What is wormhole theory?
什么是虫洞理论？
The wormhole theory postulates that a theoretical passage through space-time 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.
虫洞理论提出这样一个假设，理论上的时空穿越可以为穿越宇宙的长途旅行创造捷径。虫洞是由广义相对论预言的。但要警惕的是：虫洞同时也伴随着突然坍塌，高辐射和与外来物质危险接触的危险。
Wormholes were first theorized in 1916, though that wasn't what they were called at the time. While reviewing another physicist's solution to the equations in Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, Austrian physicist Ludwig Flamm realized another solution was possible. He described a "white hole," a theoretical time reversal of a black hole. Entrances to both black and white holes could be connected by a space-time conduit.
虫洞最早是在1916年被理论化的，尽管当时还不是这样称呼的。奥地利物理学家路德维希·弗拉姆在回顾另一位物理学家对阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦广义相对论方程的解时，突然意识到可能有另外一种解法。他描述了一个“白洞”，从理论上说，是黑洞的时间反转。黑洞和白洞的入口可以通过时空管道连接起来。
In 1935, Einstein and physicist Nathan Rosen used the theory of general relativity to elaborate on the idea, proposing the existence of "bridges" through space-time. These bridges connect two different points in space-time, theoretically creating a shortcut that could reduce travel time and distance. The shortcuts came to be called Einstein-Rosen bridges, or wormholes.
1935年，爱因斯坦和物理学家内森·罗森用广义相对论的理论来阐述这个想法，提出穿越时空的“桥梁”的存在。这些桥梁连接着时空上的两个不同点，从理论上讲，它创造了一条缩短旅行时间和距离的捷径。这些捷径被称为爱因斯坦-罗森桥，或虫洞。
"The whole thing is very hypothetical at this point," said Stephen Hsu, a professor of theoretical physics at the University of Oregon, told our sister site, LiveScience. "No one thinks we're going to find a wormhole anytime soon."
俄勒冈大学理论物理学教授斯蒂芬——胡说：“在这一点上，整件事都是非常假设的。同时他在接受我们的网站LiveScience采访时还提到：“没人认为我们会很快找到虫洞。”
Wormholes contain two mouths, with a throat connecting the two, according to an article published in the Journal of High Energy Physics (2020). The mouths would most likely be spheroidal. The throat might be a straight stretch, but it could also wind around, taking a longer path than a more conventional route might require.
《高能物理杂志》(2020)上发表的一篇文章称，虫洞包含两个嘴，有一个喉咙将两者连接起来。嘴很可能是球形的。喉咙可能是笔直的弹簧，但它也可以绕来绕去，走一条比传统路线更长的路。
Einstein's theory of general relativity mathematically predicts the existence of wormholes, but none have been discovered to date. A negative mass wormhole might be spotted by the way its gravity affects light that passes by.
爱因斯坦的广义相对论通过科学的数据预言了虫洞的存在，但至今还没有任何人发现虫洞。一个负质量的虫洞可能会被发现，以一种它的引力影响经过的光线的方式。
Certain solutions of general relativity allow for the existence of wormholes where the mouth of each is a black hole. However, a naturally occurring black hole, formed by the collapse of a dying star, does not by itself create a wormhole.
广义相对论的某些解允许虫洞的存在，其中每个虫洞的口都是黑洞。然而，一个自然存在的黑洞是由一颗即将消亡的恒星坍缩而形成，它本身并不会创造一个虫洞。
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.
科幻小说中充满了穿越虫洞的故事。但这种旅行的现实情况要复杂得多，这不仅仅是因为我们还没有发现一种旅行。
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.
第一个问题是规模。据预测，原始的虫洞在微观水平上存在，大约10-33厘米。然而，随着宇宙的膨胀，有些可能被拉伸到更大的尺寸。
Another problem comes from stability. The predicted Einstein-Rosen wormholes would be useless for travel because they collapse quickly.
另一个问题来自于稳定性。预言中的爱因斯坦-罗森虫洞对于旅行来说是毫无用处的，因为它们崩塌得很快。
"You would need some very exotic type of matter in order to stabilize a wormhole," said Hsu, "and it's not clear whether such matter exists in the universe."
胡教授还说到：“你需要一些非常奇特的物质来稳定一个虫洞，现在还不清楚宇宙中是否存在这样的物质。”
But more recent research found that a wormhole containing "exotic" matter could stay open and unchanging for longer periods of time.
但最新研究表明，虫洞如果含有“外来”物质的可以在更长的时间内保持开放和不变。
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.
外来物质，不应与暗物质或反物质混淆，因为它包含负能量密度和一个很大的负压。这种物质只在某些真空态的行为中作为量子场论的一部分被看到。
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, according Live Science. Unfortunately, human journeys through the space tunnels may be challenging.
据《活科学》报道，如果一个虫洞中含有足够多的外来物质，不管是天然存在的还是人为的，理论上它就可以被用来作为一种传送信息或通过太空传送旅行者的方法。不幸的是，人类穿越太空隧道的旅程可能会受到挑战。
"The jury is not in, so we just don't know," physicist Kip Thorne, one of the world's leading authorities on relativity, black holes and wormholes, told Space.com. "But there are very strong indications that wormholes that a human could travel through are forbidden by the laws of physics. That's sad, that's unfortunate, but that's the direction in which things are pointing."
作为世界上相对论，黑洞和虫洞的权威人物之一，物理学家基普·索恩告诉空间站说：“陪审团还没有决定，所以我们只是不知道。”“但有非常强烈的迹象表明，人类可以穿越的虫洞是被物理定律所禁止的。这是可悲的，也是不幸的，但这正是事物所指向的方向。”
Wormholes may not only connect two separate regions within the universe, they could also connect two different universes. Similarly, some scientists have conjectured that if one mouth of a wormhole is moved in a specific manner, it could allow for time travel.
虫洞不仅可以连接宇宙中的两个独立区域，还可以连接两个不同的宇宙。同理，一些科学家推测到如果虫洞的一个口以特定的方式移动，那么它就可以实现时间旅行。
"You can go into the future or into the past using traversable wormholes," astrophysicist Eric Davis told LiveScience. But it won't be easy: "It would take a Herculean effort to turn a wormhole into a time machine. It's going to be tough enough to pull off a wormhole."
天体物理学家埃里克·戴维斯在接受《活科学》采访时说到：“你可以利用可穿越的虫洞进入未来或过去。”但这并不容易：“要把虫洞变成时间机器要付出巨大的努力。要把一个虫洞拔掉，难度就够大了。”
However, British cosmologist Stephen Hawking has argued that such use is not possible.
然而，英国宇宙学家斯蒂芬·霍金认为这种用途是不可能的。
"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," according to NASA's Eric Christian.
美国宇航局的埃里克·克里斯蒂安表示:“虫洞并不是一种真正意义上的回到过去的方式，它是一条捷径，这样，遥远的东西就会离我们更近。”
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.
尽管在虫洞中添加外来物质可能会使其稳定到人类乘客可以安全通过的程度，但仍有可能添加“常规”物质就足以破坏入口的稳定性。
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.
即使它们能够被发现，然而今天的技术也不足以扩大或稳定虫洞，然而，科学家们仍在继续探索这一概念，将其作为太空旅行的一种方法，希望技术最终能够利用。
"You would need some of super-super-advanced technology," Hsu said. "Humans won't be doing this any time in the near future."
胡教授说到：“你或许需要一些最最先进的技术，即使在不久的将来也还未问世的技术。”
Which of Albert Einsteins theories proved correct? Read NASA's article about 10 things Einstein got right to find out. To see an artist's impression of a wormhole, watch this short clip from ESA's movie "15 Years of Discovery".
爱因斯坦的哪一个理论被证明是正确的?阅读NASA关于爱因斯坦发现的10件正确的事情的文章。要看艺术家对虫洞的印象，请观看ESA电影“15年的探索”中的这段短片。
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“幻能穿越虫洞”。《物理评论D》(2005年）。https：//journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/physRevd.71.084011
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时空中的虫洞以及它们在星际旅行中的作用。”美国物理学杂志(1987)。https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1119/1.15620
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"Multi-mouth Traversable Wormholes". Journal of High Energy Physics (2020) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347125665_Multi-mouth_Traversable_Wormholes
“Multi-mouth可遍历的虫洞”。高能物理学报(2020)https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347125665_Multi-mouth_Traversable_Wormholes
