What is Wormholes: Definition and 113 Discussions

A wormhole (or Einstein–Rosen bridge or Einstein–Rosen wormhole) is a speculative structure linking disparate points in spacetime, and is based on a special solution of the Einstein field equations.
A wormhole can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate points in spacetime (i.e., different locations, different points in time, or both).
Wormholes are consistent with the general theory of relativity by Einstein, but whether wormholes actually exist remains to be seen. Many scientists postulate that wormholes are merely projections of a fourth spatial dimension, analogous to how a two-dimensional (2D) being could experience only part of a three-dimensional (3D) object.Theoretically, a wormhole might connect extremely long distances such as a billion light years, or short distances such as a few meters, or different points in time, or even different universes.

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  1. snoopies622

    About the instability of wormholes

    "The Einstein-Rosen bridge was discovered by Albert Einstein and his colleague Nathan Rosen, who first published the result in 1935. However, in 1962 John A. Wheeler and Robert W. Fuller published a paper showing that this type of wormhole is unstable, and that it will pinch off too quickly for...
  2. M

    Exploring Wormholes: Possibilities and Limitations for Space Travel

    Hello, Is it true that the event horizon will destroy anyone who was able to enter a wormhole before exiting to another location? And is it also true that if fed the correct exotic matter, a wormhole could be opened large enough to travel through? If so, could a wormhole exist in close enough...
  3. M

    Wormholes - A way to violate energy conservation?

    I'm sure someone has already thought of this somewhere, but can a wormhole violate the conservation of energy IF the object takes two paths? I mean like this: Imagine a wormhole near a charged object, one closer, the other farther. Then imagine the particle being attracted to the charged...
  4. B

    Wormholes & Conservation of Energy

    I won't pretend to by a physicist (yet... maybe in four years :frown:) but I do surf Wikipedia a lot now and then. So I came to a general understanding (I think?) of how transportation through wormholes has you arrive at a frame in the past. Wouldn't this violate the conservation of energy...
  5. V

    What is the Connection between Quantum Foam and Wormholes?

    What is your understanding of Quantum Foam? How come some physicists believe wormholes are abound in the quantum foam? Since wormholes are doorway to other existences. Can't one say that in every part of space is doorway to other existences and by considering Information Theory. Can't some kind...
  6. FtlIsAwesome

    How does gravity travel through wormholes?

    Suppose a civilization had the technology to make wormholes. It would likely place them in orbit over its planets. Say one end orbiting Earth and the other end orbiting Mars. Now, it makes sense that gravity would travel through the wormhole, and the planets would alter each others' orbit. To...
  7. Jonnyb42

    If wormholes connect two areas in spacetime, wouldn't that require 5

    If wormholes connect two areas in spacetime, wouldn't that require 5 dimensions? (an extra dimension past 4d spacetime.)
  8. A

    Exploring the Possibility of Wormholes: Examining the Concept and Evidence

    do wormholes actually exist?
  9. FtlIsAwesome

    Naked singularities and traversable wormholes

    From what I know, for a wormhole to be traversable it must be held open by negative mass. A naked singularity is a black hole whose spin is enough that it counteracts its own gravity and allows the singularity itself to be seen. I had this thought: Could a wormhole composed of two naked...
  10. F

    How exactly do wormholes work?

    Do many scientists believe in the existence of wormholes? Can further research lead to the invention of the time machine?
  11. P

    Can wormholes be used for faster-than-light travel?

    Okay, I'm trying to get a grasp of how exactly wormholes function, how they form, etc. Please correct any and all flaws/mistakes in my understanding and further educate me, if you please. :) A wormhole could, theoretically, span any distance. Though the greater the distance (relative to our...
  12. M

    Can wormholes make you travel faster then c

    I am in grade 8 so please no gradute equations I would like to know if going through a wormhole (and survied) would you have travel faster then the speed of light creating possible time travel
  13. P

    Exploring the Math & Physics of Wormholes & White Holes

    Hi, I've recently finished a course on GR, and would like to read up more on wormhole and white hole. May I ask if there are any papers, websites or books that introduces the mathematical and physical structure of these stuffs?
  14. 2

    Are Wormholes Real? Exploring the Possibility of Shortcuts in the Universe

    wormholes...a mystery or not! do wormholes actually exists? if yes, then, is it true that they act as shortcuts for some other destinations in the universe? and lastly can man himself create them!?.....all a mystery 4 me!
  15. B

    Wormholes expeling particles at superluminal speeds

    Probably a crazy idea but perhaps possible, so let me ask... GR doesn't prevent particles, even those with mass, to travel at speeds higher than the maximal speed of light (C), if that was their initial speed. Now, the only thing traveling faster than C is expansion of our Universe...
  16. S

    Can Wormholes Exist in a Flat Universe?

    Its said that a wormhole could allow effective FTl travel by creating short cuts in the fabric of space tme. but if the universe is flat , how would this be a short cut? Doesnt the universe need to be curved for that?
  17. T

    What is there actually to say of wormholes at the moment?

    I understand what wormholes are to a layman's degree, and perhaps a bit more - a "portal" in the structure we call spacetime. What I do not understand is why we consider their existence at all. (kind of like the superstrings, ho ho ho) I've come to understand that there is some reason to...
  18. T

    Can microscopic wormholes pass through larger wormholes without collapsing?

    could a microscopic wormhole, say the mass of a few molecules, pass through a macroscopic wormhole of a few kilometers diameter without causing the throat of the wormhole to collapse? been pondering a technically FTL communication idea but not exactly sure how wormholes moving through wormholes...
  19. M

    Books about string theory, wormholes, black holes, etc

    I have a computer science background, so I don't know about this. Can somebody give me some recommendations on good introductory books about -String Theory - Wormholes -Black holes etc. I'm looking something for academics, not for general public. So maybe books for 1st year graduate...
  20. D

    Do wormholes actually exist and can they be used for time travel?

    How is time travel possible? i understand that we can warp and modify time but i don't understand the concept... Is there any evidence to suggest that there are wormholes? if so how are they created?
  21. T

    Exploring Time, Wormholes and Time Travel with Ian Morison

    I was just watching Ian Morison on Fora.tv about Time, in chapter 14 he talks about wormholes and time travel. You can see the time travel part here: http://fora.tv/2009/03/19/Ian_Morison_Its_About_Time#Journeying_Through_Space_and_Time_in_a_Wormhole Anyhow, in short he mentions opening a...
  22. V

    Wormholes and time travel - Problem

    Under the general relativity principle, If you take a wormhole, put one end into a gravitational well, then take it out, there would be a time difference between the two openings of the wormhole. But, what effect would it have on the wormhole if you keep the middle area of it near a...
  23. J

    The Mystery: The Truth about Time Shifts in Wormholes

    A typical device in (theoretical) time travel is a wormhole, and the usual method of inducing a time shift, i.e. the two mouths at different times, is to subject one mouth to relativistic time dilation. However, I can't see why a relativistic boost will result in a time shift. It seems that...
  24. D

    Wormholes for Dummies Question .

    Wormholes for Dummies Question... First let me say, I am not a scientist, I'm an MBA type, but I am fascinated with physics and the Universe and have the utmost respect for those of you who actually understand it. I was recently watching the Science channel and there was a show on the...
  25. D

    Spacetime and how wormholes relate to it

    Hello everybody. Let me first quickly introduce myself: I'm an amateur who is interested in various scientific topics. Going from how jellyfish defend themselves and how viruses helped evolution to nuclear fusion and volcanoes. Please note the word amateur... I'm in no way a professional...
  26. 1

    Wormholes for Dummies: Calculating Distance

    I want to know, seeing as space-time is supposed to be curved and a wormhole bisects that curve, whether the curve is like half of a perfect circle. So for example, if there was a wormhole between the sun and alpha centauri, and the distance between them is about 4.3 light years, could you...
  27. A

    What Happens When a Wormhole Ends Inside a Black Hole?

    Hello, I have the following question: Let as assume that wormholes can exist. What happens if an advanced civilization is able to construct a wormhole with one end on its own planet and the other end of the wormhole below the event horizon of a black hole? Will they be able to see what is...
  28. S

    Wormholes aren't ruled out in the wonderful universe of relativity

    I'm interested in wormholes but my knowledge of advanced physics and general relativity is lacking. I was wondering, since I read that wormholes aren't ruled out in the wonderful universe of relativity, whether or not it would be possible for a man-made machine to open one?
  29. nomadreid

    No Wormholes: Exploring a Theoretical Impossibility

    As far as I understand, the latest calculations say that wormholes do not exist. Nonetheless, as a theoretical construction, they would be a "bridge" between two non-contiguous portions of spacetime. At first I thought they might just be a discontinuity in spacetime, but then I read of the...
  30. CJames

    Traversable Wormholes: Overview and Questions

    First off, I'm curious about the accuracy of this paper: http://www.orionsarm.com/whitepapers/TraversableLorenzianWormholes-Overview.pdf I don't know nearly enough about GR to understand the math of the paper. It seems legit to a layman like me, but it IS posted on a hard sci-fi website...
  31. H

    Wormholes & Travel: Is It Possible?

    Sorry for bringing up this subject again but I'm really just looking for some answers. This is strictly hypothetical. Suppose, for a moment, that humanity could somehow overcome these problems (disease, war, global warming, terrorism, etc) and advanced to a stage where it was limited only by...
  32. H

    Wormholes to other universes and quantum inequalities

    According to some models of inflationary cosmology, the multitude of universes in the multiverse are connected by tiny wormholes that pop in and out of existence in the quantum foam. These wormholes can supposedly be formed in particle collisions. Could negative energy be used to hold these...
  33. M

    Black Holes, Wormholes & Time Machines

    What initially attracted me to this book was how easy it was to read, or atleast how easy it said it was to read... I have read the first few pages and I am really enjoying it. For anyone that has read it, I would like to know if any of it is dated. It was published in 1999, or that is the case...
  34. A

    Do wormholes really exist in spacetime?

    Do wormholes really exist in spacetime? I mean, as a race we need to colonize the rest of the galaxy before too long otherwise the sun will extinguish our aspirations to survive, and we really can't just travel in a spaceship so we need to look at other ideas. could "star-trek" or whatever...
  35. CJames

    Can Kinetic Energy Differences Cause a Wormhole to Collapse in Science Fiction?

    I was wondering about an event that took place in a book I'm reading, Stephen Baxter's "Ring." *Spoiler Alert* Baxter definitely does his research, but I wonder sometimes about the accuracy of some things that take place in his novels. In the novel, a wormhole time machine was being constructed...
  36. wolram

    Will wormholes go away (be found to be a quirk of the theory) or. ?

    Will wormholes go away (be found to be a quirk of the theory) or are they to embeded in the theory?
  37. B

    Why Do Scientists Believe in the Existence of Wormholes?

    I have been reading a book about black holes and I picked up a lot of information, but some things still bother me. First I don't understand why they think a wormhole exists. I understand that as you get closer to the singularity space time is curved drastically. But if you look at common...
  38. H

    Wormholes, parallel universes, negative mass

    Hi. I have a few questions. Is it theoretically possible to build a wormhole to a parallel or baby universe? Could a sufficiently advanced civilization do this? Could negative mass play a role in it? Could something else?
  39. J

    Don´t we need quantum gravity to study wormholes ?

    Hi there, I am still a lay person in this subject, so I have to ask. Don´t we need quantum gravity to study wormholes ? thanks JVD
  40. F

    Wormholes: Are they practical?

    I was just wondering since I discussed this with some people before, but exactly how likely is it that wormholes in space-time are possible to use for transportation methods or some other form of practical use? One thing I heard as a most likely problem with it is the fact that the massive force...
  41. M

    Visser: Lorentzian wormholes. From Einstein to Hawking 1996

    Matt Visser - Lorentzian wormholes. From Einstein to Hawking (Springer) (1996) Just opened this book. Does anybody know it, and if you do, do you recommend it? Any feedback on this book.
  42. O

    Black holes, the sun and wormholes.

    I've been reading Kip Thorne's book "Black Holes and Time Warps" and was wondering about a couple of things. They're really basic questions that have been floating around in my head, but I can't ask any of my friends because none of them know anything about these topics, so...I came here...
  43. I

    Wormholes and the casimir effect

    can a wormhole be sustained by the emitions from the casimir effect and what would be the proposed setup of the whole device
  44. F

    Fabric of Space-Time: Investigating Wormholes

    Hi guys, I had an idea on the formation of worm holes...I'm not sure if this holds up at all but here goes. The basic idea is based on an elastic band. If you stretch an elastic band beyond the elastic limit, cracks start to appear until eventually the band will break...Now, imagine that...
  45. S

    Exploring the Possibilities of Time Travel with Wormholes

    from my understanding of wormholes, you can use a wormhole to build a time machine to go back in past. However, i think you can't go back in time before the time machine was built... right? or is there a way around?
  46. A

    Wormholes and energy conservation

    A friend of mine came up with this idea that I would like to ask here. Just assume wormholes do exist and can be stable. Now put 2 wormholes over the surface of the earth. One 100meters above the ground and the other 1 kilometer straight above the first one. Link them so the first wormhole...
  47. vincentm

    Are Wormholes Possible? How Far From a Possibility Are They?

    Not sure what section this would belong in but; How far from a possibility are they?
  48. P

    Effect of wormholes on photons, ect.

    there are many small womholes that are continuously created throught time, they may not remain open for long enough for more than a photon to enter them, because they are not generally fed the"unknown matter" that is often spoken of which would be needed to allow them to remain continually open...
  49. P

    The effect of wormholes on photons

    there are many small womholes that are continuously created throught time, they may nto remain open for long enough for more than a photon to enter them, because they are not generally fed the"unknown matter" that is often spoken of which would be needed to allow them to remain continually open...
  50. R

    Wormholes and Quantum Entanglement

    Say we have \sum_{i,j} c_{ij} |i\rangle_A \; |j\rangle_B which is an entangled state, is there a choice for c_ij we can make that would be a wormhole?
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