Physicist Suggests Special Relativity Could Explain What Happens When We Die

Maybe it's time to revisit what we already know in a new light

Hiya!

Forgive me. I know today’s topic is a bit of a mind-blogger, but it’s also super intriguing once it clicks. See, death is a heavy and complicated topic with countless questions we may never find the answers to. But physicist Sabine Hossenfelder says that in some ways, we’ve known at least some about what happens after death — or, at least, the physics of it—for a while now.

Hossenfelder points out that when we pan out and look at how various subjects of information we’ve already learned could fit together, then we may already have the answers to at least some questions. According to her, Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity and the fundamental law of nature stating that information can never be destroyed could help explain the physics of death.

Physicist Searches for Answers

Sabine Hossenfelder is a physicist and research fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies and the author of "Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions." She also sat down with Big Think for an interview to talk about how she uses physics to investigate some of life’s biggest mysteries.

Science and spirituality may seem like opposites, but they aren’t as different as they appear. Hossenfelder helps illustrate how the scientific method can present profound implications with the potential to challenge and even reshape our understanding of life. According to Hossenfelder, considering these deep concepts — even when they conflict with what we thought we knew — can potentially “expand our understanding of reality and our place within it.”

So let’s look at the particular concepts Hossenfelder discusses in her interview — Einstein’s theory of special relativity but particularly the relativity of simultaneity, the block universe concept, and the fundamental law of nature stating that information is never destroyed.