Quantum foam
Espuma cuántica
- Date
- 1955 · confidence high
- Place
- Princeton, New Jersey, United States
- Credited to
- John Archibald Wheeler
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
A theoretical concept of quantum fluctuation of spacetime at extremely small scales, where the theory predicts the constant creation and destruction of virtual particles.
Idea proposed by John Wheeler in 1955; it remains a speculative concept without direct experimental confirmation.
What it led to
- Speculative models of quantum gravity
- Debate over the structure of spacetime at the Planck scale
Built on
- General relativity1915
- Quantum mechanics