They key to exotic matter lies in quantum fluctuations, which give empty space a kind of fizziness. Quantum theory says that subatomic particles and their corresponding antiparticles are continually popping in and out of existence in the vacuum of empty space. Exotic matter might arise by suppressing this fizz, or as a physicist would say, by violating the averaged null energy condition (ANEC).
If this were to happen, quantum effects could give rise to tiny amounts of exotic matter. But how much is needed to sustain a wormhole?
That is what Visser and colleagues have now calculated. They find that, if the wormhole is designed carefully, "the total quantity of ANEC-violating matter can be made infinitesimally small". This makes a wormhole considerably easier to create.
http://www.nature.com/nsu/030527/030527-12.html
Popular Posts
-
Not a bad audio book, but I expected more. Big ideas: Build a high performance, high-trust culture; Identify desired results and un...
-
Very dry, dull book with some basic financial info like ROI and cash flow. Not a lot here.
-
http://esamultimedia.esa.int/images/marsexpress/377-260208-2149-6-co-01-HebesChasma_H1.jpg
-
... or, Decemberween. Whatever. http://www.homestarrunner.com/xmas04.html
-
Some good stuff from a Canadian futurist: - The rising power of the knowledge worker - Continuous training replaces job security; respect is...
-
Peruvian archeologists have discovered the first full Inca burial site at Machu Picchu since the famous mountaintop citadel was discovered 9...
-
Here's my (edited) journal entry for this event dated 12/01/98: Wow. I just sessioned and started reading "The Tao of Physics...
-
http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail94.html
-
U.S. President George Bush is a big winner in this year's World Stupidity Awards, joining the likes of the entire petroleum industry and...
-
Increasingly, the overstretched and overburdened have a new answer to work lives of gunning harder for what seems like less and less: Dont j...