by J. G. Kemp
5. And listen to this. What if the black holes in our universe lead to other universes? And what if those universes have black holes, which lead to even more universes? And what if that just keeps going on and on? There could be billions and billions of universes, all nested into each other, like this:
6. And that’s not all! Our universe was formed in what’s called the Big Bang, where everything - all of space and time - exploded from an unimaginably small point. And it might be that big bangs are happening all the time, and our universe is just one of billions and billions. Awesome, huh? This is called the multiverse. I tried to draw a picture of it.
7. Black holes don’t have to be big. One of the unsolved mysteries of the universe is: where did all the anti-matter go? “Anti-matter? What is anti-matter?” you may ask. Well, regular matter is what makes up the stuff we see: planets, stars, dogs, you. But in the energy of the Big Bang, there would have been all this other stuff called anti-matter. Anti-matter is like regular matter’s evil twin, and no one knows where it went. Some scientists think there could have been teeny tiny black holes that swallowed up the anti-matter.
There could be an enormous number of universes, and in each universe there could be an enormous number of black holes, which lead to more universes! WOW!
- Quantum -
Hey. Did you ever wonder why this book is called the ‘Quantum’ Coloring Book? “What’s a quantum?” you might ask. Well, I wondered that too, and I’ll try to explain my theory the best I can:
One thing that scientists study is how the smallest things in the universe work - the things that make up everything. These smallest things are called quanta, and the way they work is called quantum mechanics. Well, it turns out that very small things behave very strangely.
For example, tiny particles might appear and disappear from nothing, they might be in two places at once, and they might not even exist at all until we look at them!
One theory in quantum mechanics is called the many-worlds theory. The idea is that everything that could possibly happen has happened and really exists in different universes, called parallel universes. Maybe in some other universe there really are things with fangs and paper-shredding robots. Maybe the quantum coloring book brings those things into our universe.
That’s my guess. Somehow the quantum coloring book connects our universe to other universes. Anything you can imagine really exists in some other universe, and the quantum coloring book brings those universes together.
I’m not sure, but here’s one thing I do know: I wrote this story, and you read it, and now you have pictures in your head - of the thing with fangs, and Chippers, and Olive, and the Bigfoots. So, in a way, drawing and writing in the quantum coloring book does make those things real - in your imagination at least. And your imagination happens in your brain. And your brain is real!
- Exponential Growth -
Remember when the Bigfoots were growing and multiplying out of control?! That was crazy! And remember the math problem about the pennies? Well, when something grows like that, it’s called exponential, and you get some really big numbers really fast!
Watch this: Let’s say you did have a penny, and every day your pennies doubled, for a whole month. How much money would you have at the end of a 31 day month?
$10,737,418.24
Over 10 million dollars! Maybe instead of drawing a winning lottery ticket I should have drawn pennies that doubled.
- Time Travel -
So what about time travel? Could it be real? Well, I’m sorry to tell you that it’s not likely, and chances are that time travel will only ever exist in stories. But, there are lots of great stories about time travel!
You should write one too!
Think about these questions:
1. If you could go back in time, where and when would you go, and why?
2. If you could go forward in time, what do you think you would see?
3. If you could change the past, what would you change, and how would that change the future?
You know what would be really awesome? If you wrote a story about time travel and sent it to me. I would love to read it. You can type it up and email it to me through storiesinscience.com. I might even write back!
Dear Reader,
I hope you liked this book. If you did, share it with your friends! Also, it really helps when other readers can see your review of this book online. Ask a grown up to post your favorite thing about it on amazon.com. You can even take a picture of one of your drawings and add it to your review. I would love that!
Thanks, and happy coloring!
- J. G. Kemp