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Topics: Science
Ben Thompson
Topics: Science
It's a question that has both haunted and intrigued mankind for centuries - what is waiting for us when we eventually pass over onto the other side?
Books have been written on the subject, films have explored the endless possibilities and religions have been established to try and provide concrete answers.
But the question still remains - is there life after death?
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Well, for one scientist, the answer is a definitive 'No'.
According to Sean Carroll, a cosmologist and physics professor at the California Institute of Technology, life after death is 'impossible'.
Carroll said: "The laws of physics underlying everyday life are completely understood."
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For there to be an afterlife, this theory rests on the premise that human consciousness is separate from our bodies.
However, it is scientifically believed that consciousness is the result of atoms and electrons, rather than a soul that can lie outside the human body.
Dr Carroll continued: "Claims that some form of consciousness persists after our bodies die and decay into their constituent atoms face one huge, insuperable obstacle.
"The laws of physics underlying everyday life are completely understood. And there's no way within those laws to allow for the information stored in our brains to persist after we die."
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He also points to the Quantum Field Theory (QFT) as proof that there is no afterlife for the souls of the deceased to go to.
This theory essentially says that each type of particle has a field within the universe - one for photons, another for electrons and an additional one for every kind of particle.
And no 'spirit' particles have been discovered by quantum tests, which would point to no afterlife existing.
Although this may be disheartening news to many believers, there's some people who have still claimed to have experienced life after death - namely those who've had near death experiences.
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One 'true atheist' claimed to have had one that changed his whole view of life and death.
Jose Hernandez stopped breathing during a medical emergency and claimed to have seen spirits, before being reunited with his late father in Heaven.
Hernandez said: "When I met my dad on the other side, I realised that sometimes we may not be able to say something here, [but] we’re gonna be able to say it somewhere else."
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Another man claimed to have died for 'twenty minutes', during which he was 'transported to a field of magnetic flowers'.
Scott Drummond said: "And I just remember looking and seeing how beautiful the flowers were, because something that I really enjoy is yard work and gardening and I just remembered the vivid colours were magnificent.
"The next thing I knew the person that had escorted me there was not there any more and I was by myself, but it was so peaceful."