Wormholes
are a fascinating concept in physics that postulate passages that connect two
different points in spacetime — typically black holes — together.
Think
“Interstellar” or “Event Horizon.” These wormholes could allow a person to jump
into one black hole and emerge in a totally different galaxy, in a totally
different part of the universe.
Unfortunately,
most leading hypotheses surrounding wormholes suggest that they would collapse
as soon as they formed due to instability. However, one new theory slated to be published in The Journal of Modern Physics D posits that, actually, wormholes
can remain stable enough for objects to enter on one side and leave through the
other.
The theory, by Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon computer scientist Pascal Koiran, relies on the Eddington-Finkelstein metric to describe the movements of objects in and around a wormhole. This metric differs from the more often used Schwarzschild metric, which breaks down once an object reaches the event horizon, meaning the point at which no object can escape the pull of a black hole, according to Live Science‘s writeup of Koiran’s work.
Using the
Eddington-Finkelstein metric, though, Koiran was able to mathematically
simulate a path for an object into a black hole and through a wormhole instead
of breaking down at the event horizon.
Of course,
this doesn’t necessarily mean that jumping through any ol’ black hole will send
you across the universe. However, it does pose a very interesting theory that
shows that wormholes wouldn’t just instantly collapse as soon as they’re
created.
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