The universe could turn out to be a "vast and complex hologram", meaning that life in 3D is an illusion, astrophysicists have said.

Researchers from the University of Southampton, working with colleagues from Canada and Italy, say they have found substantial evidence of a holographic universe - an idea first suggested in the 1990s.

They reached their conclusion after investigating irregularities in the cosmic microwave background - otherwise known as the "afterglow" of the Big Bang.

Evidence for the theory matches more traditional explanations in strength, they have said.

Thus, what we think of as our 3D world may be an illusion.


Professor of mathematical sciences at Southampton, Kostas Skenderis, said it was similar to watching a 3D film in the cinema.

While we perceive the pictures as having height, width and depth, they do in fact come from a flat screen.

Image: Are these stargazers looking at a 2D image, or one in 3D?

In a 3D universe, Professor Skenderis said, the difference is that we are able to touch objects, and the "projection" appears to be "real", even though it could be an illusion.

He also compared the idea to the "hologram on a credit card ... however, this time, the entire universe is encoded".

"Holography is a huge leap forward in the way we think about the structure and creation of the universe," Professor Skenderis added.

"Einstein's theory of general relativity explains almost everything large scale in the universe very well, but starts to unravel when examining its origins and mechanisms at quantum level.

"Scientists have been working for decades to combine Einstein's theory of gravity and quantum theory.

"Some believe the concept of a holographic universe has the potential to reconcile the two.

"I hope our research takes us another step towards this."