![]() In 1988, theoretical physicist Kip Thorne - the science consultant and executive producer for the recent film Interstellar - used Einstein's equations of general relativity to predict the possibility of wormholes that would forever be open for space travel.īut in order to be traversable, these wormholes need some strange, exotic matter holding them open. This warping is what we colloquially call a wormhole, which theoretically would let something travel vast distances instantaneously, essentially enabling us to break the cosmic speed limit by traveling great distances in a very short amount of time. "The only viable way of breaking the light barrier may be through general relativity and the warping of space time," Kaku writes. While special relativity wed mass and energy, general relativity wove space and time together. Since nothing with mass can travel faster than light, you can kiss interstellar travel goodbye - at least, in the classical sense of rocketships and flying.Īlthough Einstein trampled over our aspirations of deep-space roadtrips with his theory of special relativity, he gave us a new hope for interstellar travel with his general theory of relativity in 1915. Ironically, their paper laid the foundation for what today is called the EPR (Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen) paradox, a paradox that describes this instantaneous communication of quantum entanglement - an integral part of some of the world's most cutting-edge technologies, like quantum cryptography. In fact, in 1935, Einstein, Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, attempted to disprove quantum theory with a thought experiment on what Einstein referred to as "spooky action at a distance". Einstein thought that this therefore disproved the quantum theory, since nothing can go faster than light," Kaku wrote. "If I jiggle one electron, the other electron 'senses' this vibration instantly, faster than the speed of light. Now, separate those two electrons so that they're hundreds or even thousands of light years apart, and they will keep this instant communication bridge open. It's called Cherenkov radiation, and it shows up as a blue glow inside of nuclear reactors, like in the image above. In fact, this light boom happens on a daily basis in facilities around the world - you can see it with your own eyes. So, in theory, if something travels faster than the speed of light, it should produce something like a "luminal boom". ![]() When objects travel faster than the speed of sound, they generate a sonic boom. While these do not disprove Einstein's theory, they give us insight into the peculiar behavior of light and the quantum realm. Since Einstein, physicists have found that certain entities can reach superluminal (that means "faster-than-light") speeds and still follow the cosmic rules laid down by special relativity. (The reason particles of light, called photons, travel at light speeds is because they have no mass.) ![]() To do so would require an infinite amount of energy and, in the process, the object's mass would become infinite, which is impossible.
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