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  • This is 'What If,'

  • and here's what would happen if a wormhole formed in our Solar System.

  • You've probably heard of wormholes through Thor, Interstellar, Star Trek,

  • or if you're really old school, Albert Einstein.

  • In 1935, Albert Einstein and physicist Nathan Rosen

  • came up with the idea of bridges...

  • ...in space time!

  • Sounds like you're catching on, because an EinsteinRosen Bridge,

  • or a wormhole, is also a shortcut... through space time!

  • A wormhole is less like a bridge and more like a tunnel.

  • It's a tunnel that links two different points in space time.

  • And if you were to pass through it, you could end up in a different galaxy,

  • a different universe, or 14th century Europe!

  • ...But only if you found a way to keep the wormhole from collapsing on you.

  • The trouble is, no one's ever seen a wormhole before.

  • And we probably won't find one any time soon.

  • The other problem is, if wormholes do exist in our solar system,

  • they're probably microscopic.

  • Any wormhole that could accommodate human travel

  • would require a crazy amount of mass.

  • Think about it, the smallest black hole is thought to be the size of an atom,

  • but with a mass of a mountain.

  • So while we can't really calculate the mass of a wormhole

  • that could fit a few of us and a spaceship,

  • just know that it would be astronomical.

  • And it's gravitational pull would probably re-direct

  • the tilt and rotation of all the planets in our solar system.

  • But things would go back to normal soon enough.

  • Wormholes are incredibly unstable and are prone to collapse quickly.

  • This is because the walls of a wormhole attract each other,

  • which is why the wormhole would probably close shortly after it opened...

  • Unless... you had some exotic matter.

  • Don't get too excited, exotic matter is negative energy.

  • And it's what you'd need in order to repel the gravitational forces trying to

  • bring the walls of the wormhole together.

  • Unfortunately, it's unlikely that such matter even exists in our universe.

  • But if you're already set on making a trip across the universe,

  • there's just one more thing you should know.

  • The laws of physics say that

  • But on the bright side, that rule hasn't been tested yet!

  • So, giddy-up space cowboy!

  • Ride on, prove their existence,

  • and we'll try to develop the necessary technology in your absence.

  • But even if we could create wormholes and travel through them,

  • Is it worth tilting the Earth, and rearranging the solar system

  • just to visit another galaxy?

  • Or go back in time?

  • Read your history, read your science fiction,

  • see all the movies and play all the games you want;

  • but let's be glad our solar system is the way it is.

This is 'What If,'

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