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The multiverse (or meta-universe) is the hypothetical set of infinite or finite possible universes (including the Universe we live in) that together comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, and energy as well as the physical laws and constants that describe them. The various universes within the multiverse are also called "parallel universes" or "alternate universes". ==Explanation== The structure of the multiverse, the nature of each universe within it and the relationships among the various constituent universes, depend on the specific multiverse hypothesis considered. Multiple universes have been hypothesized in cosmology, physics, astronomy, religion, philosophy, transpersonal psychology, and fiction, particularly in science fiction and fantasy. In these contexts, parallel universes are also called "alternate universes", "quantum universes", "interpenetrating dimensions", "parallel dimensions", "parallel worlds", "alternate realities", "alternate timelines", and "dimensional planes", among other names. The American philosopher and psychologist William James coined the term ''multiverse'' in 1895, but in a different context.〔James, William, ''The Will to Believe'', 1895; and earlier in 1895, as cited in OED's new 2003 entry for "multiverse": 〕 The physics community continues to fiercely debate the multiverse hypothesis. Prominent physicists disagree about whether the multiverse may exist, and whether it is even a legitimate topic of scientific inquiry. Serious concerns have been raised about whether attempts to exempt the multiverse from experimental verification may erode public confidence in science and ultimately damage the nature of fundamental physics.〔 〕 Some have argued that the multiverse question is philosophical rather than scientific because it lacks falsifiability; the ability to disprove a theory by means of scientific experiment has always been part of the accepted scientific method. Paul Steinhardt has famously argued that no experiment can rule out a theory if it provides for all possible outcomes.〔 〕 Supporters of one of the multiverse hypotheses include Stephen Hawking, Brian Greene, Max Tegmark,〔 Alan Guth,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Alan Guth: Inflationary Cosmology: Is Our Universe Part of a Multiverse? )〕 Andrei Linde, Michio Kaku,〔(Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos )〕 David Deutsch,〔David Deutsch (1997). "The Ends of the Universe". The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes—and Its Implications. London: Penguin Press. ISBN 0-7139-9061-9.〕 Leonard Susskind, Raj Pathria, Alexander Vilenkin, Laura Mersini-Houghton, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Sean Carroll. Scientists who are not proponents of the multiverse include: Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg, Nobel laureate David Gross, Paul Steinhardt, Neil Turok, Viatcheslav Mukhanov, Michael S. Turner,〔 〕 Roger Penrose,〔 〕 George Ellis, Joe Silk,〔 〕 Adam Frank, 〔 〕 Marcelo Gleiser, 〔 Jim Baggott,〔 〕 and Paul Davies.〔 〕 In 2007, Steven Weinberg suggested that if the multiverse were true, "the hope of finding a rational explanation for the precise values of quark masses and other constants of the standard model that we observe in our big bang is doomed, for their values would be an accident of the particular part of the multiverse in which we live."〔 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「multiverse」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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