What is a Wormhole? | Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains...
Summary
TLDRIn this engaging explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson delves into the concept of wormholes, exploring their potential applications in a whimsical yet scientific manner. He humorously suggests that if wormholes were real, they could revolutionize transportation, making it instantaneousβno more long airport walks or traffic jams. From the absurdity of 'Monsters Inc.' doors to the convenience of a refrigerator connected to a grocery store, Tyson illustrates the transformative impact wormholes could have on everyday life, while also touching on the privacy and accessibility concerns they might introduce.
Takeaways
- π Wormholes are distortions in the fabric of space-time that can change the distance between two locations, allowing for faster-than-light travel.
- π The concept of a 'good trooper' is humorously discussed, suggesting that only those faking enjoyment are truly good troopers.
- π¬ Popular culture, such as in 'Doctor Strange' and 'Rick and Morty', inaccurately portrays wormholes as flashy portals, while 'Monsters Inc.' subtly uses the concept of wormholes as doors.
- π The idea of a warp drive is similar to a wormhole, as it involves warping space to shorten distances, transcending the speed of light.
- π Wormholes could revolutionize transportation by eliminating the need for physical travel, as seen in the concept of doors in 'Monsters Inc.'.
- π The back of a refrigerator could be connected to a grocer's stock, eliminating the need for physical transportation of goods.
- πΆββοΈ Elevators are likened to a 'poor man's wormhole', as they transport people between floors without changing the room's physical appearance.
- π¬ The development of wormholes could render airports and large transportation infrastructure obsolete, as travel would be instantaneous.
- π Privacy and security concerns are raised with the idea of wormholes, as they could potentially allow anyone access to any location.
- π The script humorously suggests that even with wormholes, people could still be reached through 'worm phones', eliminating the possibility of escaping communication.
- π Wormholes could change the concept of visiting, as one could simply 'dial' a location and step through, raising questions about personal space and boundaries.
Q & A
What is the concept of space-time continuum as mentioned in the script?
-The space-time continuum is the idea that space and time are interconnected and form a single entity. It suggests that space is not just an empty expanse but is intricately configured with time, meaning events occur in a specific place and time.
How does the script describe the concept of a wormhole?
-The script describes a wormhole as a distortion in the fabric of space-time that allows for a change in the space-time distance between two locations. It's like a tunnel or a shortcut through space-time that can connect two distant points instantaneously.
What is the analogy used in the script to explain the concept of a wormhole?
-The script uses the analogy of a flat sheet of paper representing the universe. If the paper is curved or warped, a distant point on the paper becomes much closer, and a 'hole' can be punched through to reach that point instantly, illustrating the idea of a wormhole.
How does the script relate wormholes to the concept of a warp drive?
-The script suggests that a warp drive, like a wormhole, would involve warping the fabric of space to make distant locations closer, thereby allowing for faster-than-light travel without violating the laws of physics.
What is the script's view on the portrayal of wormholes in Hollywood?
-The script humorously criticizes Hollywood's portrayal of wormholes as being like waterslides at a waterpark, suggesting that in reality, passing through a wormhole would be more akin to simply stepping through a door.
How does the script connect the idea of wormholes to the movie 'Monsters Inc.'?
-The script draws a parallel between the 'doors' in 'Monsters Inc.' that transport monsters to children's rooms and the concept of wormholes, suggesting that these doors function as a form of wormhole.
What practical applications of wormholes are discussed in the script?
-The script discusses several applications, including scaring children in 'Monsters Inc.', eliminating the need for transporters in 'Star Trek', connecting refrigerators to grocery stores, and using wormholes for instant travel in place of elevators and airports.
How does the script use the concept of a replicator to relate to wormholes?
-The script suggests that if you have a replicator, which can create exact copies of objects based on their information, you could theoretically use a wormhole to transport that information and recreate the object at a distant location.
What humorous scenario does the script present regarding the use of wormholes in airports?
-The script humorously suggests that with wormholes, all airport gates would be adjacent to each other, eliminating the need to walk long distances between gates.
What potential downside does the script mention about a world with wormholes?
-The script mentions the downside of a world with wormholes as the loss of privacy and the inability to escape from others, as they could instantly reach you through a wormhole.
How does the script conclude the discussion on wormholes?
-The script concludes by suggesting that wormholes could be managed through designated 'wormhole ports', requiring some form of regulation or scheduling to prevent misuse and maintain privacy.
Outlines
π Wormholes and Their Scientific Concept
This paragraph introduces the concept of wormholes as a distortion in the fabric of space-time that can theoretically allow for shortcuts through space and time. It discusses the idea using the analogy of warping a flat sheet of paper to bring distant points closer together. The explanation includes the concept of space-time continuity and the potential for wormholes to connect different locations and times, as well as the humorous notion of being 'good troopers' in the face of unenjoyable scientific topics.
π₯ Wormholes in Popular Culture and Practical Applications
The second paragraph explores the representation of wormholes in popular culture, such as in the movies 'Monsters Inc.' and 'Doctor Strange', and the TV show 'Rick and Morty'. It contrasts the magical and scientific approaches to wormholes in these media. The speaker also discusses the practical applications of wormholes, like eliminating the need for transporters in 'Star Trek', and humorously suggests that with wormholes, one could have their refrigerator connected directly to the grocery store for instant restocking.
π Elevators and Wormholes: Modern Conveniences as Analogues
In this paragraph, the concept of wormholes is compared to everyday experiences like elevators, which transport people between different floors as if through a wormhole. The speaker humorously suggests that with wormholes, one could avoid the hassle of transportation altogether, with the back of the refrigerator being a portal to the grocery store and the potential for every home to have a general-purpose wormhole for instant travel to any location.
π« The Drawbacks of Wormholes and the Future of Transportation
The final paragraph delves into the potential downsides of a world with wormholes, including the loss of privacy and the elimination of the transportation sector. The speaker imagines a future where wormholes could replace airports and highways, and discusses the economic implications of such a technological leap. The conversation wraps up with a humorous exchange about the possibility of wormholes being regulated like public transportation, ensuring that they don't become intrusive or overly convenient.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Wormholes
π‘Space-time continuum
π‘Warp drive
π‘Doctor Strange
π‘Rick and Morty
π‘Monsters Inc.
π‘Transporter
π‘Information Age
π‘Elevator
π‘Transportation sector
π‘Privacy
Highlights
The concept of a 'good trooper' is humorously discussed in the context of enjoying activities.
A wormhole is explained as a distortion in the fabric of space-time that can change the distance between two locations.
The idea of a warp drive is introduced as a means to transcend the speed of light by warping space.
A wormhole is depicted as a practical application in movies like 'Doctor Strange' and 'Rick and Morty', despite different methods of creation.
The potential use of wormholes for instantaneous travel is discussed, including the implications for the transportation sector.
The concept of a 'transporter' in Star Trek is compared to the idea of a wormhole, suggesting redundancy with the latter.
Wormholes are humorously suggested as a solution to long walks in airports, with a witty tweet about the concept.
The potential for wormholes to revolutionize the grocery industry by connecting refrigerators directly to stores is proposed.
Elevators are humorously compared to wormholes, as they transport people between floors without changing the room's appearance.
The social implications of wormholes, such as the potential loss of privacy and the inability to escape from someone, are considered.
The economic impact of wormholes on industries like aviation and transportation is discussed, with a focus on necessary readjustments.
A hypothetical scenario where homes have general-purpose wormholes for instant travel is explored.
The potential for wormholes to replace traditional transportation methods, like trains and cars, is examined.
The idea of 'wormhole ports' is introduced as a regulated alternative to unrestricted wormhole travel.
The humorous notion of a 'worm phone' for coordinating wormhole travel is presented.
The segment concludes with a reflection on the transformative potential of wormholes and the need for further thought on their implications.
Transcripts
[Music]
so chuck i got another explainer for you
okay can you can you handle it i'm down
i'm down i'm glad you you're such a good
trooper i'm so i'm so pretty well no
these are great these are always fun so
you know i'm what listen
when i start to become disappointed then
you know maybe then i'll be a trooper
okay
very good point yeah but you're only
good trooper if really you're you are
faking it right
yeah i mean if it's if something's
enjoyable you know it's like when when
people say uh when you're at a party
and people say oh we're just so happy
that you that you were able to make it
and we're so happy that you're here and
i'm just like why do you guys normally
give i'm sorry
i'm like what why do you guys normally
give crappy parties like
you know like
people want to go to parties you know
right right right right yeah
okay so here it is
a topic
things to do with wormholes uh oh
watch out
i just thought you know oh no man i
don't know if we should be doing this
people are not imaginative enough that's
my point
why are we going
why are we giving people let me explain
no scientific
um sci-fi writers right now
are watching this here yes and going bro
get a pen
yes neil degrasse tyson is about to hook
us up
there's some killer ideas
on what to do with wormholes do it my
point is we should be getting paid for
this
this is valuable
all right so here it goes
uh so let me remind people what a worm
hole is yes all right so we have the
sort of the fabric of the space-time
continuum all right so it's not just
that space is out there space is
intricately
configured with time
and how do you know this because we did
this exercise before i think we did
space time and we did explain another
show we did an explainer on that where i
ask you
say chuck let's have lunch
um let's have lunch tomorrow
okay
let's have lunch tomorrow at 12 noon
okay and then of course i will say are
you buying
okay that's that's not what i thought of
course
of course it's well where you want to
have lunch
yeah so the question is where all right
so i set up a time and you knew that was
incomplete right and we have to complete
the the engagement
by establishing a location right so i
gave you a time tomorrow 12 noon and
you're going to say where
all right and i might say you pick
whatever but we need to wear otherwise
it doesn't work
all right i could be in a place at a
different time
or at the same time at a different place
but we have to be in the same place and
the same time in order to meet
okay right and on the same token i can
say oh i'll meet you at gabriel's for
lunch
okay and then you say what time
all right all right so
space time
are forever
conjoined
for this fact okay
and other reasons but this is that's
that's the terrestrial one that is
closest to how we think about the world
all right
this fabric can be distorted
in such a way
that you can change the distance
the space-time distance between two
locations
okay
all right
and one way to imagine that is imagine
all of our universe is just on a flat
sheet of paper
and you're on one edge of the paper and
i want to get to the other edge and i'll
take how light years of time whatever
however long that takes okay it's light
year's distance so i take many years
traveling at the speed of light but if i
take the space and warp it
curve it back on itself
now your location is very close to me
if i could somehow punch through the
fabric of space and time and reach your
location that's the warp drive right
there yeah well well so the warp drive
would accomplish that by other means but
it is nonetheless warping the fabric of
space
making something that would otherwise be
longer a shorter distance and thereby
transcending the speed of light to do so
you're no longer limited by the speed of
light the diameter of our galaxy is a
hundred thousand light years you can't
travel across it unless you forget
during the tv commercial unless you
figured out a way to warp space and time
okay so
in that warp
in principle on paper you can have a
hole that you pass through and just come
out the other side
and you're in another place
and
if you did it right you can show up at
another time but let's just make your
timeline continuous with yourself so you
go right through and you come out the
other side
there you are that's the most classical
invocation of a wormhole okay and by the
way in spite of what hollywood shows
that when you go through wormholes it's
like you go through the the waterslide
at the waterpark
no that's not how it's just you just
step through right and you're there
right right this is accurately captured
in
in doctor strange
all right where he opens a portal does
he do they call them wormholes and no
they don't they call them portals yeah
just a portal and that's a wormhole and
but in rick and morty
they do exactly the same thing and he
know they're wormholes they know this
okay and the difference of course
is that in rick and morty they're using
real science to make their wormholes
whereas doctor strange is using magic
magic yeah yeah yeah and you got to you
gotta you know do your fingers in a way
and right go in a circle and then little
sparklies on the edge of it too right
right and there's definitely
weird-looking ideograms that they yeah
somehow okay somehow have power
okay so
so things to do with wormholes
right yes you can move through space and
time just has has been portrayed in the
film but let's get a little more
practical okay so
uh the movie
monsters inc was all about wormholes
did you see monsters and you have kids
you saw monsters inc i did several times
i've seen them okay the doors yeah i see
what you're saying they're manufacturing
doors that the monsters take home and
then they open the door that is the door
of the closet of the kid that you have
to scare that night that's right
okay and there's a big chase scene where
they're going in and out of doors in the
factory and they show up in paris and
they show up in in you know in 20
different places with every door they
pass through those are wormholes so
instead of a transporter which
molecularly i'm getting there you're
exactly right you chuck that's my next
thing
so my point is if you just walk through
a door you walk through a door right
okay that's the wormhole and well they
never said it in monsters inc
which is a pixar disney pixar animated
feature with very cleverly done and it's
and they're funny um they didn't say it
but those are wormholes period
period okay without the the histrionics
of a of a doctor strange and without the
madness of rick and morty they're
wormholes okay well if you have
wormholes and you can warp space in that
way
then the transporter in star trek
which dematerializes you beams your
energy at the speed of light to a
location and then you get
re-materialized right it would be
completely unnecessary it doesn't help
exactly
you just pop the hatch walk through and
now you're in the other spaceship now
you're on the planetary surface why'd
you have to take me apart
exactly
completely took me apart completely yeah
okay plus there's some episode i was
told maybe in the later series because
i'm less complete in the later series
that there's some fraction of your
molecules that are not
transported constitute it yes yes
they're copying errors yeah that's well
that's why they have the buffer it's
called the transporter buffer system
because of that it compensates for that
which is why sometimes which is so lazy
but it i love it it works it's like
somebody gets lost and they're just like
well what we'll do is we'll use the
transporter buffer to take all of their
molecular imprint and then we'll just
make a make bring the person back oh
okay okay so they don't they don't
really die in a pile of goo right right
okay exactly all right so
so what's interesting there is
we're in the age of information which
was not so in the 1960s and so they
weren't thinking about information in
the same way or at all
and so all you really need to do is make
an exact copy of all the information
that is contained within you all the
neurosynaptic configurations and
everything and then beam the information
to another ship and then recreate you
there and then what that means is i can
create you in any location and i can
create multiple use that's right and i
mean why not they do that with the with
the replicator all right that's right
that's all the replicator does that's
all it does so in principle if you have
a replicator you don't need a
transporter system
okay we just have the information of who
you are and transport that but so that's
one thing you would do with a wormhole
okay so we have monster scaring children
that's first application
second i love it because otherwise
otherwise how they're gonna get in your
in the kid's room there's no way they
can get in exactly another thing
is
imagine if the back of your refrigerator
were connected to your grocer
oh wow
he stock it the same way he stocks the
shelves at the grocery
at the grocery store
they'd take a peek oh you'd be low on
lettuce and the lettuce is turning bad
they'll take out the lettuce put in a
fresh one and
there is no
transportation network involved say
goodbye grubhub
there the the in yeah so grubhub is
is a
is a practical wormhole right by the way
you know what else a wormhole is another
is an elevator
think about it you walk into a room the
door closes
and then when the door reopens you're in
a completely different time and place
that's actually kind of you know you
know yes that think about that
if you it before electricity and before
elevators and before tall buildings just
grabbed someone off the street and take
them into a modern elevator
oh my god
and then the doors you know they're on a
street level or something and then they
push a button and then they open it up
and then they're 100 stories up and
they'll freak out how did that happen
the room didn't change i didn't see
anything there were no windows what
happened so
for me an elevator is a modern
sort of
next best thing to a wormhole that you
can come up with yeah
right you could be in one room and then
take an elevator and then there's a
kitchen and another room and then it's
like a living room or whatever you know
and and so just the world changes
just in a matter of seconds so
so what do we have so we have the
elevator is a poor man's
wormhole yeah we've got scaring children
in the closet we've got the transporter
in star trek we've got the back of your
refrigerator
and what that ends up doing
is completely
removing
the transportation sector from the world
i was going to say what you really i'm
home
for the rest of my life
i don't have to do anything
by the way
you don't have to go somewhere to obtain
something yeah everything can come right
through the hole
right through the hole correct correct
and i got one other i think i've told
this many times but i i even laugh every
time i retell it even though it happened
to me and it's my my joke right so is
that good or bad chuck are you allowed
to laugh at your own ah listen i i say
whatever works for for the person
telling the truth whoever
so so here i was in the charlotte
airport
i was and i had to go from a big plane
to a little plane
and
the carry-on that i had did not have
wheels
so i actually actually had to carry it
and i chuck it felt like i'd walk three
miles it might have just been a mile but
to go from a big plane to a little plane
in that airport i must have walked the
full
width of the entire airport campus right
and i finally get to my destination with
the little bitty ass plane
and i said i got to tweet this so i
tweeted
can't wait until this can't wait for
wormholes
that way all airport gates would be
adjacent to each other
you just you just step through and
you're there right okay
and then because i thought that was a
nice geeky thing to you know tweeting to
my geek base
i got out geeked
okay
i got out geeked here it is uh
one of the responses was dr tyson the
day we have wormholes you won't need
airports i said ow that is true yes
oh
you just put every pilot out of work i
know well this is a readjustment to the
economy that's happened many times
before nobody's making horse-drawn
carriages anymore or buggy whips or you
know there's whole industries that don't
i don't
they're still making the buggy whips
they're just not for buggies anymore
okay
they're just called whips okay
yeah yeah yeah fine
so
so basically the entire transportation
sector would go out of business
basically overnight
and it's a fascinating reality but plus
you wouldn't need 12 lane highways to go
anywhere you go you want to go grandma's
house for thanksgiving just wormhole in
so so each home would have like a
general purpose wormhole right you dial
the coordinates and come through but
your grocer they'd only have access to
your refrigerator right right
and
and your in-laws would have access to
your friend's house
[Laughter]
not coming here
man that i'm going to tell you something
i don't like the world with just
wormholes that's a little too no you
could lock them we'll figure out a way
to lock them it'd be like your front
door okay
you hear a knock you know
no but you can never get away from
anybody think about it no matter where
you are you lock them out of your
wormhole yeah but then then they call
you on your worm phone
[Laughter]
i'm in bermuda okay i'll meet you there
exactly
oh yeah yeah that's great i'll be there
you know in a couple seconds
no man this is not cool
okay i didn't think of the downsides of
this yeah all right okay
somebody's got to like think it through
a little further than i have
but
uh just think
or maybe the wormholes are where the
previous uh
ports were right they had you know uh
train stations airports spaceports you
have a wormhole port
and so you can't just go anywhere at any
time you got to sort of sign up
and
yeah that's a little better yeah the
other way is a little invasive you can't
even pretend like back in the day when
like you know that you know people would
knock on your door and be like oh you
know
okay we're not answering that in the day
you couldn't tell them in advance that
you were showing up right so you had to
be ready to greet someone that's right
in fact the very word caller was someone
who knocked on your front door and that
word was adopted into telephones
and so now we think of caller as only
with phones right but the you know the
gentleman caller for on the lady i do
believe you have a gentleman caller joel
[Laughter]
you did not tell us
i checked this all the time we have for
wormholes yeah you know if we had
wormholes we'd probably have a little
more time to do this segment
because whatever we got to do next
we can do it through the wormhole
through the work through the wormhole
that's right so chuck we gotta we got to
call it quits there all right uh yet
another explainer brought to you by star
talk neil degrasse tyson here your
personal astrophysicist keep looking up
[Music]
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