3D Space: Illusion or Reality?
- Teacher Resource
- Posted 02.16.12
- NOVA
What we experience as reality might be something like a hologram—a three-dimensional (3D) projection of information that is stored on a two-dimensional (2D) surface. In this video excerpt from NOVA’s "The Fabric of the Cosmos: What Is Space?", host and theoretical physicist Brian Greene explains this new scientific theory by exploring what would happen if he threw his wallet into a black hole. While the 3D version of the wallet is lost forever, a 2D version is stored on the surface of the black hole, similar to how information is stored in a computer.
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- Media Type: Video
- Running Time: 3m 12s
- Size: 11.7 MB
- Level: Grades 9-12
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This media asset was adapted from NOVA's "The Fabric of the Cosmos: What Is Space?".
Questions for Discussion
- What is a hologram? Can you think of—or find—any examples around you?
- What are the physical properties of a black hole (e.g., gravity, mass, etc.)? What would happen if you fell into one?
- What evidence is used to support the idea that the universe is like a hologram?
- Discuss the implications of this idea and how it might lead to a scientific revolution.
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