Does the Planck length mean space is discrete?

Does the Planck length mean space is discrete?

The answer to all questions is No. In fact, even the right reaction to the first sentence – that the Planck scale is a “discrete measure” – is No. The Planck length is a particular value of distance which is as important as 2π times the distance or any other multiple.

What is the shortest possible distance?

In physics, the Planck length, denoted ℓ P, is a unit of length in the system of Planck units that was originally proposed by physicist Max Planck, equal to 1.616255(18)×10−35 m.

How long is Planck time?

10-43 seconds
The Planck time is the time it would take a photon travelling at the speed of light to across a distance equal to the Planck length. This is the ‘quantum of time’, the smallest measurement of time that has any meaning, and is equal to 10-43 seconds. No smaller division of time has any meaning.

What does it mean for time to be discrete?

Discrete time views values of variables as occurring at distinct, separate “points in time”, or equivalently as being unchanged throughout each non-zero region of time (“time period”)—that is, time is viewed as a discrete variable. The number of measurements between any two time periods is finite.

Why is the Planck length important?

The Planck length is a particular value of distance which is as important as $2\\pi$ times the distance or any other multiple. The fact that we can speak about the Planck scale doesn’t mean that the distance becomes discrete in any way. We may also talk about the radius of the Earth which doesn’t mean that all distances have to be its multiples.

Is the Planck scale a discrete measure?

In fact, even the right reaction to the first sentence – that the Planck scale is a “discrete measure” – is No. The Planck length is a particular value of distance which is as important as $2\\pi$ times the distance or any other multiple. The fact that we can speak about the Planck scale doesn’t mean that the distance becomes discrete in any way.

What is the reduced Planck constant in physics?

where c {\\displaystyle c} is the speed of light in a vacuum, G is the gravitational constant, and ħ is the reduced Planck constant. The two digits enclosed by parentheses are the estimated standard error associated with the reported numerical value. The Planck length is about 10 −20 times the diameter of a proton.

What is Planck mass and Planck time?

These three quantities are known as the Planck mass (which comes out to about 22 micrograms), the Planck time (around 10 -43 seconds), and the Planck length (about 10 -35 meters). If you put a particle in a box that’s the Planck length or smaller, the uncertainty in its position becomes greater than the size of the box.