WEBVTT - Fall equinox listener questions

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, Kelly, we love physics on the podcast, don't we.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, especially when it's not physics that's threatening the lives

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<v Speaker 2>of my children.

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<v Speaker 3>Yes.

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<v Speaker 1>And we're big fans of biology, of course, naturally, and

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<v Speaker 1>we agree that chemistry is not a science but actually

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<v Speaker 1>a torture device invented to ruin the lives of tenth

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<v Speaker 1>graders around the world.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, Well, it might be complicated. I mean, yes, chemistry

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<v Speaker 2>was the one class in college I got a B

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<v Speaker 2>plus in and I hated it and I still kind

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<v Speaker 2>of hate it. But like you know, food, chemistry, there's

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<v Speaker 2>it's complicated.

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<v Speaker 1>Wait are you a pro chemistryite? Is that what's happening here?

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<v Speaker 2>It's just it's not so black and white, That's what

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<v Speaker 2>I'm saying.

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, I'm Daniel. I'm a particle physicist and a professor

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<v Speaker 1>at UC Irvine, and I believe in drawing clear, bright

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<v Speaker 1>lines between the sciences.

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<v Speaker 2>You know. I think one of my favorite episodes that

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<v Speaker 2>we did was about whether or not we need to

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<v Speaker 2>thinking about biological questions at the level of physics. And

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<v Speaker 2>so I don't think I believe that you like to

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<v Speaker 2>draw black and white lines between topics. And I think

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<v Speaker 2>we both agree it's more fun when they kind of

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<v Speaker 2>meld into one another.

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<v Speaker 1>No, you're right, all of science is a big, squishy endeavor,

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<v Speaker 1>but chemistry is on the other side of that line.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. No, we hate chemistry. That's fine. Oh, kem, like

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<v Speaker 2>maybe the hardest thing I've ever done. Like, OKM, then childbirth.

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<v Speaker 1>You shouldn't do either of those without anesthetic.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right, that's right. I'm Kelly. I got bees in chemistry,

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<v Speaker 2>and I met Rice University where I study parasites as

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<v Speaker 2>an adjunct.

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<v Speaker 1>And welcome to the podcast Daniel and Jorge explain in

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<v Speaker 1>the Universe, in which we talk about our love for

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<v Speaker 1>physics and the universe, and we try to avoid negging chemistry,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's unavoidable sometimes.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Yeah, No, it makes you feel better too sometimes,

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<v Speaker 2>so you just need you've got to go for it.

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<v Speaker 1>I just like provoking those chemistry loving listeners, because you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I love your messages in my inbox, even if they're

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<v Speaker 1>angry rants about how wonderful chemistry is. Send them to me.

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<v Speaker 2>Out of all the fields that you probably don't want

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<v Speaker 2>to make people angry, and I think the chemists probably

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<v Speaker 2>have the most ways to like kill you in ways

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<v Speaker 2>that can't be tracked so.

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<v Speaker 1>Lately. I'm not sure this was well thought out in

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<v Speaker 1>the end, but we do want to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>We want to hear about your love for chemistry, your

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<v Speaker 1>love for physics, and also your questions about the nature

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<v Speaker 1>of the universe, because on this podcast, we believe that

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<v Speaker 1>everybody deserves to understand what we do and don't know

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<v Speaker 1>about the universe, to have it explained to them in

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<v Speaker 1>a way that's understandable, that clicks in their mind. And

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<v Speaker 1>so if you have a question about how the universe

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<v Speaker 1>works that you haven't heard a sufficient answer to, please

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<v Speaker 1>write to us to questions at Daniel and Jorge dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>You will always hear from us, even deep into the

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<v Speaker 1>far future when we're writing emails from caves in front

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<v Speaker 1>of the flickering fire because chemistry has destroyed the world.

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<v Speaker 1>We will still answer your questions.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right, nothing can stop us.

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<v Speaker 1>So today on the podcast we'll be answering listener questions

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<v Speaker 1>Fall Equinox Edition. We are happy to be back in

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<v Speaker 1>your ear holes talking about the mysteries of the universe

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<v Speaker 1>and specifically answering questions from listeners like you.

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<v Speaker 2>And we must be out of practice because otherwise we

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<v Speaker 2>wouldn't have threatened the chemists.

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<v Speaker 1>Exactly. Good to shake off the rust a little bit. Wait,

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<v Speaker 1>rust is chemistry, isn't it? Anyway, Today we have a

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<v Speaker 1>question that's definitely about physics, but it's also about things

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<v Speaker 1>that are black and white. This is a question from

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<v Speaker 1>white about white holes.

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<v Speaker 3>Thank Daniel and hohe. I have a question about black holes.

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<v Speaker 3>I've heard of some theories about white holes existing, and

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<v Speaker 3>I was wondering where the white holes would get all

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<v Speaker 3>the stuff they were spewing out. Could it be possible

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<v Speaker 3>that somehow black holes in white house holes are connected.

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<v Speaker 3>If that is the case, and theoretically, is it possible

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<v Speaker 3>to escape a black hole? Thank you so much, Wyatt.

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<v Speaker 2>So I don't think that I've ever heard about a

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<v Speaker 2>white hole. But then you're gonna be like Kelly, you

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<v Speaker 2>forget you were on an entire episode where we spent

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<v Speaker 2>an hour talking about this, because my memory is really

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<v Speaker 2>really good. But often I think that in science sometimes

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<v Speaker 2>things don't have to be super analogous. But we're just like, well,

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<v Speaker 2>it would be kind of fun if I named it

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<v Speaker 2>this thing that I found something similar. So, yeah, tell

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<v Speaker 2>me about white holes and are they like the opposite

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<v Speaker 2>of a black hole, Like, what is the deal?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, white holes are very confusing because they're not even

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<v Speaker 1>a very well defined concept like a black hole. At

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<v Speaker 1>least we know exactly what we're talking about, and we

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<v Speaker 1>know in general relativity it's a region in space where

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<v Speaker 1>things can fall in, but nothing can leave because space

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<v Speaker 1>is so twisted, so bent up, that every path forward

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<v Speaker 1>leads towards the center. The idea of a black hole

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<v Speaker 1>is not just that there's a very powerful force of gravity,

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<v Speaker 1>but that space itself is curved in such a way

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<v Speaker 1>that every path just leads towards the center. Right, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a real extreme version of general relativity. Really forces you

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<v Speaker 1>to think about things not in terms of gravity as

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<v Speaker 1>a force, but as the bending of space time changing

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<v Speaker 1>how things move. So that's what a black hole is.

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<v Speaker 1>A white hole is much more fuzzy. Some people in

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<v Speaker 1>gravitational theory and in quantum gravity say white holes don't

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<v Speaker 1>even exist. Their nonsense. So there's lots of disagreement about

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<v Speaker 1>what they are. But as you say, there's sort of

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<v Speaker 1>like an analogy that black holes. People ask like, well,

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<v Speaker 1>what about the opposite of a black hole? What would

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<v Speaker 1>that be like? And so a white hole is sort

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<v Speaker 1>of like, you know, take a black hole and flip

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<v Speaker 1>it through the mirror, what would it look like? And

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<v Speaker 1>that's what you get as a white hole. And so

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<v Speaker 1>a white hole in theory would be a region of

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<v Speaker 1>space where, instead of not being able to escape, nothing

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<v Speaker 1>can go in. Right, It's a place you can't enter,

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<v Speaker 1>So things can escape somehow if they're already there, but

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<v Speaker 1>nothing could go into a white hole. It's a place

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<v Speaker 1>in space where there are no paths to it, instead

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<v Speaker 1>of no paths out of it.

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<v Speaker 2>So it's like running into a wall, like with the

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<v Speaker 2>road Runner in Coyote. Is that like you just you

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<v Speaker 2>can't get in there.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not like there's a wall there that's preventing you.

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<v Speaker 1>You have to think about space as being curved and

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<v Speaker 1>there's just like no way to get there. It's not

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<v Speaker 1>like there's an obstacle between you and there. It's just

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<v Speaker 1>like no paths lead there. You have to try to

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<v Speaker 1>like Google map something, and it's like there is no route.

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<v Speaker 1>That's essentially this idea that there might be places in

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<v Speaker 1>space that are blocked off by the curvature so that

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<v Speaker 1>you can never even get there. Not that you can't escape,

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<v Speaker 1>but that you can never even get there, and they're

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<v Speaker 1>motivated by this sort of theoretical calculation that Roger Penrose did.

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<v Speaker 1>He thought about like the way space is organized around

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<v Speaker 1>a black hole, and he carves it up into these coordinates,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's the coordinates near the black hole and coordinates

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<v Speaker 1>in the black hole, and the way that he sort

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<v Speaker 1>of laid it out on a piece of paper, there's

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<v Speaker 1>like a blank spot. It suggests that there could be

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<v Speaker 1>a place in space where particles could go from there,

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<v Speaker 1>but because of the shape of the event horizon near

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<v Speaker 1>a black hole, they could never get in there. And

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<v Speaker 1>so it's sort of conceptually trying to like cross the

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<v Speaker 1>T or dot the I to say like, well, if

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<v Speaker 1>it's here on the piece of paper, maybe it also

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<v Speaker 1>actually exists out there in the universe.

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<v Speaker 2>And so the thing that would be keeping you from

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<v Speaker 2>getting there is that like some force is pulling you

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<v Speaker 2>too hard for you to be able to move into

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<v Speaker 2>that space. Is that the mmm?

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, yeah, exactly. So imagine, for example, there's a white

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<v Speaker 1>hole somewhere in space and you have a laser and

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<v Speaker 1>you shoot your laser at the white hole and you think, well,

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<v Speaker 1>why can't my photon go into the white hole. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>the reason it's a white hole is that space is

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<v Speaker 1>curved around it, and so if you try to shoot

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<v Speaker 1>your laser at the white hole, you'll find that it

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't go in. It bends through curved space and goes

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<v Speaker 1>in another direction. The same way, for example, if you

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<v Speaker 1>shoot a laser beam near a black hole, it can

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<v Speaker 1>bend around the black hole and go in some other direction. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>we know that curved space can change the path of

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<v Speaker 1>photons than any other particle, right, that's what curved space does.

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<v Speaker 1>That's why curved space is so awesome, because it can

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<v Speaker 1>even change the path of photons, which have no mass,

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<v Speaker 1>they technically feel no gravity. But that's why it's important

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<v Speaker 1>to think about gravity as curvature of space, changing the

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<v Speaker 1>path of particles that flow through it. So, now, just

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<v Speaker 1>arrange space to have curvature so that no matter what

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<v Speaker 1>direction you shoot a photon from, it basically glances off.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like the perfect armor you have, like space as

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<v Speaker 1>a shield, so that anything that comes near you just

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<v Speaker 1>pick ricochets off and goes in another direction. It's not

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<v Speaker 1>like a wall there. It's not a force, it's the

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<v Speaker 1>curvature of space itself. That you've ranged in this way

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<v Speaker 1>that photon glance off and go in another direction.

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<v Speaker 2>What would you need to have for that to happen?

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<v Speaker 2>By making sense, how would that come about?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you're perfectly making sense, And nobody really knows the

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<v Speaker 1>answer to that question because it's not really a solid

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<v Speaker 1>theoretical concept. Nobody knows how a white hole could form.

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<v Speaker 1>There's this theory that if there was a black hole

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<v Speaker 1>which had existed forever, an eternal black hole, not one

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<v Speaker 1>that was created. We we have, like a star that

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<v Speaker 1>collapses and forms a black hole, but a black hole

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<v Speaker 1>which it somehow existed forever, even though we think the

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<v Speaker 1>universe has a finite age in general relativity imagined somehow

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<v Speaker 1>an infinitely old universe that doesn't have a big bang

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<v Speaker 1>in the heart of it. So you could have eternal

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<v Speaker 1>black holes. These things somehow would also have white holes

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<v Speaker 1>attached to them, And that's essentially what why it is

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<v Speaker 1>asking about. Somehow, if you have an eternal black hole

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<v Speaker 1>formed in such a way that it's always existed, right

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<v Speaker 1>so I guess, not formed just like exists, then it

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<v Speaker 1>naturally has a region of space which is also a

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<v Speaker 1>white hole. So we don't know how to make one.

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<v Speaker 1>But if an eternal black hole existed, then the theory

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<v Speaker 1>suggests they would also be a paired with it, a

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<v Speaker 1>white hole, and the two are connected. So the singularity

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<v Speaker 1>of the black holes connected to the edge of this

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<v Speaker 1>white hole in such a way that things that fall

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<v Speaker 1>into the black hole could come out the white hole.

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<v Speaker 2>But only if the black hole always existed.

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<v Speaker 1>Only if the black hole always existed. So we don't

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<v Speaker 1>know how to make this, but it is compatible with

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<v Speaker 1>general relativity. It's very similar situation to the other mind

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<v Speaker 1>bending concept in general relativity of wormholes. Wormholes are the

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<v Speaker 1>connection between two points in space. The idea that like,

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<v Speaker 1>all right, I'm here and I want to be an

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<v Speaker 1>Alpha centauri, but I don't want to fly through four

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<v Speaker 1>light years of space to get there, because the speed

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<v Speaker 1>of light means that would take forever. What if instead

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<v Speaker 1>of flying through space, there was just like a connection

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<v Speaker 1>between my spot in space and their spot in space,

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<v Speaker 1>so I could just like step through a portal to

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<v Speaker 1>go from here to there. That's allowed in general relativity.

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<v Speaker 1>That's called a wormhole.

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<v Speaker 2>I think one of my biggest disappointments with physics, or

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<v Speaker 2>maybe physicists, is that you all haven't figured that out yet,

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<v Speaker 2>because those wormholes would be great, and I.

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<v Speaker 1>Want to get to Wyatt's question about white holes, but

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<v Speaker 1>first let's take a quick break. Okay, we're back and

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<v Speaker 1>we're answering listener questions about black holes and white holes

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<v Speaker 1>and wormholes and all the holes that they make in

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<v Speaker 1>your brain.

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<v Speaker 2>I just finished reading auror U by Kim Stanley Robinson,

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<v Speaker 2>and I think interplanetary travel would be super cool but

0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:47.680
<v Speaker 2>probably will mostly just kill people unless we can figure

0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:51.040
<v Speaker 2>out something like the wormholes. So anyway, get on it please.

0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:53.800
<v Speaker 1>Heck, I even want wormholes for like going to work

0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:56.720
<v Speaker 1>or going to the grocery store. Like imagine you don't

0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:58.760
<v Speaker 1>need a shopping cart and then load it into your car,

0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:00.480
<v Speaker 1>and then unload it from your car and load in

0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:02.680
<v Speaker 1>your fridge. You could just stand at your fridge, open

0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:04.959
<v Speaker 1>a wormhole to the grocery store and just take stuff

0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:07.040
<v Speaker 1>off the shelf directly into your fridge.

0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:10.360
<v Speaker 2>Theft would be a much bigger problem in a world

0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:11.520
<v Speaker 2>with that technology.

0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:15.040
<v Speaker 1>That's an engineering challenge once we figure out the physics.

0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:18.280
<v Speaker 1>But yes, wormholes are definitely something we aspire to, and

0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:20.320
<v Speaker 1>the amazing thing is that they're not ruled out in

0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:23.120
<v Speaker 1>general relativity they are allowed, but again we don't know

0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:25.720
<v Speaker 1>how to make them. We can say that a wormhole

0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:29.120
<v Speaker 1>can exist in the universe general relativity doesn't forbid it,

0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:31.160
<v Speaker 1>but we don't know how to go from a universe

0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:34.160
<v Speaker 1>without a wormhole to a universe with a wormhole and

0:12:34.280 --> 0:12:37.440
<v Speaker 1>still follow all the laws of general relativity. It's like saying, oh, yes,

0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:39.640
<v Speaker 1>that house would hold itself up. We have no idea

0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:42.000
<v Speaker 1>how to construct it, so it also holds itself up

0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.600
<v Speaker 1>while it's half built. Right. We don't have a path

0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:47.720
<v Speaker 1>to go from a no wormhole universe to a wormhole universe,

0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:49.880
<v Speaker 1>and in the same way, we don't know how to

0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:52.880
<v Speaker 1>go from a universe without a white hole black hole

0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:56.520
<v Speaker 1>pair connected by a wormhole to a universe that has one.

0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:58.680
<v Speaker 1>We can say if it exists in the universe and

0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:01.080
<v Speaker 1>has always existed somehow weirdly in a way that makes

0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:03.600
<v Speaker 1>no sense, then that's fine with the laws of physics,

0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:05.600
<v Speaker 1>But we don't know how to go from not having

0:13:05.679 --> 0:13:08.440
<v Speaker 1>one to having one. How to basically build a white hole?

0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:11.720
<v Speaker 2>Ugh uugh is all I could think.

0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:13.920
<v Speaker 1>This is complicated.

0:13:15.760 --> 0:13:18.440
<v Speaker 2>Let's imagine a white hole does exist out there. What

0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:20.800
<v Speaker 2>would you see that would make you be like, oh

0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:23.040
<v Speaker 2>my gosh, we actually found one, and would it be

0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:26.839
<v Speaker 2>something emerging? Like you put your laser out there, the

0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:29.280
<v Speaker 2>laser goes around the bend of space time, but then

0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.040
<v Speaker 2>a laser comes back out through the spot that you

0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:34.080
<v Speaker 2>tried to get it into but it couldn't and then

0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:36.720
<v Speaker 2>you were like, whoa something came out of the white hole.

0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:39.840
<v Speaker 2>That would be evidence if you saw something like that.

0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:42.040
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's a pretty good short version of it. Let's

0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:44.840
<v Speaker 1>unpack it a little bit. Like one way to discover

0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:47.559
<v Speaker 1>a white hole is to see evidence of a place

0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:50.000
<v Speaker 1>in space that nothing can enter. The same way we

0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:51.760
<v Speaker 1>look for a black hole as a region of space

0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:55.640
<v Speaker 1>that's emitting no light, no radiation. We know this tremendous curvature,

0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:57.840
<v Speaker 1>but we don't know what's there, and it's not glowing

0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:00.360
<v Speaker 1>in any way. And so that's how we forget, example,

0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:02.760
<v Speaker 1>discovered black holes near the center of the galaxy. We

0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:05.280
<v Speaker 1>see things zooming by, so we know there's a lot

0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:08.200
<v Speaker 1>of mass in a very small space, but we can't

0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:11.160
<v Speaker 1>actually see anything. In the same way, we might discover

0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:14.280
<v Speaker 1>white hole by finding some location in space where weirdly

0:14:14.320 --> 0:14:17.400
<v Speaker 1>photons get bent around it. The more direct evidence would

0:14:17.400 --> 0:14:19.960
<v Speaker 1>be a place in space that's emitting light with no

0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:23.400
<v Speaker 1>other explanation. Right, if laser beams are shooting out of

0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:26.680
<v Speaker 1>some place in space and there's no known origin for it,

0:14:26.840 --> 0:14:29.760
<v Speaker 1>that's like a great analogy to you know, laser beams

0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:31.720
<v Speaker 1>are being eaten by this black hole. So if laser

0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:34.640
<v Speaker 1>beams are just being generated by space, that would be

0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:38.680
<v Speaker 1>really fascinating clue about white holes. The problem is though,

0:14:38.840 --> 0:14:40.960
<v Speaker 1>that we don't know that white holes would have to

0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:44.240
<v Speaker 1>generate radiation, right, Like, the thing about a white hole

0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:46.800
<v Speaker 1>is that nothing can enter it, but that also means

0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:49.400
<v Speaker 1>that nothing has to leave it, right, Things can leave it,

0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:51.920
<v Speaker 1>but they will only leave the white hole if they're

0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:53.960
<v Speaker 1>in there. So you could have like a white hole

0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:57.560
<v Speaker 1>that's empty. Nothing can enter it, and so things could

0:14:57.640 --> 0:14:59.320
<v Speaker 1>leave it if they were there, but there's nothing in there,

0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:03.160
<v Speaker 1>so it's basic invisible. And so it's possible to have

0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:05.960
<v Speaker 1>white holes that are like quiet that don't emit anything.

0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:09.200
<v Speaker 1>But if you have a white hole that's connected to

0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:11.440
<v Speaker 1>a black hole, and I think this is why it's questioned

0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:14.920
<v Speaker 1>if black holes and white holes are connected, then stuff

0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:17.200
<v Speaker 1>could fall into the black hole and be connected to

0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:19.160
<v Speaker 1>the white hole. And come out the other side of

0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:22.280
<v Speaker 1>the white hole, and that would be basically like a wormhole.

0:15:22.480 --> 0:15:24.800
<v Speaker 1>But if you one directional right, you couldn't go back

0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:26.920
<v Speaker 1>in the white hole. So you take that trip to

0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:30.560
<v Speaker 1>Alpha Centauri, you're in Alpha Centauri unless there's another black

0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:32.360
<v Speaker 1>hole white hole pair going the other direction.

0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:36.280
<v Speaker 2>And when you get to Alpha Centauri, are you still spaghettified.

0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:39.080
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, there's a whole lot more to figure out there

0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:43.680
<v Speaker 1>from an engineering perspective, because these wormholes are a minuscule

0:15:43.680 --> 0:15:46.280
<v Speaker 1>you know, they're particle sized, and so to make them

0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:49.560
<v Speaker 1>larger requires all sorts of exotic technology. We definitely do

0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:54.479
<v Speaker 1>not have like particles that radiate energy, negative mass particles

0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:57.520
<v Speaker 1>that essentially expand space the way dark energy does. We

0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:00.600
<v Speaker 1>don't know if that's possible at all. And as you

0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:03.120
<v Speaker 1>approach the mouth of this black hole, you would still

0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:05.600
<v Speaker 1>be spagetified. So in order to be safe, you'd want

0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:08.640
<v Speaker 1>the black hole to be really, really large, because larger

0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:12.360
<v Speaker 1>black holes have weaker tidal forces near their edge. So

0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:14.520
<v Speaker 1>there's a lot to figure out before you're willing to

0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:16.960
<v Speaker 1>send your kids to the store using a black hole

0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:20.400
<v Speaker 1>white hole pair, for sure, But in principle it is

0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:23.080
<v Speaker 1>theoretically possible, but again, we don't know how to build it,

0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:26.120
<v Speaker 1>so it's really a ways off. And it might turn out,

0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:29.120
<v Speaker 1>in a fuller understanding of gravity that the thing makes

0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:31.840
<v Speaker 1>no sense at all, that white holes don't exist. It

0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:34.520
<v Speaker 1>might just be a feature of our classical theory of

0:16:34.560 --> 0:16:35.479
<v Speaker 1>general relativity.

0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:37.000
<v Speaker 2>Oh, physics, you're so crazy.

0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:40.520
<v Speaker 1>The thing I love about this question is that it highlights, like,

0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:43.240
<v Speaker 1>really how little we understand about the basic nature of

0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:46.320
<v Speaker 1>space and time. You know, Newton thought about space and

0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:48.840
<v Speaker 1>time is absolute and infinite, just like the backdrop of

0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:51.520
<v Speaker 1>the universe. But we now know that it's more interesting

0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:53.760
<v Speaker 1>than that. We know that space can twist and ripple

0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:56.880
<v Speaker 1>and curve and expand and do all sorts of funny things,

0:16:56.880 --> 0:17:00.200
<v Speaker 1>but we still don't really understand what space is. We

0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:02.840
<v Speaker 1>know that our current theory general relativity has got to

0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:06.080
<v Speaker 1>be incomplete, and it's got all these wacko predictions, some

0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:08.600
<v Speaker 1>of which come true, like black holes, and other things

0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:12.320
<v Speaker 1>like singularities inside black holes we're pretty sure are wrong,

0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:15.480
<v Speaker 1>and the other weird features like white holes were like, man,

0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:19.080
<v Speaker 1>that is bonkers. Let's figure this all out. But in

0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:21.399
<v Speaker 1>one hundred years or five hundred years, when we have

0:17:21.480 --> 0:17:23.000
<v Speaker 1>figured this all out, people are going to look back

0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:26.199
<v Speaker 1>and think, wow, we really didn't understand anything back in

0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:27.120
<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty four.

0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:29.840
<v Speaker 2>So the good news is that there's lots of job

0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:33.080
<v Speaker 2>security in physics because there's lots of work left to do.

0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:37.200
<v Speaker 1>It turns out the universe is a pretty big puzzle.

0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:40.399
<v Speaker 1>So thank you very much. Why to write again with

0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:43.200
<v Speaker 1>your particular question about physics. We want to hear from

0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:46.080
<v Speaker 1>all of you forever and deep into the infinite future.

0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:48.040
<v Speaker 1>If you have questions about the nature of the universe,

0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:51.639
<v Speaker 1>please write to us two questions at Danielanjorney dot com.

0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:54.400
<v Speaker 1>But just to wrap up why, the answer is, white

0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:57.240
<v Speaker 1>holes are a very fuzzy theoretical concept, not even every

0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:00.479
<v Speaker 1>theorist that thinks that they make sense theoretically. But if

0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:03.480
<v Speaker 1>they do exist, and they have always existed in the universe,

0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:07.040
<v Speaker 1>then it's possible that they are connections between black holes

0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:09.199
<v Speaker 1>and white holes, and that you could go into a

0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:12.160
<v Speaker 1>black hole and emerge from a white hole. But Kelly

0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:14.200
<v Speaker 1>would have to sign off on a permission slip telling

0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:15.200
<v Speaker 1>you that it's safe. First.

0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:18.640
<v Speaker 2>I'm only signing off on my kids' permission slips. Everybody

0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:21.600
<v Speaker 2>else can make their own decisions. I'm only holding back

0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:23.680
<v Speaker 2>my children from exploring the universe.

0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:27.560
<v Speaker 1>You don't feel some sort of in loco parentis obligation

0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:28.560
<v Speaker 1>as a podcast host.

0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:30.600
<v Speaker 2>Hosting a podcast doesn't make me feel like I have

0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:34.480
<v Speaker 2>any obligations whatsoever. But I do feel like I need

0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:37.480
<v Speaker 2>to let my kids make their own choices eventually, but

0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:37.960
<v Speaker 2>not yet.

0:18:38.000 --> 0:18:40.200
<v Speaker 1>All right, everybody you heard that you're on your own,

0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:42.800
<v Speaker 1>make your own decisions. All we can do is advise you.

0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:44.919
<v Speaker 2>That means you can't sue us.

0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:48.720
<v Speaker 1>That's really what it means, Yes, chemists or not, you

0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:51.520
<v Speaker 1>can't sue us. Well. Thanks very much for joining us

0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:54.560
<v Speaker 1>on this black and white episode about drawing boundaries between

0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:57.000
<v Speaker 1>regions in space. Thank you Why for running in, Thank

0:18:57.040 --> 0:18:59.800
<v Speaker 1>you Kelly for joining me, and thanks everybody for thinking

0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:00.880
<v Speaker 1>about the universe.

0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:01.720
<v Speaker 2>Thanks Daniel.

0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:10.400
<v Speaker 1>Tune in next time for more science and curiosity. Come

0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:13.199
<v Speaker 1>find us on social media, where we answer questions and

0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:17.520
<v Speaker 1>post videos. We're on Twitter, Discord, Insta, and now TikTok.

0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:21.040
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and remember that Daniel and Jorge Explain

0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:25.120
<v Speaker 1>the Universe is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

0:19:25.119 --> 0:19:29.760
<v Speaker 1>from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app. Apple podcasts, or wherever

0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:31.560
<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.