What Is Nothing?

A Scientific and Philosophical Question

Jim Redgewell — October 2026

Introduction

What is nothing? The question appears simple, but science and philosophy have struggled with it for centuries.

Does nothing mean empty space, the absence of matter and energy, or the complete absence of space, time and physical laws?

The answer is important because before explaining how the universe came into existence, we must understand what existed beforehand — if anything.

1. The Philosophical View

The ancient Greek philosopher Parmenides argued that something cannot arise from absolute nothing.

Later, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz asked the famous question: Why is there something rather than nothing?

Philosophers still disagree about whether absolute nothingness is possible or whether existence must have some fundamental explanation.

2. Nothing in Physics

In classical physics, nothing might mean completely empty space. However, space and time would still exist.

Quantum physics goes further. Even when no particles are present, quantum fields remain. This lowest-energy state is called the quantum vacuum.

Effects such as the Casimir force demonstrate that the quantum vacuum possesses measurable physical properties.

Therefore, empty space is not necessarily absolute nothing.

3. How Could Something Come from Nothing?

Several physicists have investigated this question.

• Edward Tryon (1973): Suggested that the universe could originate as a quantum vacuum fluctuation, potentially with positive matter energy balanced by negative gravitational energy.

• Alexander Vilenkin (1982): Proposed that a universe could emerge through quantum tunnelling without a pre-existing classical spacetime.

• Stephen Hawking and James Hartle (1983): Proposed that the universe might have no conventional initial boundary in time.

• Boyle, Finn and Turok (2018): Explored a universe with two complementary branches related by time-reversal symmetry.

These are serious theoretical proposals, but none has conclusively demonstrated how a universe emerges from absolute nothing.

4. An Alternative Starting Point

Perhaps absolute nothingness never existed.

Consider three assumptions:

1. Infinite empty space has always existed.

2. Time is eternal, with no absolute beginning or end.

3. The initial universe contains no matter or radiation and has zero total energy.

The emergence of our observable universe would simply establish a reference point for measuring time:

Equation 1 — Our cosmological clock

t = 0

Negative time coordinates would represent events before this reference point, not time running backwards.

We could also investigate whether positive and negative energy contributions balance:

Equation 2 — Zero total energy

E(positive) + E(negative) = 0

A further possibility is that positive and negative contributions to time might cancel, leaving only the present physically existing while information about the past survives.

However, this interpretation is speculative. Mathematical cancellation of time values does not itself demonstrate the disappearance of past events.

5. What Do We Actually Know?

Science has established that empty space and the quantum vacuum possess physical properties. However, it has not established whether absolute nothingness can exist.

Nor has it proved that the universe has exactly zero total energy or that space and time are eternal.

These questions remain open.

Conclusion

Perhaps the greatest difficulty in explaining the origin of the universe is our definition of nothing.

If space and time have always existed, there is no need to explain their creation. Instead, we must explain how matter, energy and our observable universe emerged within that eternal framework.

The possibility that positive and negative energy contributions balance to zero provides one avenue for investigation.

The central question becomes not why space and time exist, but how something physical could emerge from an initially empty, zero-energy state.

This is a conceptual hypothesis, not an established physical theory. Nevertheless, clearly defining the starting assumptions may provide a useful foundation for further investigation.

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References

1. Tryon, E. P. (1973). Is the Universe a Vacuum Fluctuation? Nature.

2. Vilenkin, A. (1982). Creation of Universes from Nothing. Physics Letters B.

3. Hartle, J. B., and Hawking, S. W. (1983). Wave Function of the Universe. Physical Review D.

4. Boyle, L., Finn, K., and Turok, N. (2018). CPT-Symmetric Universe. Physical Review Letters.