What is a Wormhole? | Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains...

Summary

In 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 instantaneous—no 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

• 🌌 Wormholes are distortions in the fabric of space-time that can change the distance between two locations, allowing for faster-than-light travel.
• 🎉 The concept of a 'good trooper' is humorously discussed, suggesting that only those faking enjoyment are truly good troopers.
• 🎬 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.
• 🚀 The idea of a warp drive is similar to a wormhole, as it involves warping space to shorten distances, transcending the speed of light.
• 🛒 Wormholes could revolutionize transportation by eliminating the need for physical travel, as seen in the concept of doors in 'Monsters Inc.'.
• 🛒 The back of a refrigerator could be connected to a grocer's stock, eliminating the need for physical transportation of goods.
• 🚶‍♂️ Elevators are likened to a 'poor man's wormhole', as they transport people between floors without changing the room's physical appearance.
• 🛬 The development of wormholes could render airports and large transportation infrastructure obsolete, as travel would be instantaneous.
• 🔒 Privacy and security concerns are raised with the idea of wormholes, as they could potentially allow anyone access to any location.
• 📞 The script humorously suggests that even with wormholes, people could still be reached through 'worm phones', eliminating the possibility of escaping communication.
• 🏠 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

00:00

🌌 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.

05:02

🎥 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.

10:03

🛗 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.

15:06

🚫 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.

Keywords

💡Wormholes

Wormholes are theoretical shortcuts through space-time, allowing for faster-than-light travel between distant points in the universe. In the video, they are discussed as a central theme, with various applications such as instant travel and the potential for eliminating the need for traditional transportation methods. The script humorously suggests that if wormholes were real, they could be used for convenient everyday activities like grocery shopping or getting to an airplane gate.

💡Space-time continuum

The space-time continuum is the four-dimensional framework combining space and time into a single continuum. It is integral to understanding wormholes, as they are described as shortcuts through this continuum. The script uses the analogy of a flat sheet of paper to explain how space-time can be warped to create a wormhole, bringing distant points closer together.

💡Warp drive

A warp drive is a hypothetical faster-than-light propulsion system that would allow a spacecraft to warp space-time, effectively moving instantaneously across vast distances. The script mentions the warp drive as a method of achieving the same effect as a wormhole, by bending the fabric of space-time to shorten the distance between two points.

💡Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange is a reference to the Marvel superhero who can manipulate time and space, including creating portals that function similarly to wormholes. The script uses Doctor Strange to illustrate the concept of wormholes in a pop culture context, where portals are used for instantaneous travel.

💡Rick and Morty

Rick and Morty is an animated show known for its scientific and philosophical humor, including the use of wormholes as a means of interdimensional travel. The script contrasts the scientific approach to wormholes in Rick and Morty with the magical approach in Doctor Strange, highlighting different ways the concept is portrayed in media.

💡Monsters Inc.

Monsters Inc. is a Pixar film where monsters use doors as wormholes to enter children's rooms for energy collection. The script uses this as an example of a practical application of wormholes in a fictional setting, where the doors serve as portals to different locations.

💡Transporter

The transporter in Star Trek is a device that dematerializes and rematerializes matter, effectively teleporting individuals. The script suggests that with wormholes, such a device would be unnecessary, as one could simply step through a wormhole to reach their destination.

💡Information Age

The Information Age refers to the current era where information and technology play a central role in society. The script mentions this in the context of how we could use information about a person's neurosynaptic configurations to recreate them at a different location via a wormhole, highlighting the potential for advanced applications of information technology.

💡Elevator

An elevator is used in the script as an analogy for a wormhole, demonstrating how one can quickly and seemingly magically move between different floors or rooms without physically traveling through the space in between. This serves to illustrate the concept of instantaneous travel that wormholes would enable.

💡Transportation sector

The transportation sector encompasses all industries involved in the movement of people and goods. The script humorously suggests that the existence of wormholes could render this sector obsolete, as physical travel would no longer be necessary, with everything being accessible through wormholes.

💡Privacy

Privacy is the state of being free from unauthorized intrusion or disturbance. The script touches on the potential downsides of wormholes, such as the inability to escape from others or maintain privacy, as they could potentially access one's personal space at any time.

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]