A proposed experimental test for the mass-energy-information equivalence principle

  • Melvin Vopson

Press/Media: Research cited

Description

In 2019, physicist Melvin Vopson proposed that information is equivalent to mass and energy, existing as a separate state of matter, a conjecture known as the mass-energy-information equivalence principle. This would mean that every bit of information has a finite and quantifiable mass. For instance, a hard drive full of information is heavier than the same drive empty.

In a new study, Vopson is ready to put his money where his mouth is, proposing an experiment that can verify this conjecture.

Period4 Mar 2022 → 19 Apr 2022

Media coverage

7

Media coverage

  • TitleInformation Could Be the Fifth State of Matter, Proving We Live in a Simulation
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletPopular Mechanics
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritorySouth Africa
    Date19/04/22
    DescriptionMelvin Vopson's research suggests that information has physical mass, and he has devised an experiment which could mean he has discovered that information is the fifth form of matter.
    URLhttps://www.popularmechanics.co.za/science/information-could-be-the-fifth-state-of-matter-proving-we-live-in-a-simulation/
    PersonsMelvin Vopson
  • TitleInformation Could Be the Fifth State of Matter, Proving We Live in a Simulation
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletMen's Health US
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    Date4/04/22
    DescriptionTrying to make sense of information is a universal daily experience. For physicist ​​Melvin Vopson, this pursuit goes well beyond the mundane—he’s trying to prove that information has a physical presence. It’s a weighty task that could lead to new insights about how we can manage the future of information storage. It could also lead to a fundamental shift in how we think about the universe.
    Producer/AuthorManasee Wagh
    URLhttps://www.menshealth.com/technology-gear/a39627451/information-could-be-the-fifth-state-of-matter/
    PersonsMelvin Vopson
  • TitleInformation Could Be the 5th State of Matter, Proving We Live in a Simulation
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletYahoo! Life
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date4/04/22
    DescriptionTrying to make sense of information is a universal daily experience. For physicist Melvin Vopson, this pursuit goes well beyond the mundane—he’s trying to prove that information has a physical presence. It’s a weighty task that could lead to new insights about how we can manage the future of information storage. It could also lead to a fundamental shift in how we think about the universe.
    Producer/AuthorManasee Wagh
    URLhttps://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/information-could-5th-state-matter-140600964.html?guccounter=1
    PersonsMelvin Vopson
  • TitleNewly proposed experiment could confirm that information is the fifth state of matter
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletGermanic News
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryGermany
    Date22/03/22
    DescriptionMelvin Vopson, a physicist at the School of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Portsmouth, has published research suggesting that information has physical mass and that all elementary particles store information about themselves. Now the researcher has devised an experiment which, if done correctly, means he has discovered that information is the fifth form of matter alongside solid, liquid, gas and plasma.
    URLhttps://germanic.news/neu-vorgeschlagenes-experiment-konnte-bestatigen-dass-information-der-funfte-aggregatzustand-ist/
    PersonsMelvin Vopson
  • TitleNewly Proposed Experiment Could Confirm that Information is Fifth State of Matter
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletSci-News
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    Date22/03/22
    DescriptionMelvin Vopson, a physicist with the School of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Portsmouth, has already published research suggesting that information has physical mass and that all elementary particles store information about themselves. Now, the researcher has designed an experiment — which if proved correct — means he will have discovered that information is the fifth form of matter, alongside solid, liquid, gas and plasma.
    URLwww.sci-news.com/physics/information-fifth-state-matter-10638.html
    PersonsMelvin Vopson
  • TitleIs information the fifth state of matter? Physicist says there’s one way to find out
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletZME Science
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    Date9/03/22
    DescriptionEinstein’s theory of general relativity was revolutionary on many levels. One of its many ground breaking consequences is that mass and energy are basically interchangeable at rest. The immediate implication is that you can make mass — tangible matter — out of energy, thereby explaining how the universe as we know it came to be during the Big Bang when a heck lot of energy turned into the first particles. But there may be much more to it.
    Producer/AuthorTibi Puiu
    URLhttps://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/information-energy-mass-equivalence/
    PersonsMelvin Vopson
  • TitleA proposed experimental test for the mass-energy-information equivalence principle
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletAIP
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    Date4/03/22
    DescriptionA recent conjecture, called the mass-energy-information equivalence principle, proposed that information is equivalent to mass and energy and exists as a separate state of matter. In other words, stored information has mass and can be converted into energy, and a full hard drive is marginally heavier than an empty one.
    Producer/AuthorAvery Thompson
    URLhttps://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/10.0009785
    PersonsMelvin Vopson