A Wormhole Would Really Look Like a Sphere, Not a Hole – Here’s Why todayheadline

Key Takeaways on Wormholes

• In some ways, a wormhole might look like a black hole. And the wormhole would look like a sphere, not a hole.

• Einstein’s theory of general relativity allows for the possibility of wormholes, but there is no observational evidence to prove their existence. But it is possible that if you had the right kind of matter, you could produce the kind of space-time curvature that would result in a wormhole.

• Imagine living in a two-dimensional world, like a sheet of paper. When that sheet of paper is folded over so that a long distance separates two parts, these separate locations in “space-time” are joined together in much the same way a wormhole might do.

An Einstein-Rosen bridge is a hypothetical, yet unproven, feature of spacetime. In theory, these so-called wormholes provide a shortcut through the Universe to connect two separate points in space-time.

Often depicted in science fiction as a cosmically dramatic jump through an unknown, warped part of the solar system, wormholes, as far as astrophysicists are concerned, are just that — an object of science fiction.

Robert Scherrer, professor of physics at Vanderbilt University, says that wormholes are on the “edge of speculative physics.” Einstein’s theory of general relativity allows for the possibility of wormholes, but there is no observational evidence to prove their existence. As such, Scherrer says they remain theoretical and “quite a bit more speculative than black holes” at that.

Einstein’s theory of relativity states that gravity, a fundamental force of attraction, is the curvature of space-time itself. Matter tells space-time how to curve, and conversely, the geometry of space-time tells matter how to move. In other words, space-time is a conceptual model that combines the dimensions of space with a fourth dimension of time.

“The main thing to keep in mind is that Einstein’s theory is incredibly promiscuous and allows all kinds of ways for space-time to be curved. In some sense, it’s possible that if you had the right kind of matter, you could produce the kind of space-time curvature that would result in a wormhole,” says Christopher Smeenk, professor of the philosophy of physics and science at Canada’s Western University.

What Would a Wormhole Really Look Like?

“We think of space-time as having a sort of ordinary kind of structure, but general relativity allows it to be really bizarre,” says Smeenk, adding that such “exotic scenarios” provide a way of posing questions about physics, general relativity, and quantum mechanics.

Imagine living in a two-dimensional world, like a sheet of paper. When that sheet of paper is folded over so that a long distance separates two parts, these separate locations in “space-time” are joined together in much the same way a wormhole might do. Similarly, if a person were to go through a wormhole, it would change their location in both space and time.

But are wormholes more than just a theory? Scientists aren’t convinced.

Read More: What Is Space-Time? Einstein’s Theory of Time and Gravity Explained

Could Humans Travel Through Wormholes?

The simplest of wormholes would not be stable, meaning they would collapse very quickly and not give enough time for a person to pass through them. To stabilize a hypothetical wormhole, one would need exotic matter.

Exotic matter is a hypothetical form of matter theorized to contain unusual properties often characterized by a negative energy density, meaning it would have a negative mass or exert a repulsive gravitational force. Wormholes would require a shell of exotic matter, but just like wormholes, exotic matter has never been observed and is considered hypothetical.

“If you could somehow create that state of matter, then, according to general relativity, you could have a wormhole. But if you ask me whether that kind of matter is possible, I doubt it,” says Smeenk.

Even if a wormhole were found to be stable, it would need to be large enough to allow a person to go through. And because exotic matter is thought to be negative, sending a person through a wormhole would be a “big chunk of positive energy,” which could trigger the wormhole to collapse because of its requirement to maintain a repulsive effect.

“The short summary is, if you want a classical, traversable wormhole, then you need to make up negative energy matter, or exotic matter, which probably doesn’t exist,” adds Alexandru Lupsasca, assistant professor of physics at Vanderbilt University.

How Scientists Hypothesize a Wormhole’s Existence

Just because science hasn’t yet confirmed the existence of wormholes doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. But astrophysicists like Lupsasca say that the notion of a real wormhole is contradictory because there are no proven wormholes.

“There are wishful thinking wormholes,” says Lupsasca, comparing the theory of wormholes to Romeo and Juliet – the “cosmic version of the star-crossed lovers.”

“Romeo lives in the universe, and Juliet lives in another universe. They want to meet up because they’re in love with each other, but how could they know about the other’s existence?” says Lupsasca.

The only way they could meet up, in this theoretical drama, is by each jumping into a black hole found in their respective universes that are coincidentally connected, essentially via a wormhole that connects two regions of space-time that would not otherwise be joined together.

“But of course, they need a tragic end. Once you fall into a black hole, you cannot resist the gravitational pull of the singularity at the center. Eventually, they get pulled into singularity and torn apart,” adds Lupsasca. “It’s a doomed tale of two star-crossed lovers.”

The force of gravity is not uniform but rather decays with distance. In a much larger gravitational field like those in a black hole or perhaps a wormhole, the difference is much greater, which could potentially cause spaghettification – or pulling a person apart.

Read More: Here’s What Would Happen If You Walked Through a Black Hole

Why Wormholes are Theoretical

As of now, scientists don’t know enough about the characteristics of wormholes to confidently identify them, such as the types of situations that would create a wormhole, the properties of a wormhole, and how to detect said properties.

In some ways, a wormhole might look like a black hole. One might also have an event horizon, a theoretical boundary beyond a black hole where no radiation or light can escape. It’s thought that the impact of a wormhole would depend on its mass, which could dictate how things behave or orbit outside of and around it.

One key feature is that a wormhole would look like a sphere, not a hole, says Lupsasca, adding that to travel through a wormhole would be like “getting sucked into a ball and then expelled from another ball.”

Other things astrophysicists might look for in trying to find a wormhole include gravitational waves or radiation like those associated with black holes.

Possibilities in Our Universe

Wormholes represent the infinite possibilities of ways to describe our universe.

“The way physicists think about their theories is that each is an incomplete picture of the way the world really is. Part of the interest in these solutions comes from thinking of Einstein’s theory as an incomplete picture of reality,” says Smeenk. “Physicists often explore these situations not because they’re going to find wormholes in real astrophysical systems, but because it helps them see how the puzzle pieces fit together.”

Wormholes are but a piece of the puzzle, but they don’t provide the complete picture. Yet an understanding of their potential helps broaden and deepen our relationship with known forces.

Read More: What Are Wormholes, and Could They Be the Answer to Time Travel?

Article Sources

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Madison’s reporting focuses on marine and environmental issues, climate change, and novel scientific discoveries related to health and technology. Raised on an island in southeast Alaska, Madison is now based in western Montana. Her writing has been featured in Time, Snopes, Business Insider, Mountain Journal, EcoWatch, and Alaska Magazine, among others. When not writing, Madison teaches yoga, raises chickens, and fosters adoptable dogs and cats.