Space as a Growing Mesh of Entanglement: Hypotheses, Tests and a Falsified Prediction

This paper explores an idea I've been developing: that space is a web of quantum entanglement, and that the universe expands because the links in that web gradually weaken as new pieces of space are added.I set out two hypotheses. First, distance between points in space depends on how strongly they're entangled. Second, space grows by adding new nodes into existing links, after which each node rebalances its entanglement. I then show how these ideas fit with established physics, including black-hole entropy, Einstein's equations and the expansion history of the universe, and I'm clear about which parts follow firmly and which are assumptions.I also tested the idea. Simple computer simulations show that adding nodes at random makes space crumple, but growing it in time-ordered slices with rebalancing produces something close to real geometry in a simplified 2D test.I committed to one specific prediction: that empty regions of space (cosmic voids) should expand much faster than general relativity predicts. Real survey data show voids behave exactly as general relativity says, so that version of the idea is wrong, and I report this openly.What survives is the core idea that entanglement sets distance, which could in principle be tested in the lab through "entanglement harvesting", and an open question: whether this picture could explain the size of dark energy.I'm an independent researcher without formal physics training. I developed the maths and simulations with the help of an AI assistant (Claude, by Anthropic), and I'd welcome feedback from anyone in the field.