Is spacetime smooth or chunky?

In order for the math of general relativity to work, this fabric of space-time has to be absolutely smooth at the tiniest of scales. No matter how far you zoom in, space-time will always be as wrinkle-free as a recently ironed shirt.

What is space-time grain?

Quantum foam (also known as spacetime foam or spacetime bubble) is the quantum fluctuation of spacetime on very small scales due to quantum mechanics. Matter and antimatter is constantly created and destroyed. These subatomic objects are called virtual particles.

What is distorting space-time?

And events that occur at the same time for one observer could occur at different times for another. As he worked out the equations for his general theory of relativity, Einstein realized that massive objects caused a distortion in space-time. The object would press down into the fabric, causing it to dimple.

At what scale do quantum gravity theoreticians think space and time become grainy?

To see what occurs at the minuscule scales where spacetime is theorized to become grainy, experiments would need to probe distances on the order of what is known as the Planck length, or 10–35 meters. To reach such extreme scales, scientists would have to build an equally extreme detector.

Does space flow into a black hole?

Outside the horizon, space is falling into the black hole at less than the speed of light (or the speed of fishes), and photon-fishes swimming upstream can make way against the flow. It is true that nothing can travel through space faster than light.

Is space pixelated?

Our common sense and the laws of physics assume that space and time are continuous. If space and time were not continuous, everything would be pixelated, like a digital image. When you zoom in far enough, you see that a digital image is not smooth, but made up of individual pixels.

Is space grainy?

One prediction of both string theory and LQG is that space-time is not smooth but “grainy” at extremely small scales. In theory, this graininess can be observed by studying particles from the same source but with different energies, to see if they are affected differently by the structure of space-time.