Do Wormholes Already Exist?
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VOICE OVER: Peter DeGiglio
WRITTEN BY: Aidan Johnson
Albert Einstein predicted that wormholes should exist in the universe. He was right about black holes, so is he ALSO right about wormholes? Are they actually all around us, in space?
Do Wormholes Already Exist?
It’s safe to say that Einstein’s theories of relativity turned the physics scene on its head when they were devised in the early 20th century. A brazenly new approach, they described the behavior of that ever-enigmatic fundamental force, gravity, on the grandest of scales and to an amazing degree of accuracy. Two especially interesting predictions derived from the theories were the existence of black holes, and the existence of wormholes. Fast forward to the 21st century, and today we’ve proven that a huge number of black holes are thriving in the cosmos. With wormholes, though, the mystery remains.
This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; do wormholes already exist?
Albert Einstein published his theory of general relativity in 1915. It can be seen as an enormous extension of Isaac Newton’s classical theory of gravity, which itself was put forward in the 17th century. While Newton’s theories were also monumental in their own right, they didn’t provide a comprehensive overview of gravity’s mechanics. Classical gravity fails to make predictions in the way that general relativity can - such as with regard to gravity’s effect on time, leading to Einstein’s ideas on spacetime, time dilation, et cetera. Newton’s contributions were hugely significant in terms of explaining how gravity works on a human scale, to describe the world around us, such as (and famously) when an apple falls from a tree. And, in truth, Newton’s models could also be applied to some cosmic phenomena, at least within our own solar system. But, ultimately, for the really big stuff, you generally need Einstein and relativity to make it all work out.
Relativity says that there’s an underlying fabric to spacetime, which permeates throughout the cosmos. When that fabric warps, that’s gravity at play - in a manner of speaking. Where Newton said mass was the source of gravity, Einstein knew that the real secrets were hidden in how (and where) spacetime fell into shape. There are certain regions of space where extreme gravitational forces are in play, such as close to a black hole or a neutron star. And so it’s here where we should (and do) see the most extreme gravitational effects. But the fundamental rules are always the same, wherever you are in the universe. Spacetime warps, gravity happens.
Einstein predicted black holes as part of his theories, although it would take multiple decades before science could prove them beyond doubt. And, famously, it wasn’t until 2019 that the first image of a black hole was captured. We of course know that a black hole works something like a bottomless gravitational pit. All that goes in never comes back out again. Once matter and even light passes the event horizon it will never return back to outside the black hole that has consumed it. But still, scientists are usually at a bit of a loss to explain exactly what happens in the depths of a black hole. Spaghettification, yes. A flattening of everything into a 2D plane, true. But the infinite nature of a black hole’s singularity still inevitably leaves the mystery open.
This is by no means a new problem. It was something that Einstein himself realised, even all those years ago. In 1935, he and another prominent physicist of the time, Nathan Rosen, applied what’s known as the Schwarzschild Metric to develop the concept of the Einstein-Rosen bridge. In simple terms, the Schwarzschild Metric is used to measure how particles move when they get close to a black hole. Meanwhile, an Einstein-Rosen bridge is what could theoretically happen to (and around) those particles, if (as they should) the inner workings of a black hole go on forever. Ultimately, a path (or bridge) should be forged - according to Einstein and Rosen - that connects two regions of spacetime together. At one end, a black hole… at the other, what some term to be a white hole, out of which matter is eternally expelled (rather than consumed). Not all wormholes are Einstein-Rosen bridges… but many scientists would concede that if wormholes do exist, then it’s a good bet that they’d work like an Einstein-Rosen bridge is predicted to do.
But, again, while we certainly have proof of black holes lurking all over the universe, we have yet to find evidence of even one wormhole. The problem is that Einstein-Rosen bridges - if they do exist - collapse far too quickly for anything to pass through. Physicists often complain that exotic matter - the like of which hasn’t been observed, invented or discovered yet - would be needed to keep such a bridge stable for even close to long enough to measure it. Let alone to travel through. Over the years, there have been some attempted extensions to the general wormhole idea, such as with the Morris-Thorne wormhole… which was developed in 1988 by Kip Thorne and Michael Morris. Again, though, no matter the tweaks they made, their model needed exotic matter to function.
Elsewhere, and other flavors of wormhole exist, as well, each with different properties. Those said to be non-traversable include Schwarzschild wormholes and Kruskal-Szekeres wormholes. Potentially traversable varieties include Lorentzian wormholes and Euclidean wormholes - which, if they exist, do so along what is essentially a whole different plane of reality to our own. In short, the science of wormholes is, at present, enough to make the heady science of black holes feel like child’s play. And the reality is that, while theories abound, nobody knows for sure that these things are (or could be) real.
So, where do we go from here? For those working in the field of observational astronomy, they clearly have their work cut out to find anything of note. On paper, wormholes possibly should be opening up all over the place, all of the time. But, in reality, even if they were, then it could well be physically impossible for this universe to keep them open for very long at all. According to some interpretations, a wormhole would likely spark in and out of life within just a tiny, tiny fraction of a second. And yet, despite this, there are still some strategies being explored in a bid to find one. Trusty gravitational lensing is one potentially promising method. We know that massive enough objects can bend the light that surrounds them from background sources, so astronomers are always on the lookout for distortions in the cosmos, from our point of view. As a distortion usually means that something massive is in view and is having an effect. The lensing created by a wormhole would likely be very different to that prompted by, say, a passing star or planet, however. And of course scientists are always at the ready to clock anything that’s especially unusual or distinct. Failing that, and it’s thought that our growing study of gravitational waves could yield results. These are essentially vast ripples that move across (and through) spacetime. They’re generally caused by massive accelerating objects and/or significant cosmological events. Again, waves made by the presence of a wormhole would likely be (in some way) unique, or might even show as an anomaly.
Overall, are wormholes possible? Certainly they are, according to many of the most fundamental laws of physics, as we understand them today. Their story is tied up in an area of space and reality that we may never fully understand, however - the inside of a black hole. For now, we hold black holes as perhaps the single most enigmatic entities in all of space and time. While almost everything else is at least describable to us, at our current level of knowledge… the inner workings of a black hole, for the most part, just aren’t. And yet, it’s here where (if they do exist) a wormhole is most likely to take shape.
Do wormholes already exist? If they are possible, then almost certainly yes, and there are likely a large number of them, linking the universe together into something more like a cosmological web. Are we likely to discover one soon? Unfortunately the answer is no. If they are real, then the current consensus is that they’re probably only real for a very short period of time, before collapsing into infinite nothingness due to an ongoing lack of exotic matter. Which is kinda beautiful in its own way… just not if you really need to get to another planet or galaxy in double quick time.
It’s safe to say that Einstein’s theories of relativity turned the physics scene on its head when they were devised in the early 20th century. A brazenly new approach, they described the behavior of that ever-enigmatic fundamental force, gravity, on the grandest of scales and to an amazing degree of accuracy. Two especially interesting predictions derived from the theories were the existence of black holes, and the existence of wormholes. Fast forward to the 21st century, and today we’ve proven that a huge number of black holes are thriving in the cosmos. With wormholes, though, the mystery remains.
This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; do wormholes already exist?
Albert Einstein published his theory of general relativity in 1915. It can be seen as an enormous extension of Isaac Newton’s classical theory of gravity, which itself was put forward in the 17th century. While Newton’s theories were also monumental in their own right, they didn’t provide a comprehensive overview of gravity’s mechanics. Classical gravity fails to make predictions in the way that general relativity can - such as with regard to gravity’s effect on time, leading to Einstein’s ideas on spacetime, time dilation, et cetera. Newton’s contributions were hugely significant in terms of explaining how gravity works on a human scale, to describe the world around us, such as (and famously) when an apple falls from a tree. And, in truth, Newton’s models could also be applied to some cosmic phenomena, at least within our own solar system. But, ultimately, for the really big stuff, you generally need Einstein and relativity to make it all work out.
Relativity says that there’s an underlying fabric to spacetime, which permeates throughout the cosmos. When that fabric warps, that’s gravity at play - in a manner of speaking. Where Newton said mass was the source of gravity, Einstein knew that the real secrets were hidden in how (and where) spacetime fell into shape. There are certain regions of space where extreme gravitational forces are in play, such as close to a black hole or a neutron star. And so it’s here where we should (and do) see the most extreme gravitational effects. But the fundamental rules are always the same, wherever you are in the universe. Spacetime warps, gravity happens.
Einstein predicted black holes as part of his theories, although it would take multiple decades before science could prove them beyond doubt. And, famously, it wasn’t until 2019 that the first image of a black hole was captured. We of course know that a black hole works something like a bottomless gravitational pit. All that goes in never comes back out again. Once matter and even light passes the event horizon it will never return back to outside the black hole that has consumed it. But still, scientists are usually at a bit of a loss to explain exactly what happens in the depths of a black hole. Spaghettification, yes. A flattening of everything into a 2D plane, true. But the infinite nature of a black hole’s singularity still inevitably leaves the mystery open.
This is by no means a new problem. It was something that Einstein himself realised, even all those years ago. In 1935, he and another prominent physicist of the time, Nathan Rosen, applied what’s known as the Schwarzschild Metric to develop the concept of the Einstein-Rosen bridge. In simple terms, the Schwarzschild Metric is used to measure how particles move when they get close to a black hole. Meanwhile, an Einstein-Rosen bridge is what could theoretically happen to (and around) those particles, if (as they should) the inner workings of a black hole go on forever. Ultimately, a path (or bridge) should be forged - according to Einstein and Rosen - that connects two regions of spacetime together. At one end, a black hole… at the other, what some term to be a white hole, out of which matter is eternally expelled (rather than consumed). Not all wormholes are Einstein-Rosen bridges… but many scientists would concede that if wormholes do exist, then it’s a good bet that they’d work like an Einstein-Rosen bridge is predicted to do.
But, again, while we certainly have proof of black holes lurking all over the universe, we have yet to find evidence of even one wormhole. The problem is that Einstein-Rosen bridges - if they do exist - collapse far too quickly for anything to pass through. Physicists often complain that exotic matter - the like of which hasn’t been observed, invented or discovered yet - would be needed to keep such a bridge stable for even close to long enough to measure it. Let alone to travel through. Over the years, there have been some attempted extensions to the general wormhole idea, such as with the Morris-Thorne wormhole… which was developed in 1988 by Kip Thorne and Michael Morris. Again, though, no matter the tweaks they made, their model needed exotic matter to function.
Elsewhere, and other flavors of wormhole exist, as well, each with different properties. Those said to be non-traversable include Schwarzschild wormholes and Kruskal-Szekeres wormholes. Potentially traversable varieties include Lorentzian wormholes and Euclidean wormholes - which, if they exist, do so along what is essentially a whole different plane of reality to our own. In short, the science of wormholes is, at present, enough to make the heady science of black holes feel like child’s play. And the reality is that, while theories abound, nobody knows for sure that these things are (or could be) real.
So, where do we go from here? For those working in the field of observational astronomy, they clearly have their work cut out to find anything of note. On paper, wormholes possibly should be opening up all over the place, all of the time. But, in reality, even if they were, then it could well be physically impossible for this universe to keep them open for very long at all. According to some interpretations, a wormhole would likely spark in and out of life within just a tiny, tiny fraction of a second. And yet, despite this, there are still some strategies being explored in a bid to find one. Trusty gravitational lensing is one potentially promising method. We know that massive enough objects can bend the light that surrounds them from background sources, so astronomers are always on the lookout for distortions in the cosmos, from our point of view. As a distortion usually means that something massive is in view and is having an effect. The lensing created by a wormhole would likely be very different to that prompted by, say, a passing star or planet, however. And of course scientists are always at the ready to clock anything that’s especially unusual or distinct. Failing that, and it’s thought that our growing study of gravitational waves could yield results. These are essentially vast ripples that move across (and through) spacetime. They’re generally caused by massive accelerating objects and/or significant cosmological events. Again, waves made by the presence of a wormhole would likely be (in some way) unique, or might even show as an anomaly.
Overall, are wormholes possible? Certainly they are, according to many of the most fundamental laws of physics, as we understand them today. Their story is tied up in an area of space and reality that we may never fully understand, however - the inside of a black hole. For now, we hold black holes as perhaps the single most enigmatic entities in all of space and time. While almost everything else is at least describable to us, at our current level of knowledge… the inner workings of a black hole, for the most part, just aren’t. And yet, it’s here where (if they do exist) a wormhole is most likely to take shape.
Do wormholes already exist? If they are possible, then almost certainly yes, and there are likely a large number of them, linking the universe together into something more like a cosmological web. Are we likely to discover one soon? Unfortunately the answer is no. If they are real, then the current consensus is that they’re probably only real for a very short period of time, before collapsing into infinite nothingness due to an ongoing lack of exotic matter. Which is kinda beautiful in its own way… just not if you really need to get to another planet or galaxy in double quick time.
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