Radiation passing through Planck-scale wormholes

In summary, there has been a long-standing debate regarding whether electromagnetic radiation can pass through small apertures or not. A study from over twenty years ago proposed that it could, but this contradicted the common belief that it cannot. However, further research has shown that electromagnetic radiation can indeed pass through slits smaller than its wavelength, and this is supported by Maxwell's equations. This has also been demonstrated in physics textbooks and university webpages. Therefore, the supposed rule that electromagnetic radiation cannot traverse small apertures is a misconception and does not apply to wormholes.
  • #1
Troodon Roar
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This is something that has really been bugging me lately. There was a study from over twenty years ago that proposed that electromagnetic radiation might have been able to pass from one end of the universe to another in the early universe, furnishing an explanation for the homogeneity of the universe today. However, I also know that it is a common belief that a given electromagnetic wave cannot traverse an aperture with a width smaller than its wavelength. However, I have found many physics textbooks and university webpages that contradict this, leading me to think this may just be a common misconception or an old wives' tale. But anyway, if this was true, then the physicists who conducted that study would surely have been aware of it. Surely, a Planckian-sized wormhole's mouth diameter would be far smaller than the wavelength of any traveling electromagnetic wave. So does this mean that this supposed rule, which I think might be a misconception, is true, but it does not apply to wormholes, or does it mean that this supposed rule is untrue? Thank You.
 
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  • #3
Electromagentic radiation can traverse a slit smaller than its wavelength.

If the slit is bigger than the wavelength, then electromagentic radiation passes through it as if it consists of rays that travel in a straight line.

If the slit is smaller than the wavelength, the electromagnetic radiation will bend around the aperture, rather than traveling in a straight line.

Both of those descriptions can be treated as approximations of an accurate description of electromagnetic radiation as fields obeying Maxwell's equations.

https://www.boundless.com/physics/textbooks/boundless-physics-textbook/wave-optics-26/diffraction-175/single-slit-diffraction-639-10954/
http://labman.phys.utk.edu/phys222core/modules/m9/diffraction.htm
 

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