Thinker's Chronicle

Holographic Wormholes by Quantum Computers

Wormholes have been a mystery in science for a long time. No one knows if they exist. No one knows what they are like if they do exist. But we know that physicists today have created a Wormhole Simulation.

What Exactly Is A Wormhole?

We have seen Wormholes in science fiction movies being used to help people get to different parts of the universe in no time. The definition of a Wormhole is in theory a hole in space-time that leads us to other parts of the universe or other universes themselves.  It was first proposed by Albert Einstein and his assistant Nathan Rosen by applying his Theory of Relativity. Both scientists believed that wormholes are a connection between two black holes.  As time goes on, we are finding more and more proof of the existence of Wormholes.

Quantum Computer Experiment

Scientists from Caltech, Harvard, MIT, and Fermilab used one of Google’s Quantum Computers to create this simulation.  Quantum Computers are devices that use laws of Quantum Mechanics to boost the computer’s processing power.  The Quantum Computer used for this experiment was Google’s Sycamore 2, which has a processing power of 72 qubits (a qubit is a quantum bit).  If 54 qubits can calculate something that would normally take 10,000 years in 3 minutes and 20 seconds, imagine what 72 can do.  

This experiment initially started in 2016 with 3 scientists from Harvard and the Institute of Advanced Study: Ping Gao, Daniel Jafferis, and Aron Wall.  As time went on, the team expanded.  What this team has discovered today is basically a simulation of what a wormhole would be like if it exists.  This knowledge can be used to later create an actual wormhole.

Takeaway

So what does all of this even mean?  This experiment brings implications that in the near future, teleportation is possible. How, you may ask.  Because one of the main uses of wormholes is to connect two different parts of the universe.  If we can do the exact same thing on Earth, the possibilities are endless.  We would able to travel from Beijing to LA in no time!

By: Sara Simon

Photo by Peter Kneffel