Information physics suggests that reality isn’t built from physical matter but from structured information, similar to how computer simulations run on data.
One idea within this theory is that the universe functions like a vast computational system, following mathematical rules like a program.
Dr. Melvin Vopson, a physicist from the University of Portsmouth, proposes that gravity is a computational process. He suggests that objects are pulled together due to mass and because the universe organizes information efficiently.
According to the second law of information dynamics, gravity may help keep information structured, like compressing data for better storage.
Dr. Vopson’s research presents a fascinating shift in how we think about reality, suggesting that the universe might function like a self-organizing computational system rather than a purely physical one.
His latest study builds on the idea that gravity isn’t just a force pulling objects together but an effect of the universe organizing information efficiently, much like how computers compress data to optimize performance. If true, this would mean gravity emerges from an intrinsic need to maintain order in the vast cosmic system.
Previously, Dr. Vopson proposed that information has mass, meaning elementary particles—our universe’s fundamental building blocks—carry and store data about themselves. He likened this to how biological cells store genetic information in DNA, hinting at deeper parallels between physics and life sciences.
Dr. Vopson’s latest research explores space pixelation—the idea that elementary cells in the universe function like data storage units, encoding information about matter and its location in space-time.
Each cell acts as a binary register, much like computer memory:
- An empty cell records a digital “0”
- A cell containing matter registers a digital “1”
This structure parallels how digital simulations, such as video games or virtual reality environments, store and process information to create interactive worlds.
He further suggests that if a single cell can hold multiple particles, the system will naturally evolve to reorganize them, merging them into larger particles within a single cell.
This self-organizing behavior aligns with the idea that the universe optimizes information storage—similar to how compression algorithms reduce data redundancy in computing.
This triggers the attracting force because of the rule set in the computational system, requiring the minimization of the information content and, by extension, a reduction of the computational power.
Tracking and computing a single object’s location and momentum in space is far more computationally effective than tracking and computing numerous objects. Therefore, gravitational attraction is another optimizing mechanism in a computational process that compresses information.
This study offers an entirely new way to think about gravity: not just as a pull but as something that happens when the universe tries to stay organized.
The results introduce distinct conceptual and methodological differences and suggest that gravity is a computational optimization process in which matter self-organizes to minimize the complexity of information encoding within space-time.
Journal Reference:
- Melvin Vopson. Is gravity evidence of a computational universe? AIP Advances. DOI: 10.1063/5.0264945
