Physicists have shown a simple yet intuitive model of how so-called wormholes can work in space.
Wormholes, or wormholes, are hypothetical curvatures of space-time, a kind of tunnels between distant points in space, or even passages from one world to another. Scientists have put forward many theories about how a wormhole works. But it was not possible to create a model of it, or at least some semblance for conducting experiments. All calculations were performed on a computer.
But a group of Chinese scientists, together with colleagues from the UK, came up with an original way to show in practice how a black hole works. True, their model is two-dimensional, but it is quite suitable for working with acoustic waves, because they can propagate in two-dimensional space.
The researchers 3D printed two slightly curved plates with holes in the center to simulate the funnels of a black hole. Then the edges of these holes were connected with a short tube. When a wave runs along one plate, it disappears, reaching the edge of the hole - just like matter disappears, plunging into a real black hole.
But then the wave transmitted through the tube will appear on the second plate. For outside observers who do not see this very tube, it appears as if from nowhere. In the same way, a substance that has passed through a wormhole must "emerge" somewhere in space.