According to a group of physicists from Sofia University in Bulgaria, wormholes, the hypothetical tunnels that connect one part of the universe to another, exist and are hiding in plain sight, in the form of black holes.
The study published in New Scientist says that some of the cosmic entities scientists have identified as black holes could actually be wormholes.
Black holes are the most mysterious and enigmatic objects yet discovered in the known universe. They are the densest known objects with so much gravitational pull, that even light cannot escape from them.
One question has puzzled scientists and physicists since the discovery of black holes, where does the gobbled-up matter go? There is a theory that these black holes lead to another chasm of sorts that emit streams of particles and radiation, otherwise known as "white holes."
And this is where our hypothetical wormholes come into the picture.
What Are Wormholes?
Wormholes are hypothetical bridge-like structures that connect one part of the universe to another.
In the 1930s, Albert Einstein and his colleague, Nathan Rosen came up with the theory that wormholes are the tunnel connecting black holes with wormholes. This is why wormholes are also known as Einstein-Rosen bridges.
Now, scientists are saying that they might have mistaken wormholes for black holes. According to a study, wormholes' "mouths" might resemble black holes that have already been found in space.
So, how can we differentiate between the two?
Let’s find out.
The major distinction between a wormhole and a black hole is that a wormhole is a funnel-shaped space-time tunnel between two points between universes, whereas a black hole is a cosmic body with extreme gravity from which nothing can escape.
Nothing can escape black holes once it has passed through them in terms of gravitational pull. However, according to the theoretical model of wormholes, things would be traveling both into and out of them. So, objects can escape from wormholes.
Many cosmic objects are under the influence of black holes; in contrast, wormholes link two universes.
Another major difference between a black hole and a wormhole is that a black hole has solid proof of evidence of its existence in space, whereas, scientists are yet to discover a concrete piece of evidence of a wormhole’s existence.
James Webb Space Telescope first images of unseen universe released: What is the significance?
Two of space's most bizarre and unusual phenomena are black holes and wormholes, only one of which we can say with certainty exists and the other of which we can only speculate.
If Einstein’s theory of general relativity is proved to be *true in the case of wormholes, then it could potentially change our views on space-time.
With the discovery of an existing wormhole, time travel could actually become a reality.
*One important thing to note is that every prediction in Einstein's theory of general relativity has been proved correct. So, according to some scientists, it is only a matter of time before Einstein stands correct again and wormholes are discovered in space.
