Faster Than Light Travel: Wormhole Questions

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In summary, a wormhole opens and if each side of space is equally stretched to meet each other. If you are on one side of the wormhole and someone opens the other side, the space on the side you have traveled to will return to normal faster than the speed of light. This could lead to time travel paradoxes if someone shuts off your technology while you're still in the middle of the wormhole.
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Bob Porter
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When a wormhole opens, if each side of space is equally stretched to meet each other. Then wouldn't it be possible to only go halfway through the wormhole, close it and allow the opposite side of space you're trying to reach, "normalize" and wouldn't the space on the side you've traveled to that "normalized" return to itself faster than the speed of light allowing for faster than light speed travelling?
 
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Bob Porter said:
if each side of space is equally stretched to meet each other.
That is not a good description.

If wormholes are possible, they allow you to reach some destination faster than light would need for the regular trip (without wormhole). There is no need to close a wormhole or whatever. The wormhole itself provides a shorter connection. You never travel faster than light - you just take a shorter connection. Light going through the wormhole as well would still be faster than you.

Also, if wormholes are possible, it is nearly impossible to avoid time travel paradoxes.
 
  • #3
mfb said:
That is not a good description.

If wormholes are possible, they allow you to reach some destination faster than light would need for the regular trip (without wormhole). There is no need to close a wormhole or whatever. The wormhole itself provides a shorter connection. You never travel faster than light - you just take a shorter connection. Light going through the wormhole as well would still be faster than you.

Also, if wormholes are possible, it is nearly impossible to avoid time travel paradoxes.
What I was trying to say was, If I used my incredible technology to open a wormhole to travel to you, in which you are several thousand light years away. At the same time, you opened a worm hole allowing the worm hole to be opened faster. Then once I travel technically to you, the space you were controlling, turn my technology off, then turn off your tech. Your side of space would return to normal in half the time since your technology only had to establish the connection half way.
 
  • #4
Bob Porter said:
At the same time, you opened a worm hole allowing the worm hole to be opened faster.
That doesn't make sense.
Also, while we do not have wormhole generators for a reliable time estimate, the typical timescale for the process would be the size divided by the speed of light - less than a microsecond for all practical purposes. There is no need to speed up a process that takes a microsecond.
 
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1. How does a wormhole work?

A wormhole is a hypothetical tunnel or shortcut through space-time that connects two distant points, allowing for faster-than-light travel. It is believed that the intense gravitational pull of a black hole could create a tunnel through space-time, which could potentially allow for travel from one end of the universe to the other in a matter of seconds.

2. Would it be possible to travel through a wormhole?

While wormholes are a popular concept in science fiction, their existence and practicality for space travel is still purely theoretical. Many scientists believe that the extreme gravitational forces needed to create a stable wormhole would be too dangerous for any living being to survive.

3. How fast can you travel through a wormhole?

Theoretically, traveling through a wormhole would allow for faster-than-light travel. However, the exact speed would depend on the length of the wormhole and the distance between the two points it connects. Some theories suggest that traveling through a wormhole could be instantaneous, while others suggest it could still take some time.

4. Are there any risks associated with traveling through a wormhole?

Since wormholes are purely hypothetical, it is difficult to determine the exact risks involved. However, some potential risks could include extreme gravitational forces, radiation exposure, and the possibility of getting lost or trapped within the wormhole.

5. Could a wormhole be used for time travel?

There is still much debate among scientists about the possibility of time travel through a wormhole. Some theories suggest that it could be possible to travel to the past or future through a wormhole, while others argue that the laws of physics would prevent this from happening. More research and understanding of wormholes is needed to fully answer this question.

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