Black holes have been the fuel for countless sci-fi stories. Part of their appeal is that we understand so little about these mysterious space objects. How did they form? What is their ultimate purpose? What happens to matter when it gets sucked into one? A strange and flabbergasting new theory might answer some of those questions – but it might inspire even more.
(image via: Encyclopedia of Science)
According to a paper published in 2010 by Indiana University physicist Nikodem Poplawski, every black hole may contain another universe. Our universe may be situated within another universe’s black hole. The theory states that when matter falls into a black hole it is not condensed into an infinitely dense and infinitely hot singularity, as Einstein predicted, but that it is expelled on the other end through a “white hole.” Black holes, then, would be like wormholes through which matter can travel from one universe to another.
(image via: Wikipedia)
Poplawski’s theory could eventually help put to rest some of the most perplexing riddles in physics and astronomy. The question of the formation of our universe, for example, is one that has bothered scientists for centuries. Even after the big bang theory was adopted, questions remained: how did the big bang singularity form in the first place? The black hole/wormhole theory would provide a more understandable origin story for our universe.
(image via: NASA)
The theory could also help to explain why so many features of the universe are so different than we expect based on currently accepted theories. For example, traditional physics principles suggest that the universe should be spherical, but as far as we can tell it is flat. Traditional physics theories also say that the objects furthest from one another in the universe should be much closer together than they are today based on the age of the universe. The theory of inflation is meant to explain this phenomenon, but doesn’t explain why or how the inflation occurred. Poplawski’s theory would not definitively answer these questions; it would simply shift the origin of these mysteries from our own universe to some alternate universe. The amazing theory is interesting to many in the scientific community, but it will require extensive further study to gain believers.
(top image via: National Geographic)


