Theoretically Possible: Opening a Wormhole to Another Location

[Dr.Calpol3]

I have been trying to prove a point to a friend that it is theoretically possible to open a wormhole to another location in the galaxy. he thinks it's possible but a wormhole wouldn't be stable to last long enough for sombody to travel through it. All i want to prove to my friend is that it is theoretically possible. Is it?

 

[cristo]

Have you read Kip Thorne's book? If not, I recommend you do-- it's a good read, and written for the (more or less) lay-person.

 

[Dr.Calpol3]

i was just looking for answers for the question i asked

 

[ZapperZ]

You did not ask any question. Re-read your original post.

Zz.

 

[George Jones]

i was just looking for answers for the question i asked

Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut answer (even in theory) upon which the whole physics community agrees.

A stable wormhole requires "exotic" matter to hold it open, and exotic matter is such that some observers measure its density to be negative.

There are some hints from quantum theory that exotic matter is theoretically possible, but not everyone agrees on how much is needed, how much is posibble, etc.

Your (implied) question lies in an area of active research.

 

[Dr.Calpol3]

well how would one obtain such exotic matter?

 

[Dr.Calpol3]

You did not ask any question. Re-read your original post.

Zz.

yes i di look at the end

 

[Cane_Toad]

Originally Posted by ZapperZ View Post
You did not ask any question. Re-read your original post.

yes i di look at the end

Heh. You said,

1) I want to prove to my friend that it is theoretically possible...
2) My friend agrees that it is theoretically possible, [with the proviso]...

You then restate that you want to prove to your friend that is it theoretically possible, even though he agrees. Your request makes no sense, or suggests that you meant to say something else.

Furthermore, when somebody gives you a good reference to help with the question, it's in bad form to say, "Just give me the answer".

As for your next question, " well how would one obtain such exotic matter?" ... why don't you just step up and say it:

"Tell he how to build my own wormhole to another galaxy so I can prove my friend wrong".

 

[Chris Hillman]

Ditto, ditto

Ditto George Jones and Cane Toad. It is kinda funny that Calpol's interest in finding out how to build a wormhole seems to be limited to winning an argument I mean, if I had a wormhole, I think I'd be tempted to go exploring! Unfortunately, wormholes currently seem rather dubious; certainly "exotic matter" is not easily obtainable down at the lumberyard.

 

[FrigginGenius]

Maybe if you bribe the lumberyard forman he may direct you to the exotic matter. However you would probably end up in Amsterdam... lol

 

[pervect]

One point that is made in Kip Thorne's book [correction] (Black holes & space warps : Einstein's outrageous legacy) is that it is not possible to create a wormhole classically without access to a time machine. (I don't recall the details anymore offhand, but I believe Thorne provides references to the papers that demonstrate this result.)

Thus much much of the speculation about wormhole creation still involves, as in the early Morris-Thorne wormhole, http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=AJPIAS000056000005000395000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes capturing an existing quantum wormhole and stabilizing it.

Thus the creation of wormholes is outside the scope of purely classical GR.

Also, the stabilizing process in and of itself usually requires exotic matter, as has already been mentioned.

 

[adriansd]

As far as I'm concerned, in Dr.Calpol3's original post, "Is it?" IS a question, and a perfectly valid one.

The answer is: YES. In theory, it is possible to use a wormhole to travel between galaxies etc.

The theory requires a source of enormous amounts of mass/energy (remembering that they are interchangeable [E = mc^2]) to create a curvature in space-time at two points, whereby a singularity is formed. The theory also requires the ability for the two singularities to meet an annihilate one another, creating a 'bridge' in time-space. The throat of the newly-formed wormhole is gravitationally unstable and so the theory also requires exotic matter, of negative energy density, to force the throat to stay open.

The unfortunate thing is that it is, at this point, theory.

To all who are participating in this discussion...

1) as if you've never wanted to prove yourself right to someone. Give the guy a break.

2) Sometimes it's good to read in between the lines, but in this case, I believe you have beat around the bush at a simple question.

3) Physics should NOT be a battlefield for semantics. Everyone chill, and discuss like civil people.

Dr.Calpol3 probably understands the physics of the wormhole theory. I interpret this post as saying "Hey guys, my friend and I were discussing wormhole theory, but we had a conflict of opinion, how many people out there agree with mine?"

 

[Reshma]

Good point(s), adriansd!

Dr.Calpol,
According to current theories, wormholes only exist in mathematics. Infact, the Schwartzchild Wormhole seems to violate the second law of thermodynamics.

But this isn't the only wormhole to be concieved by theorists: The Einstein-Rosen bridge is another theory of wormhole, which AGAIN is a mathematical notion.

Now some of these require an "exotic mater" that has a negative mass in order to prevent the wormhole from collapsing in on itself. Otherwise any traveller entering the wormhole would be dead . The problem is that we don't know whether this matter exists and wormholes will require vast amounts of it.