The Multiverse —

It’s a sci-fi trope, but are “beings of pure energy” really possible?

Video: We asked a top physicist about the possibility.

If you've experienced science fiction in any of its many forms, chances are you’ve encountered "energy beings." Unlike the other aliens in sci-fi, they have no ‘physical’ bodies but rather exist as beings of pure energy. They’re usually able to flit about the Universe at will and often demonstrate great abilities befitting their advanced, ultra-evolved state.

They are also typically portrayed as more powerful, more enlightened, and possessing a deeper understanding of the universe. It's almost a given in most science fiction that sufficiently advanced civilizations will eventually develop this way. Converting themselves into beings of pure energy seems like the ultimate stage in the development of any civilization. It's a ubiquitous trope—as if "pure energy" is our own mass cultural idea of humankind's far future.

Why is this idea so common? Is this really what our future looks like? Can we ever actually "convert" ourselves into energy beings? Is such a life form even possible? And if not, where does the idea come from?

To get answers, Ars spoke to Professor Saurabh Jha, an astrophysicist at Rutgers University. Professor Jha studies supernovae and was a member of the first research team to report that the Universe’s acceleration is expanding. Watch his responses below.

Video: Energy beings ahoy! Edited by Jennifer Hahn.


So far, energy beings have been science fiction’s "best guess" at a future so remote and so alien that it’s nearly impossible to guess at. But it’s the job of science fiction to keep on guessing.

Energy beings may not be the most plausible concept in science fiction, but science fiction isn't necessarily about being right—it's about imagining future possibilities. In light of Dr. Jha's explanations, we'd like to hear your ideas for the far ends of evolution—if we won't "sink like a subtle mist through the very interstices of space," as Arthur C. Clarke said, what will humanity look like in a million years?

Listing image by Warner Bros.

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