Quantum foam

Quantum foam (also referred to as space-time foam) is an usable concept in quantum mechanics. The foam is seen as the foundation of the fabric of the universe. Additionally, quantum foam is be used as a qualitative description of subatomic space-time turbulence at extremely small distances (on the order of the Planck length). At such small scales of time and space, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle allows energy to briefly decay into particles and antiparticles and then annihilate without violating physical conservation laws. As the scale of time and space being discussed shrinks, the energy of the virtual particles increases. According to Einstein's theory of general relativity, energy curves space-time. This suggests that—at sufficiently small scales—the energy of these fluctuations would be large enough to cause significant departures from the smooth space-time seen at larger scales, giving space-time a "foamy" character.

With a theory of quantum gravity, it is possible to be certain what space-time would look like at these small scales, because existing theories of gravity gives accurate predictions in that realm.

Quantum Foam physics form the basis of GalNet channels.