Quantum mechanics continues to amaze scientists. According to many theories, the world around us is full of uncertainty, and the behavior of elementary particles is subject to the laws of probability. One of the most radical approaches is the many-worlds interpretation, according to which all probabilistic scenarios physically occur in another parallel universe. However, a new experiment conducted by researchers from a Japanese university casts doubt on the validity of such a theory. The results of the study were published on the preprint server arXiv. The classic double-slit experiment, which demonstrates the dual nature of light and matter, has long been considered indirect evidence of parallel universes. When light hits a screen with two holes, it produces a characteristic interference pattern, as if photons were passing through both holes at the same time. The many-worlds interpretation posits that each photon passes through only one hole, with the other possibilities occurring in alternate worlds. Researchers from Hiroshima University decided to complicate the traditional experiment. They used a special device called an interferometer, which can split the wave functions of photons into two different paths before they reunite. To test the hypothesis, the scientists placed special glass plates on each path that changed the polarization of the light in such a way as to compensate for the effects of photons passing along both paths. However, the results were unexpected. Photons showed signs of interaction in both directions at once, despite the absence of observers. These data argue against the many-worlds interpretation, since they show that particles can exist in several states at once. Although the paper is still awaiting official approval from the scientific community, it is already clear that the new work is capable of sparking heated debates among theoretical physicists. After all, it is not just about testing individual aspects of microscopic physics, but about the possibility of reconsidering fundamental ideas about the nature of reality. The post New Experiment Casts Doubt on the Existence of Many Worlds appeared first on Anomalien.com.