A Universe from Nothing

The central argument of A Universe from Nothing stems from three discoveries about the nature of the universe: First, that the total energy of our universe if precisely zero, a fact that didnt have to be true, and is highly suggestive. It is hard to imagine how a universe that arose from nothing could have been any different, or why a universe that didnt should be so finely tuned. Second, quantum mechanics, when applied to the universe, requires something to come from nothing. Put more simply perhaps: nothingness is unstable. At a microscopic scale quantum mechanics implies all systems are fluctuating, exploring all possible allowed states at any instant. One with zero total energy can expand outward forever so that empty space is therefore destined to give birth to a universe that has the characteristics that ours has.

Finally, physicists have recently begun to address the origin of the existence of space and the laws of physics--and how these change over time. The knowledge that our universe will be quite different in the far future has profound implications for the future of the universe and everything in it.