Astrophysicist says wormholes of Interstellar unlikely to exist Scientists dont have observational evidence of wormholes; theyre purely theoretical. But even if they do exist, Thorne says traveling through one is probably impossible. The reason: Theres no way to keep them stable and open. Wormholes -- if you dont have something threading through them to hold them open -- the walls will basically collapse so fast that nothing can go through them, Thorne explained. Although previous quantum physics experiments show its possible to generate the kind of negative energy that could theoretically open a wormhole, Thorne says: We have very strong, but not firm, indications that you can never get enough negative energy that repels and keeps the wormholes walls open; you can never get enough to do that. Ironically, it was the 1997 film Contact that first introduced the concept of space travel by wormhole, and ultimately inspired scientists like Thorne and others to take a more serious look at the scientific hypotheticals. That movie, which was inspired by Carl Sagans 1985 book by the same name, also starred McConaughey. A few scientists have been critical of the films foundation in quantum physics and Americas most famous science communicator, Neil deGrasse Tyson, recently weighed in with his explanation of what the movie got right and wrong. But Thorne told The Daily Beast the criticism doesnt bother him much. I have thick skin -- Ive been around the block a few times, he said. Thick-skinned and honest -- he willingly admitted that the science had to be compromised in order to make a great movie.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 11:13:52 +0000