The physics of Star Trek just took another hit:
Hypothetical tunnels called wormholes once looked like the best bet for constructing a real time machine. These cosmic shortcuts, which link one point in the Universe to another, are favoured by science fiction writers as a means both of explaining time travel and of circumventing the limitations imposed by the speed of light.
Apparently, however, we don't need to start saving up to build Deep Space 9:
"We aren't saying you can't build a wormhole. But the ones you would like to build - the predictable ones where you can say Mr Spock will land in New York at 2pm on this day - those look like they will fall apart," Dr Hsu said. ...
Fewster and Roman calculated that, even if it were possible to build such a wormhole, its throat would probably be too small for time travel.
Sigh. Unlike the rest of us, Lawrence Krauss is probably feeling pretty good about this news. In his books The Physics of Star Trek and Beyond Star Trek : From Alien Invasions to the End of Time, he took great joy in showing how virtually all of Star Trek and, indeed, most other science fiction was impossible under the laws of physics. Despite their depressing news, however, both are must reading for any SF fan.
