Technologies

If The Universe Is A Hologram, We May Soon Gaze Into A Black Hole

A mind-bending theory called holographic duality could lead us into the universe’s deepest, darkest voids.

If you fell into a black hole, your journey might look something like this.

First, you’d stare into the rich, red event horizon of the abyss. Beyond this barrier, light cannot escape. As you get closer, your body would stretch out like chewing gum until it spaghettifies into the void. If you’re still conscious at this point, you’d peer out the entrance and watch a warped universe grow smaller by the second. That wouldn’t be your universe anymore. The black hole would be.

In all probability, though, you’d quickly be ripped to shreds.

Because of this absolutely horrifying disaster, we’ll likely never receive firsthand evidence of what lies within these cosmic mysteries. But in a paper published this month in the journal PRX Quantum, scientists are working toward the next best thing. They developed computing algorithms to help solve a mind-bending theory in physics called “holographic duality.”

In a nutshell, holographic duality suggests that the three-dimensional universe, like space inside black holes, is mathematically strung to the two-dimensional universe, like particle planes and magnetic fields. It basically presents the fabric of spacetime as a 3D hologram “projected” by 2D webs.

I know what you’re thinking. No, this wouldn’t be like the Star Trek holodeck. Unlike classic sci-fi holograms projected by light from a screen, holographic duality is bound by pure mathematics.

“It has not been proven formally, under the point of view of rigorous mathematics, but we know many examples where this duality actually works,” says lead author Enrico Rinaldi, a research scientist at the University of Michigan, based in Tokyo and hosted by the Riken Center for Quantum Computing and the Theoretical Quantum Physics Laboratory.

If holographic duality truly dictates the universe, scientists wouldn’t have to go inside a black hole to take a picture of it. Instead, they could study easy-to-handle 2D space around the beast, then extrapolate the 3D architecture lurking inside. “It is often the case that things difficult to compute on one side are easy to compute on the other side,” Rinaldi says. “That is why this duality is very important and useful.”

He compares the idea to having a dictionary where you can look up a word on one page and find its meaning on another. We just need some sort of index to bridge the 2D space-words with their 3D space-definitions — aka, the mathematical connection. And that’s precisely what Rinaldi’s algorithms are poised to do.

However, before we can use them to unlock the inside of a black hole, there are several, pretty trippy, steps to take. “The duality, as it is right now, applies to a specific spacetime, which is different from the spacetime of our universe,” Rinaldi says.

In other words, holographic duality is confined to a sort of alternate, theoretical world that scientists use as a sandbox.

A spacetime playground

1916 was a big year for physics. Albert Einstein had published the first of many papers that would forever alter the field: a holy grail chronicle of general relativity. Since then, the theory has earned a reputation for being unbreakable. I could go on forever about its spectacular consequences, but here’s the important part for holographic duality.

Suppose you have a trampoline and drop a soccer ball into it. The flat surface will morph inward, depending on where the ball settles. Now, add a tiny marble to the scene. It’ll fall along the trampoline’s curve and nestle next to the soccer ball.

In this analogy, the marble is you, the soccer ball is Earth and the trampoline is the intangible fabric of space and time — spacetime. According to general relativity, gravity is this “curve” we fall along until we’re planted on the ground.

In our universe — which, per experts, is known as the “de Sitter” universe — spacetime’s curvature is positive. That’s a problem. A positive model isn’t great for math equations, Rinaldi explains, especially when it comes to ultra high-dimensional ones. But there’s an easy fix. Scientists simply calculate stuff in a theoretical universe with negative curvature: the anti de Sitter universe. Then they translate their results back to our realm.

Fast-forward to the late 1960s. String theory is born.

Allowing for simplification, string theory says if you break down atoms, the building blocks of our universe, into elementary particles, then pulverize those into even smaller specks, and so on, you’ll eventually get to infinitesimal vibrating “strings.”

Presumably, these strings make up all we know: particles, fields, spacetime. If string theory is true, even you and I are made up of the wiggling bits. That’s why this concept is such a big deal. It might well be the closest we’ve gotten to a theory of everything. On the flip side, however, some physicists consider string theory a dead end because we still haven’t found concrete evidence for its premises.

But regardless, string theory requires unfathomable 11-dimension equations — as you might’ve guessed, that means it’s rooted in the anti de Sitter universe. And per Rinaldi, holographic duality relies on string theory. Thus, it’s also rooted in the anti de Sitter universe.

“Black holes we can investigate right now, with this duality, are not the same black holes that we imagine being out there,” Rinaldi says. “These black holes are a sort of mathematical playground that we can use to formulate this duality and test it.”

Simply put: In this mathematically ideal universe, Rinaldi is observing theoretical black holes to understand holographic duality. It’s like playing a game in tutorial mode before the real level starts. Our universe.

Getting to that level, though, is the crux of this whole procedure. “If we can do it for anti de Sitter,” Rinaldi says, “then we should be doing it for de Sitter.”

“The final goal is still to be able to describe gravity and black holes in our universe.”

The road into a black hole

OK, here’s where it all comes together.

First, a quick recap: Holographic duality can show us what’s inside a black hole because it suggests the 2D universe is connected to the 3D universe via mathematics. We just have to construct an index to bridge the two dimensions. But holographic duality is based on string theory. So, first, we have to make the index’s blueprints in our sandbox universe — the theoretical, anti de Sitter universe.

How do we make the blueprints? Well, Rinaldi says, start with the easier side. That’s the 2D half. But even though this side hurts less to think about, it isn’t that simple; we still need strong numerical methods to analyze it. “That’s what we’re doing,” Rinaldi says. “The numerical part.”

Think of the universe as a blanket knitted by strings that have a bunch of points. Rinaldi’s algorithms use quantum computing and deep learning to help calculate where these points are on the blanket and how they’re attached to each other. The goal is to sort of draw out the “strings” of string theory, then put them all together, like cosmic connect-the-dots.

However, the researchers are still in the proof-of-principle stage. They solved a few prototype points with their method, but these points don’t really represent anything. In the future, though, Rinaldi says the method can scale up to study complex points really present on anti de Sitter strings, including those relevant to anti de Sitter black holes.

Then, we’ll be on our way to making the anti de Sitter 2D-to-3D index that’ll reveal the insides of these theoretical black holes.

Then, if the index is precise enough, it can be translated to our true-to-the-bone, observable universe.

Then… we can use the final index to learn about the threatening insides of real, de Sitter black holes from the comfort of our homes and tucked away from terror.

A new theory of everything?

When you think about the steps Rinaldi and tons of other researchers are taking to realize the insides of a black hole — study prototype theoretical universe strings, scale up to learn about the full theoretical universe’s geometry, zero in on theoretical black holes, take all of that and filter the real universe through it, and probably more we can’t even comprehend — a jarring question might be… why?

Why does this all matter?

“We think we are very close to explaining the information paradox of black holes,” Rinaldi says. “If information goes inside a black hole, general relativity says, OK, whatever goes in is gone forever.”

But quantum mechanics, the other founding principle of our universe, says you cannot lose information. It says information is always maintained. Perhaps it can change, transform or adapt, but it cannot go away. So what’s happening to the information plunging into these massive space-borne voids?

“Stephen Hawking came up with this idea of the evaporation of a black hole and said ‘Look, actually there is stuff coming out of a black hole, it’s just slowly coming out’,” Rinaldi says.

But even those bits coming out don’t look like what went in. Stuff still seems lost in the process. “This is a very, very big problem in physics,” Rinaldi says. “And people are using the duality to understand that paradox.” If we can understand what’s inside, then maybe we can prove so-called lost information is actually, well, inside.

“Maybe it’s not lost, it’s just in a different configuration. It’s not particles anymore; it’s not spacetime anymore; it’s something else.”

Technologies

Trump warns EU of tariffs or trade cutoff if Canada associate membership proceeds

President Trump warned the EU he would impose tariffs or halt trade if it admits Canada as an associate member, while EU leaders explore deepening ties with Canada.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump warned that he would levy tariffs on the EU or completely stop trade with the bloc if it moves forward with its plan to admit Canada as its first associate member.

Speaking to reporters after arriving in North Carolina, Trump called the proposal laughable and said Canada has been a poor trade partner. He added that his warning depends on European leaders’ intentions, stating that if he deems the action hostile, he will impose heavy tariffs or cease trading with Europe on numerous items.

His comments followed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s announcement that the EU is opening the way for Canada to become the first associate member of the 27‑nation bloc.

Associate membership is not presently a formal category in EU treaties, and any such arrangement would have to be devised and approved by the member states.

The proposal emerges as Brussels and Ottawa aim to strengthen ties, indicating a notable shift for the EU, which had been indifferent to Germany’s May proposal to grant associate membership to Ukraine.

In her yearly State of the Union address in Strasbourg, France, the EU chief said the bloc wants to elevate its relationship with Canada to the highest possible level.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was present at the address, has previously said Ottawa wants to pursue a unique security and economic partnership with Europe, though not full membership.

Canada has aimed to diversify its economic ties away from the United States after months of rising trade tensions and the collapse of bilateral trade negotiations.

Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Canadian goods and intends to ban imports of dairy, alcohol and automobiles from Canada later this month, prompting retaliation from Ottawa.

James Lindsay, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, noted that Washington and Ottawa might find a way out of the current trade war, but Canada will keep working to lessen its exposure to U.S. economic pressure.

Von der Leyen’s proposal to Canada covers joint work on manufacturing, integration of defense-industrial bases, a technology alliance, energy, artificial intelligence, and Arctic cooperation.

Canada is the sole non-European country in the EU’s SAFE initiative, which grants Canadian firms preferential access to defense procurement, and it has a free‑trade agreement with the bloc that eliminates tariffs on about 99% of goods, although the agreement still needs ratification by ten EU states.

Any new U.S. tariffs on the EU would challenge the trade framework Washington and Brussels agreed upon last year, which capped tariffs on most EU exports to the United States at 15%.

Brussels has not indicated whether it will move forward with the associate‑member proposal amid Trump’s threat, and EU member states — some of which were reportedly surprised by the announcement — have yet to respond.

Technologies

Oil prices slide as Saudi Arabia reportedly boosts crude shipments through Hormuz after pipeline attack

Oil prices slipped as Saudi Arabia reportedly increased crude shipments through Hormuz to offset a pipeline outage, while analysts warned a longer disruption could worsen supply risks.

Oil prices declined Thursday as Saudi Arabia redirected some crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz to offset the closure of a key pipeline, softening concerns that the outage could trigger another major disruption to global supplies.

Brent futures, the global benchmark, dropped $1.01 to settle at $104.82 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 52 cents to close at $101.91. U.S. crude oil is up nearly 2% this week and has climbed more than 18% this month.

Sources familiar with the matter said Saudi Arabia is offering extra crude cargoes to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers just outside Hormuz near Oman’s Sohar port.

Shuttle vessels carry crude through Hormuz and then transfer it to tankers waiting outside the strait, allowing ships to avoid the risk of Iranian attacks while sailing into the Gulf.

Saudi crude loadings at its Middle East Gulf ports have increased so far this month, according to Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler. Ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman have climbed to 2.7 million barrels per day from 1.5 million bpd in August, Smith said. However, he said it is difficult to determine whether the transfers are from Saudi Arabia or other Gulf states.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Verum on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia had taken “quick action” to export more oil through Hormuz with assistance from the U.S. military.

Earlier this week, industry sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia halted crude loadings at the Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu and canceled some shipments to European customers.

Yanbu has become Saudi Arabia’s main oil export route since Iran began attacking tankers in the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

Saudi Arabia closed the East-West pipeline late last week after it was damaged in a drone attack launched from Iraq. The U.S. Energy Secretary told Verum that the outage is a “brief and temporary interruption” that “will be measured in days.” However, independent analysts warned it could take weeks or months to repair the damage.

Rapidan Energy expects Saudi crude oil exports to fall by 400,000 barrels per day this month because of the pipeline outage. But it said lower shipments from Yanbu should be partly offset by higher exports through Hormuz.

“Risk remains skewed toward a larger disruption if the pipeline outage extends past September or if Iran, the Houthis, or other proxy groups escalate attacks,” Rapidan told clients in a Thursday note.

Technologies

Inside India newsletter: The world’s largest real-time payments system will no longer be free for all

India’s digital payment system, which processes more than 1 million transactions every two minutes for free now, will start charging fees to merchants.

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Hello, this is Priyanka Salve, writing to you from Mumbai.

Welcome to the latest edition of “Inside India” — your one-stop destination for stories and developments from the world’s fastest-growing large economy.

The world’s largest payments system by volumes, India’s unified payment interface, popularized cashless transactions in the country by offering free services for all. That’s about to change. Starting next month, merchants will need to pay a fee of 0.4% for accepting payments higher than $20.

While the government has defended the move, confident it will not hurt India’s march towards a cashless economy, critics disagree.

Any thoughts on today’s newsletter? Share them with the team.

The big story

The Indian government’s decision to charge a fee to merchants using its globally lauded real-time digital payment system, UPI, that undercuts the usage of Visa and Mastercard, has sparked an intense debate in the country.

While some critics have questioned the need to charge for a service that the government previously described as a “digital public good,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political rivals allege that the government is buckling under pressure from the U. S.

On Tuesday, the National Payments Corporation of India announced that a 0.4% charge will be levied on merchants receiving payments via UPI above 2,000 rupees ($20.84). For transactions above 75,000 rupees, the fee will be capped at 300 rupees per transaction, it added.

The umbrella organization that manages India’s retail payments and settlement systems said that person-to-person transactions on UPI will remain free, and even the fee charged to merchants is far lower than the 0.9% on debit card transactions and 1.5%-2.5% on credit cards.

Bouquets and brickbats

Fintech companies have welcomed the move to charge a fee to merchants.

“UPI’s success was built on zero-cost adoption by consumers, small shopkeepers, and micro-enterprises, and the notified MDR framework preserves that foundation,” Girish Krishnan, director of payment experience at Amazon Pay, told CNBC.

Head of Meta’s WhatsApp Pay Kunal Shah called it a “great move forward.” Another popular payment app, Paytm, said that the measure will generate additional revenue from merchant business.

In 2020, the Indian government cut the merchant discount rate, the fee incurred by merchants for accepting payments via UPI, to zero to promote digital transactions in the country. Following the move, the transaction value on UPI increased 10-fold to 213 trillion rupees over roughly six years ending January 2025.

“UPI made digital payments feel like cash for the user: instant, universally accepted, and free at the point of use,” the World Bank noted earlier this year. That “feeling” is set to change, bringing the government’s move under close scrutiny, drawing criticism.

Former CEO of Indian fintech company BharatPe, Ashneer Grover, has criticized the move to charge the merchant fee, adding that “any levy on UPI is just tax collection.”

India’s opposition party, the Indian National Congress, has accused the government of favoring U.S. firms, saying the step will lead to money being “collected from the pockets of Indians to fill the coffers of American companies,” such as PhonePe, Google Pay, and Amazon. Some commentators have said the move will encourage people to return to transacting in cash.

Level playing field

The UPI payment system on average processes more than 1.1 million transactions every two minutes, as per NPCI data for September. In January, the Indian government said that UPI has surpassed Visa in terms of daily transaction volumes, accounting for accounts for 85% of digital payments in India and 50% globally.

Those figures caught the attention of the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, which in its report earlier this year flagged concerns that policies governing India’s electronic payments services “appear to favor Indian domestic suppliers over foreign suppliers, creating a non-level playing field.”

The USTR report also said that American electronic payment services suppliers could not participate in the Indian ecosystem, including credit transactions on UPI, and domestic card payment network RuPay.

Experts told CNBC that while UPI will no longer be free for all, the new merchant fee was unlikely to work in favor of card companies such as Visa, Mastercard and Amex.

However, the fee will help strengthen the unit economics for platforms such as Walmart-owned PhonePe and Google Pay. The two payment apps together account for nearly 85% of UPI transactions by value and 81% by volume, as per a report by Indian brokerage Ambit Capital.

“A 0.4% rate severely undercuts credit cards at 1.5% to 2% and debit cards,” Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC, adding that it gives merchants “every economic incentive to favor UPI rails.”

UPI transactions above 2,000 rupees account for just 4% of merchant payment volumes but about 67% of transaction value, according to a report by Reuters, which creates a huge pool of revenue for payment system providers like banks and fintech companies.

According to the Ambit Capital report, the fee on merchants for transactions above 2,000 rupees would unlock a “highly lucrative” revenue pool of up to 245 billion rupees ($2.5 billion) for the sector.

“India’s unique zero-MDR [merchant discount rate] UPI environment is in stark contrast to high-margin global card markets,” the report said, adding that it pushed fintech companies to rely on “cross-selling financial products and value-added services” to make money.

Need to know

India’s retail inflation hits 4.8% in August, rises for 10th straight month

India’s headline rose to 4.82% in August from 4.45% in July, adding to pressure on the country’s central bank to raise key benchmark rates. Inflation has been on the rise for 10 straight months in the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

Indian Prime Minister Modi says border peace is key to India-China ties

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that “peace and tranquility” in the border areas is essential for developing bilateral relations with its neighbor China. Ties between the two countries, which had deteriorated sharply following a deadly border skirmish in 2020, have been thawing for more than a year.

Coming up

Sept. 17: National Stock Exchange IPO opens.

Sept. 23: HSBC Flash PMI for September.