• Question: theoretically wormholes could be made by the LHC , if they were big enough could time travel be possible?

    Asked by sare13 to Ben, Jony, Katharine, Mark, Peter on 22 Nov 2011.
    • Photo: Ben Still

      Ben Still answered on 22 Nov 2011:

      There are some theories in which micro black holes can be created in the LHC. These theories require extra dimensions, more than the four dimensions (3 space and one time) that we are used to. These extra dimensions are curled up so small that we cannot experience them, but gravitational energy might be ‘borrowed’ from these extra dimensions to create a micro black hole in particle collisions. These micro black holes have to give up the borrowed energy back to the extra dimensions almost as quickly as it was borrowed – this kills the micro black hole and just results in a messy explosion of many different particles.

      I think if wormholes, the large kind, did exist and we were able somehow to travel through them safely (which we couldn’t as the gravity would tear us apart) then time travel is a possibility but it would not be controllable – it would just sew up two different tears in space-time.

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