A model of 'folded' space-time illustrates how a wormhole bridge might form with at least two mouths that are connected to a single throat or tube. Credit: edobric | Shutterstock
In Sharon of Two Salems: Vol. 2: Lightning Always Strikes Twice, on pages 1 and 2:
The fictional physics in the book require that there has to be a certain concentration of stars in order for the three-dimensional grid that allows instantaneous space travel to occur. Three subatomic particles, unknown to Earth scientists, combine at the center of very large stars, and this is what causes the "grid" to connect to other nearby, large stars. In between the Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy, however, the concentration of stars drops off rapidly and the grid stops forming at a certain low concentration.
"...the old car...had already made two trips to the moon and back, and was even capable of instantaneous space travel."The latter Sharon just barely understood; that it could be done only where the concentration of surrounding stars was great enough to create some kind of 'grid.' Once they explained that they had never traveled to the next galaxy over because there weren’t enough stars in between, she’d formed a primitive concept in her head of how it worked. The nitty-gritty physics part of it, though, she hadn’t even tried to comprehend."
This is truly fictional. The closest thing we know to even faster-than-light space travel is in the realm of theoretical physics, and it involves "wormholes." Even traveling through such a phenomenon would take at least a little bit of time...not "instantaneous" at all!
This is how it's postulated that a wormhole might work (from "What is a Wormhole?" on space.com, by Nola Taylor Redd, April 13, 2015) --
"A wormhole is a theoretical passage through space-time that could create shortcuts for long journeys across the universe. Wormholes are predicted by the theory of general relativity. But be wary: wormholes bring with them the dangers of sudden collapse, high radiation and dangerous contact with exotic matter...
"In 1935, physicists Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen used the theory of general relativity to propose the existence of 'bridges' through space-time. These paths, called Einstein-Rosen bridges or wormholes, connect two different points in space-time, theoretically creating a shortcut that could reduce travel time and distance... Wormholes contain two mouths, with a throat connecting the two. The mouths would most likely be spheroidal... Einstein's theory of general relativity mathematically predicts the existence of wormholes, but none have been discovered to date...
"Science fiction is filled with tales of traveling through wormholes. But the reality of such travel is more complicated, and not just because we've yet to spot one.
"The first problem is size. Primordial wormholes are predicted to exist on microscopic levels, about 10–33 centimeters. However, as the universe expands, it is possible that some may have been stretched to larger sizes.
"Another problem comes from stability. The predicted Einstein-Rosen wormholes would be useless for travel because they collapse quickly. But more recent research found that a wormhole containing 'exotic' matter could stay open and unchanging for longer periods of time.
"Exotic matter, which should not be confused with dark matter or antimatter, contains negative energy density and a large negative pressure. Such matter has only been seen in the behavior of certain vacuum states as part of quantum field theory.
"If a wormhole contained sufficient exotic matter, whether naturally occurring or artificially added, it could theoretically be used as a method of sending information or travelers through space.
"Wormholes may not only connect two separate regions within the universe, they could also connect two different universes...
"'A wormhole is not really a means of going back in time, it's a short cut, so that something that was far away is much closer,' NASA's Eric Christian wrote.
"Although adding exotic matter to a wormhole might stabilize it to the point that human passengers could travel safely through it, there is still the possibility that the addition of 'regular' matter would be sufficient to destabilize the portal.
"Today's technology is insufficient to enlarge or stabilize wormholes, even if they could be found. However, scientists continue to explore the concept as a method of space travel with the hope that technology will eventually be able to utilize them."
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