17/09/2025
When we lose a beloved pet, it can feel as though they’ve disappeared completely. For some of us, the Rainbow Bridge idea offers comfort. But what if this idea doesn't resonate with you? Physics to the rescue!
Hardcore science gives us ways of thinking about reality, time, and connection that can offer comfort.
String theory suggests that our universe may not be the only one. Instead, there could be many, each with its own version of events. In one, your pet may still be alive and well—curled up in their favorite spot, or running joyfully toward you. We can’t step into that world, but knowing that reality might hold more than what we see here and now can give us space to imagine that our companions are not entirely gone.
Relativity shows that time is not a simple line moving forward. Past, present, and future are all part of one larger structure, bound together like the pages of a book. That means the moments you shared with your pet—their warmth beside you, their playful energy, their quiet companionship—are not lost. They remain part of the fabric of spacetime, always there, always real.
Quantum entanglement reveals that when two systems interact, they become linked. Even if they move apart, they can no longer be fully described on their own. Through contact, particles change each other for ever. This isn’t just an abstract idea—it reflects the physical closeness you had with your pet. Every time you stroked their fur, shared a bed, or breathed in rhythm with them, your bodies exchanged energy and particles. Your nervous systems adapted to one another. On the smallest scales, some of your particles became entangled with theirs; on larger scales, your physiology and emotions became tuned together. These links don’t simply vanish. They remain part of you, carried forward in your body, your memories, and even in the quantum connections that distance cannot undo.
Taken together, these ideas suggest that separation is not as final as it feels. Your pet still exists in the larger weave of reality. The time you shared is preserved in the universe itself. And the bond you formed remains present in you—not just as memory, but as a lasting physical connection.
