Description: From H. G. Wells to Star Trek, audiences have been captivated by the notions of time travel and space warps. But science fiction is not the only place where such concepts thrive. An active group of general relativists and quantum-field theorists has produced a considerable body of serious mathematical and physical analyses of "wormholes" -- shortcuts through space and time. These postulated distortions in the fabric of spacetime connect distant regions of the universe -- maybe even different universes. Now, with this fascinating book, readers can explore the science behind the science fiction. The general theoretical framework for the discussion of wormholes is quantum gravity, a still-developing field that lies in the uncharted territory between general relativity and quantum field theory. Drawing on pivotal work by Albert Einstein, John A. Wheeler, Stephen Hawking, and others, Matt Visser shows that by pushing established physical theories to their limits, it is possible to deduce the properties of wormholes to reveal such exotic phenomena as faster-than-light travel and time travel.

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