The Universe's Hidden Code: Could Information Unlock Dark Energy and Dark Matter?

For decades, two monumental enigmas have haunted the realm of cosmology: dark energy, the mysterious force accelerating the universe's expansion, and dark matter, the invisible substance providing extra gravitational pull. Together, they make up an astonishing 95% of our cosmos, yet remain utterly elusive.

Now, a groundbreaking theory emerges from the University of Portsmouth, proposing an astonishing solution: information itself could be a fundamental physical entity, possessing mass and energy, capable of explaining these cosmic conundrums.

Physicist Melvin Vopson is the architect of this radical concept, dubbed the "Mass-Energy-Information Equivalence principle." Far from being an abstract concept, Vopson posits that information is as tangible as matter or energy, akin to a fifth state of matter.

He suggests that just as Einstein’s E=mc² revealed the interconvertibility of mass and energy, a similar principle links mass, energy, and information. This isn't just a philosophical musing; it’s a framework with profound implications for the very fabric of reality.

So, how does this 'information physics' tackle dark matter? Vopson theorizes that every elementary particle in the universe stores a minuscule amount of information.

If this information possesses mass, then the cumulative 'dark information' stored within the countless particles that constitute the cosmos could account for the missing gravitational mass we attribute to dark matter. It’s an elegant solution: the invisible mass isn't some exotic particle, but rather the intrinsic informational content of known particles, just beyond our current detection capabilities.

The explanation for dark energy is equally fascinating.

Vopson suggests that the accelerating expansion of the universe isn't driven by some arcane force but by a universal imperative to create new space to store ever-increasing amounts of information. As the universe evolves, new information is constantly generated, and to accommodate this growing data, the cosmos must expand.

This ties into Vopson's proposed "second law of infodynamics," stating that the entropy of information must increase or remain constant in an isolated system, mirroring the thermodynamic laws governing energy.

Imagine the universe not merely as a collection of particles, but as an immense, self-evolving supercomputer, constantly processing, storing, and generating information.

Vopson’s theory delineates five states of information: electromagnetic radiation, classical information (like DNA or a book), quantum information (qubits), biological information, and crucially, 'dark information' – the information embedded within elementary particles. This 'dark information' is key to understanding the invisible components of our universe.

The beauty of this theory lies in its potential for experimental verification.

Vopson proposes that experiments involving particle-antiparticle annihilation could reveal the mass of information. When a particle and its antiparticle collide, they annihilate, releasing energy. If information truly has mass, this event should involve an "information catastrophe," where the information stored in the particles is erased.

Detecting the energy signature or mass change associated with this information erasure could provide compelling evidence for the theory, much like the famous experiment confirming the Higgs boson.

If proven, Vopson's 'information physics' wouldn't just solve two of the biggest mysteries in cosmology; it would fundamentally alter our understanding of the universe.

It suggests that information isn't merely a descriptor of reality, but a constituent part of it, woven into the very fabric of spacetime. This shift in perspective could open doors to entirely new fields of research, bridging the gap between physics, information theory, and perhaps even our understanding of consciousness.

The universe, it seems, might be far more computational than we ever imagined.