FOSTER THAI LIGHT 203
The important point is that special relativity applies only locally,
that is, in your nearby vicinity. In your local neighborhood (e.g., the solar system), special relativity holds, as we confirm with our space
probes. But globally (e.g., on cosmological scales involving the universe) we must use general relativity instead. In general relativity,
space-time becomes a fabric, and this fabric can stretch faster than
light. It can also allow for "holes in space" in which one can take shortcuts through space and time.
Given these caveats, perhaps one way to travel faster than light is
to invoke general relativity. There are two ways in which this might be
done.
1. Stretching space. If you were to stretch the space behind you and contact the space in front of you, then you
would have the illusion of having moved faster than light. In
fact, you would not have moved at all. But since space has
been deformed, it means you can reach the distant stars in a
twinkling of an eye.
2. Ripping space. In 1935 Einstein introduced the concept of a wormhole. Imagine the Looking Glass of Alice, a
magical device that connects the countryside of Oxford to
Wonderland. The wormhole is a device that can connect two
universes. When we were in grade school, we learned that
the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
But this is not necessarily true, because if we curled a sheet
of paper until two points touched, then we would see that
the shortest distance between two points is actually a wormhole.
As physicist Matt Visser of Washington University says, "The relativity community has started to think about what would be necessary
to take something like warp drive or wormholes out of the realm of science fiction."
Sir Martin Rees, Royal Astronomer of Great Britain, even says,
The important point is that special relativity applies only locally,
that is, in your nearby vicinity. In your local neighborhood (e.g., the solar system), special relativity holds, as we confirm with our space
probes. But globally (e.g., on cosmological scales involving the universe) we must use general relativity instead. In general relativity,
space-time becomes a fabric, and this fabric can stretch faster than
light. It can also allow for "holes in space" in which one can take shortcuts through space and time.
Given these caveats, perhaps one way to travel faster than light is
to invoke general relativity. There are two ways in which this might be
done.
1. Stretching space. If you were to stretch the space behind you and contact the space in front of you, then you
would have the illusion of having moved faster than light. In
fact, you would not have moved at all. But since space has
been deformed, it means you can reach the distant stars in a
twinkling of an eye.
2. Ripping space. In 1935 Einstein introduced the concept of a wormhole. Imagine the Looking Glass of Alice, a
magical device that connects the countryside of Oxford to
Wonderland. The wormhole is a device that can connect two
universes. When we were in grade school, we learned that
the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
But this is not necessarily true, because if we curled a sheet
of paper until two points touched, then we would see that
the shortest distance between two points is actually a wormhole.
As physicist Matt Visser of Washington University says, "The relativity community has started to think about what would be necessary
to take something like warp drive or wormholes out of the realm of science fiction."
Sir Martin Rees, Royal Astronomer of Great Britain, even says,