions as a computational optimization process where matter self-organizes to lessen the complexity of encoding within space-time.”
“The broader implications of this work encompass fundamental physics topics, including black hole thermodynamics, dark matter, dark energy considerations, and potential links between gravity and quantum information theory.”
“The question of whether the universe is fundamentally a computational structure remains unresolved.”
This paper was published in the journal on April 25th, 2025, in AIP Advances.
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Melvin M. Vopson. 2025. Is there evidence of gravity in the computational universe? AIP Advances 15, 045035; doi:10.1063/5.0264945
Source: www.sci.news
