Music of the Quantum Lattice

Richard Merrick

In the field of high-energy physics, a rapidly rising theory called "Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics" (Lattice QCD) proposes that an invisible, all-pervasive structure exists beneath atomic structure. As a long overdue replacement for the vacuous space-time continuum, we are now poised for a return to the ancient worldview of a musical universe described by Pythagorean harmonic science.

Originating in the quantum theory of Max Planck, Lattice QCD is a formalization of the more popular theories of a holographic universe, zero-point lattice, crystallized space and the “divine matrix.” Planck was convinced of an underlying force like this in nature, once declaring:

“All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force... We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter.”

Planck’s quantum matrix idea was the actual inspiration behind The Matrix movies, but the science is anything but fiction.

Recent advances in this field are yielding solid evidence of an “auxiliary fifth dimension” that acts as a kind of “quantum aether” underneath classical physics. Some of the latest research papers in this area can be found (not surprisingly) on the Los Alamos National Laboratory web site. This library includes such titles as:

• • QCD phase diagram: an overview
• • Understanding nucleon structure using lattice simulations
• • Advances and applications of lattice supersymmetry
• • Deconfining Phase Transition on Lattices with Boundaries at Low Temperature

And my favorite:

• • 2+1 flavor domain wall QCD on a (2 fm)^3 lattice: light meson spectroscopy with Ls = 16.

While these papers all sound pretty daunting, they share the simple idea that atomic structure is more like a sphere locked inside a cube than a freestanding sphere. Other papers on the subject (not on this list) concur, going so far as to describe atoms as “breathing” between tetrahedral and cubic configurations to form a cuboctahedron in between. The idea of the cubic structure of atomic spin came from the realization early on in quantum theory that atoms with an even number of electrons are more stable than those with odd numbers. This was found to be especially true for atoms having 8 electrons in the “L shell” because they orbit symmetrically to form the corners of a cube. When you consider that a cube is the best shape to fill space perfectly, it makes total sense.

The Lattice QCD is generally described as follows. Each cube has side length of about 1.26 fermions (fm) and cubic volume of 2 fm. This is then cubed to produce the space of four connected cubes, totaling a volume of 8 fm, which is then doubled to produce eight connected cubes with a combined volume of 16 fm (thus the “Ls = 16” in the title). This is easily visualized as a spatial lattice having 27 equally spaced and interconnected points (or vertices) as shown in the following diagram.

To understand how it contains energy, just imagine a large number of these cubes joined together to create a cage that you could hold onto and shake. As you rattle the cage, energy flows into it and bounces around inside, sometimes aligning in resonance with the lattice and other times creating a canceling pattern of interference. If we made this cage many times bigger, the rattling would turn into ripples, splashes and tides of energy flowing through the lattice like currents in an ocean.

At each intersection point of the lattice a tiny, spiraling black hole is thought to exist. This is based on the idea that the lattice continues to resonate from the Big Bang, causing miniscule, swirling vortices to form at each point of the space lattice. It is further hypothesized that these vortices follow a golden spiral, or Spira Mirabilis, something like a chambered nautilus or spiral galaxy. Since the Fibonacci and Lucas growth series in nature approximate a golden spiral, acting as a damping force against uncontrolled harmonic resonance, it could very well be that all space is uniformly perforated by such vortices. Few realize that their body and brain might actually be continuously connected through these infinite holes.

Within the quantum lattice, when ripples of energy align in the center of the cubes, stable matter called fermions are said to form. These particles include protons, electrons, quarks and leptons - all spinning in a locked cubic structure. But when ripples align with the damping points of the lattice itself, energy particles called bosons continue to travel outward in waves spinning off the vortices that propel them through the lattice. This includes photons of light, radio waves, x-rays, gamma waves, cosmic waves and gravity – all potentially traveling between particles of matter. Throughout the entire lattice, a constant reverberation of zero-point boson energy is believed to be the force that keeps electrons spinning in their orbits and nuclear particles bound together. Without it, everything would simply fall apart.

It is in this idea of a continuously vibrating space lattice that the ancient idea of a musical universe – Robert Fludd’s mythical celestial monochord – is reborn, maintaining a balance between harmonic resonance and damping. Philolaus, a “most ancient” follower of Pythagoras, referred to this in the opening of his book Peri physeos, or On Nature:

“Nature in the cosmos is composed of a harmonia between the unlimited and the limited and so too is the whole cosmos and everything in it.”

Philolaus goes on to describe Pythagoras’ attempt to get to the bottom of this universal “harmonia” by trying to split a whole-tone interval as if it were a musical atom. Expecting to prove the universal principle of simple harmonic proportions, Pythagoras was surprised (embarrassed, really) to find that a whole-tone ratio of 9:8 could only be reasonably factored into an awkward 27 parts – exactly the number of damping points in the Lattice QCD model described above!

Interestingly, when we take this proportion of 9:8 / 27 = 0.04166667, which Pythagoras called a "comma," and divide it into the lattice volume of 16, the result is an even 384 “musical sub-cubes.” Each of the eight lattice cubes then contains 48 such musical sub-cubes, each having a volume of exactly 9:8 / 27 = 0.04166667 fermions. Is this identical scaling proportion a random coincidence, or evidence of harmonic resonance bubbling up like some kind of fractal music inside the Lattice QCD?

We can find many more such correlations between Lattice QCD and music. For instance, a musical tone produces higher frequency harmonics at whole number multiples (2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, etc.) while the spacing of electron shells also follows these proportions around an atomic nucleus. Electrons really do act like harmonics of their atomic nucleus.

Furthermore, the even harmonics of a musical tone (2X, 4X, 6X, etc.) resonate in perfect alignment with a fundamental frequency to form octaves in the same way as evenly aligned fermions resonate to form cubic octets in the space lattice. Juxtaposed against this perfect symmetry, the odd harmonics of a tone (3X, 5X, 7X, etc.) create an interference pattern that shapes sound into timbre just as odd bosons provide the binding force in the space lattice to create material shapes. Harmonic principles of geometry are found in both music and the quantum space lattice.

In his book Harmonograph: A Visual Guide To The Mathematics of Music, Anthony Ashton shows us how musical ratios interact to create geometric figures. Using a 19th century device called a harmonograph, Ashton set the frequencies, rotational direction and amplitudes of two vibratory arms connected to a pendulum ink pen to draw an assortment of shapes on paper. When the vibrating arms were concurrent (vibrating in the same direction), the pen drew a variety of nested circles and cardioid or heart shapes. But when the vibrations were countercurrent (moving in opposite directions), the pen drew triangles (octave), squares (double octave), pentagons (perfect fifth), septagons (perfect fourth) and so on. When an open phase was used, spirals (unison), shells and eggs (near unison) were drawn. Caused by vibration, these shapes occur everywhere in nature.

In 1787, physicist Ernst Chladni found these figures appear when powder was vibrated on circular and square metal plates. In the 1960’s, Swiss scientist Hans Jenny pursued this further to confirm that particles suspended and vibrated in liquid and gas did the same thing. Calling these vibratory geometries Cymatics (see video examples on YouTube), Jenny and others have found that the iconographic symbols of Sanskrit, Hebrew and Egyptian hieroglyphs actually match many of these patterns. It is very likely that Cymatic patterns appearing on dusty drumheads – “magically conjured” by a shamanic chant - were the very catalyst that led to written language and even the ancient Hebrew practice of Cabbalism. The Biblical phrase, “In the beginning there was the Word and the Word was with God,” probably had its genesis in Cymatic sound patterns.

In recent years, these same simple geometric patterns have been found at the bottom of spinning buckets of water and in the eyes of powerful weather patterns.

It’s easy to see how all of these natural phenomena could grow recursively into larger and larger harmonic forms inside the space lattice. As energy splashes around in the lattice, it slowly begins to resonate into regular and predictable shapes. Inanimate matter follows the countercurrent shapes of squares, pentagons and hexagons, while life follows the concurrent polar forms of circles, ellipses, eggs, shells and especially cardiods. All of these shapes can be found to emerge from the very same harmonic behavior of a vibrating string. Things are not just relative – they’re harmonically proportional.

When we listen to music, we can hear the polyhedrons of mineral crystals and the cardioids of life in the interference patterns of harmonics. Since our brains also grew inside this resonating lattice, we instantly recognize complex harmonic proportions in melodies and chords. And as music moves through this lattice, we instinctively follow and anticipate the directional flow of energy in each combination of tones with absolutely no effort at all. From simple auditory shapes to vast landscapes and structures, music projects our dreams through the neural lattice of our brain while quantum energy projects our reality through the Lattice QCD. How could it be otherwise?

In the final analysis, Lattice QCD theory is really just the long awaited sequel to the Pythagorean Music of the Spheres that describes everything – atoms, plants, animals and planetary orbits – as a musical harmony. This has always been (and always will be) the easiest way to grasp the form, function and beauty of the quantum space lattice. With the advent of Lattice QCD, it is only a matter of time before science and society will once again agree to see nature as a kind of crystallized music. When it does, the world will become a very different place.