[HPFGU-OTChatter] Space Time and Magic (from Main List)

[P. Alexis Nguyen]

Potioncat:
> My response over there was "It's all hooey" and that a similar
> documentary had aired about the science of Star Trek. First, I meant
> the book was hooey, not Alla's post or question.
<<SNIP>>
> As for wormholes...no thanks, sounds too much like rabbit holes, and
> you know what happens when you go down the rabbit hole.

Ali:
Oh I don't know.  It's not all ridiculous.  They've proven that
teleportation (the instantaneous movement of matter from one space to
another) isn't impossible, and it is generally accepted amongst
quantum physicists that general relativity does allow for the
possibility of travel through wormholes (though space is imagined more
as maleable fabric whereupon a wormhole connects two non-immediate
points).  I like the idea of it all.  :)

To Alla's point, the description of apparating in the HP book does
support Michael Silberstein's point that travel is done through a
wormhole rather than teleportation.  (Not that anyone really knows
what either might feel like, of course.)  The basic gist of "wormhole
travel" is that you're bending the fabric of space-time - imagine the
US laid out on a piece of fabric and instead of having to drive from
New York to California, you can just fold the piece of fabric and New
York and California are now next to each other instead of far away -
magic!  (But then, isn't all science magic until we know how it
works?)  However, while general relatively doesn't preclude the notion
that we can travel through wormholes, it also falls into the realm of
science that [sort of] doesn't acknowledge statistical impossibilities
- that is, the chances of a wind blowing through a junkyard and
putting together a Boeing 747 is statistically impossible but still
technically possible.  It's all sorts of weird, and I'm sure my
explanation is all sorts of muddied, but 'tis the best I can do for
now.

For a better [general] explanation of general relatively and all
things quantum physics, check out "Alice in Quantumland."  Brian
Greene and Michio Kaku also have excellent books if you want further
reading.

~Ali