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Then in 1963, Roy
Kerr, a New Zealand mathematician, found a solution of Einstein’s
equations for a rotating black hole, which had bizarre properties. The
black hole would not collapse to a point (as previously thought) but
into a spinning ring (of neutrons). |
The ring would be circulating so
rapidly that centrifugal force would keep the ring from collapsing under
gravity. |
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The ring, in turn,
acts like Alice’s Looking Glass. Anyone walking through the ring would
not die, but could pass through the ring into an alternate universe.
Since then, hundreds of other “wormhole” solutions have been found to
Einstein’s equations. These wormholes connect not only two regions of
space (hence the name) but also two regions of time as well. In
principle, they can be used as time machines. |
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