Since the sum of the universe should remain constant
There is no reason to postulate this.
Sure there is. Conservation of energy, the whole is equal to the sum of it's parts, things that are the basis for the physical universe as we know it would point that way.
But, you are certainly correct that it may not be the case. The physical laws that govern something as large as the universe may not be the same as what we expect. That's why I said "should remain constant", not "will remain constant".
... if the number of universes is finite, then why should it be any particular number other than one (or zero)? They are the only two "special" numbers.
I'm certainly not saying that. Although, it is probably right, that the number of universes is finite. :)
Certainly not necessarily one, but we have a hard time seeing more than one.
Under some concepts, there would be a finite number of universes that could be created from one universe, assuming that the division of the universes reduces the total time for the universes' existence.
Taking the current life expectancy of our universe as about 10^100 years, and the smallest unit of time as 3x10^-43 seconds (call that a quantum second?), there will be a total of about 10^150 quantum seconds to the life of the universe.
Although the period of the quantum second will change over time (getting longer), the number will remain constant. So, when a universe is divided to the point where it will evaporate after only one quantum second, it can't be divided any more. Of course, you'd have to be pretty quick to even try.
Based on that, there would be a maximum of 10^150 universes that could derive from the one that we can see.
Of course, the universe we can see may be a daughter universe, that split from a larger universe. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any way to consider what the limit would be in that direction, unless...
The time required to split a universe should be at least 1 quantum second. We're back on the Time travel / changing the past idea. "Changing the past" is an event, and an event takes time, and time as short as a quantum second is indivisible.
So, the maximum number of universes that could exist at this time would be the number of quantum seconds since the birth of the universe. 12-20 billion years worth of quantum seconds.
Of course, if you want to consider universes that existed before the birth of the universe, I give up. :)
-rcv-
There is no reason to postulate this.
Sure there is. Conservation of energy, the whole is equal to the sum of it's parts, things that are the basis for the physical universe as we know it would point that way.
But, you are certainly correct that it may not be the case. The physical laws that govern something as large as the universe may not be the same as what we expect. That's why I said "should remain constant", not "will remain constant".
... if the number of universes is finite, then why should it be any particular number other than one (or zero)? They are the only two "special" numbers.
I'm certainly not saying that. Although, it is probably right, that the number of universes is finite. :)
Certainly not necessarily one, but we have a hard time seeing more than one.
Under some concepts, there would be a finite number of universes that could be created from one universe, assuming that the division of the universes reduces the total time for the universes' existence.
Taking the current life expectancy of our universe as about 10^100 years, and the smallest unit of time as 3x10^-43 seconds (call that a quantum second?), there will be a total of about 10^150 quantum seconds to the life of the universe.
Although the period of the quantum second will change over time (getting longer), the number will remain constant. So, when a universe is divided to the point where it will evaporate after only one quantum second, it can't be divided any more. Of course, you'd have to be pretty quick to even try.
Based on that, there would be a maximum of 10^150 universes that could derive from the one that we can see.
Of course, the universe we can see may be a daughter universe, that split from a larger universe. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any way to consider what the limit would be in that direction, unless...
The time required to split a universe should be at least 1 quantum second. We're back on the Time travel / changing the past idea. "Changing the past" is an event, and an event takes time, and time as short as a quantum second is indivisible.
So, the maximum number of universes that could exist at this time would be the number of quantum seconds since the birth of the universe. 12-20 billion years worth of quantum seconds.
Of course, if you want to consider universes that existed before the birth of the universe, I give up. :)
-rcv-