Kinetic Energy and Wormholes

[CJames]

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. One of the mouths was still traveling at relativistic speeds, so when somebody attempted to traverse the wormhole the difference in kinetic energy between the two holes apparently caused the wormhole to collapse. This made some sense to me, but I started to question it a little more when during the collapse dozens of wormholes split off temporarily, and apparently sent the character into some distant space time event (possibly the future, I haven't finished the book yet so I'm not entirely sure). Is there any reason to think this would happen, possibly as some effect of quantum gravity, or was this just a plot device?

 

[pervect]

I would tend to assume it's a plot device, but I haven't run any sort of calculation.

 

[Entropia]

First, it's important to note that Stephen Baxter is a science fiction writer, not a scientist. While he does do extensive research for his novels, he may take artistic liberties in order to create a compelling story. With that being said, let's explore the concept of kinetic energy and wormholes.

Kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses due to its motion. In the case of the wormhole time machine in "Ring," one of the wormhole mouths is traveling at relativistic speeds, meaning it is moving close to the speed of light. This would result in a high amount of kinetic energy for that mouth of the wormhole.

Now, when someone attempts to traverse the wormhole, the sudden difference in kinetic energy between the two mouths could potentially cause the wormhole to collapse. This is because the laws of physics dictate that energy must be conserved. In this scenario, the excess kinetic energy from the fast-moving mouth would need to go somewhere. It's possible that this excess energy could cause the wormhole to destabilize and collapse.

As for the temporary splitting of wormholes and the character being sent into a distant space-time event, it's difficult to say whether this could actually happen or if it was just a plot device. The concept of wormholes is still largely theoretical and there is much we don't know about them. Some theories suggest that quantum gravity could play a role in how wormholes behave, but this is still highly debated and not well understood.

In the end, it's important to remember that science fiction is just that - fiction. While it may be based on real science and theories, it is ultimately a work of imagination. So while Baxter may have done his research, it's possible that he took some creative liberties in order to create a more exciting story.