Surprising Science — May 7, 2010

Time and Again

By creating the first theoretical model of a wormhole 75 years ago, Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen allowed science-fiction writers to consider the idea of time travel, writes Dave Goldberg.

bigthinkeditor

By creating the first theoretical model of a wormhole 75 years ago today, Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen allowed science-fiction writers to consider the idea of time travel. “In the three-quarters of a century since Einstein thought up wormholes, we haven’t come close to observing one, though we’ve gotten some fantastic science fiction in the bargain,” writes David Goldberg. “It may be that in science fact, if we want to explore the galaxy, it would be much easier to do so without trying to rip up the fabric of space-time in the process.”

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

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7 min

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with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

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