This Video May Help You Wrap Your Head Around 'Quantum Foam'

Thanks, NASA!

What is "quantum foam," anyway?

Most physics buffs have heard of the space-time concept, which suggests that empty space as we tend to think of it isn't empty at all. Rather, at very small scales, space and time can be a bit "fuzzy" or "bubbly," kind of like foam.

"The 'bubbles' in the quantum foam are quadrillions of times smaller than atomic nuclei and last for infinitesimal fractions of a second -- or in ‘quantum-speak,’ the size of a Planck Length for a Planck Time," Dr. Eric Perlman, professor of physics and space sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology, said in a statement. "According to string theorists, this requires an additional six dimensions. Space-time itself is fluctuating in these regions."

Got that?

To make things a bit clearer, watch the new NASA video above, which offers an in-depth explanation of quantum foam.

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