Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Wormholes

What is a wormhole? On this StarTalk explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice investigate the science of wormholes and how they work. You’ll learn how gravity is the curvature of spacetime. We talk about the “speed limit” of the universe and how to break it using a wormhole.
But, how do you keep a wormhole open? Is it prone to collapse? All that, plus, Neil and Chuck explore classic time travel movies like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Back to the Future, Time Bandits, Contact, and more!
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About the prints that flank Neil in this video:
"Black Swan” & "White Swan" limited edition serigraph prints by Coast Salish artist Jane Kwatleematt Marston. For more information about this artist and her work, visit Inuit Gallery of Vancouver inuit.com/.
About StarTalk:
Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!
#StarTalk #neildegrassetyson
0:00 - Introduction
0:33 - Neil’s Gets Served on Twitter
1:46 - What Is a Wormhole?
6:03 - Wormhole in Chuck’s Living Room
8:49 - The Challenge of Wormholes
10:48 - Wormhole Into Another Universe
11:55 - Wormholes in Movies
13:59 - Earliest Mention of Wormholes
14:59 - Chuck’s Glowforge
16:16 - Closing Notes

[@illwyte]

Fun fact:Neil's eyebrows are always perfect before each Star Talk, and he remembers at the last second to mess them up

[@StarTalk]

How did you know???

[@zeliasoblivion4685]

This is a comment to remember, Thank you for the laugh!

[@Mel-xz5ik]

😂😂😂😁

[@spookyninja4098]

Neil is still avoiding the latest evidence UFOs released by the DoD Pentagon and US Navy with scores of military professionals testimonies of " Out of this world " performance that defies the laws of Physics. Time to address his comment of No evidence of Alien contact. REPLY

[@IvyWillowMusic]

@@spookyninja4098 UFO means UNIDENTIFIED flying objects. Unidentified doesn't mean alien, it means something that has yet to be identified. Therefore there's still not proof of aliens, there's eyewitness statements of something that didn't make sense to them. That's... Not proof.

[@macha0mochi]

Okay, that's legitimately a super cool wormhole that Chuck made. I so love listening to them.

[@StarTalk]

He's VERY proud of it (as he should be).

[@petertomshany]

I find it’s form kind of significant. The spirals (helixes) joining at their center. Does the spin reverse at the center or is it continuous?

[@chrisguillen1495]

Great concept. Brings up a theory...the center point in space between the two locations might be relevant to its structure or construction.

[@12jswilson]

Was this sponsored by gloforge?

[@groenteman777]

i think it is a better example than the paper and punching a hole trough it because of the spiral thingy

[@jordanschoepke1864]

Chuck being so proud of his wormhole and showing it off like show-and-tell honestly made my day

[@sarahr4099]

Same🤣 loved it lol

[@barrywhite8747]

I want one, but I'm wanting til they get cheaper. Those things cost a lot.

[@truss2005]

Neil is one of my top 5 favorite people to listen to. The realest genius ever

[@RCXO-vg7jo]

Bill Curtis is my #1 Neal is my #2 and the man from unsolved mystery’s

[@vladtepesdracula3896]

Vsauce 1

[@thunderchild8548]

Chuck just created a stable wormhole I nominate him for Nobel Prize

[@arielthequeen890]

There won’t be another one until the 24th century!

[@childconsumer2350]

I love listening to your talks. I should do my homework though....

[@StarTalk]

Sorry we had to distract you from learning with a little more learning.

[@katherinemusgrave4956]

Haha same! This Calculus 3 is not going to do itself! :)

[@tylerscudder9358]

@@katherinemusgrave4956 Calculus 3!!... I'm still struggling with pre-calculus. lol

[@chicknc5165]

@@EvolveOutdoors It's never been something from nothing. Everything was always there, matter can neither be created nor destroyed, only change form...it was just all contained within the size of a pea and then rapidly and exponentially expanded.

[@tylerscudder9358]

@@wolfstagjr.5721 what are you taking trig for?

[@kristoradion]

It looks like an online kindergarten class, where Neil is the teacher and Chuck is the kid busy playing with his toys 😂

[@shubhsharma19]

hahhaah

[@theawakening2946]

I love 💘 these guys!

[@theawakening2946]

They should have a legit podcast together forever!!! Oh wait...is this it?

[@waqasahmed3115]

And what does that make us

[@dalehansen9571]

Worm holes are like taking the secret short cuts at IKEA.

[@nimbette2]

Yes!!!

[@RatMaro]

Neil single handedly got me into astronomy, appreciate the knowledge!

[@floggyWM1]

@@jonathanvillegasvilches235 Michio Kaku got me into astronomy, Parallel Universe(the video)

[@TerryTurner]

... and that's how Santa Claus gets to everybody house during Christmas, wormholes! 😂

[@makimawho]

Reindeers be reading this comment like Bro i aight got any respect 😒😒

[@TerryTurner]

@@makimawho 😂

[@indrakamalyadav2921]

😂

[@gamerx3354]

No wonder why he's so old, time dilation :)

[@Leftyotism]

@@makimawho Come on, Rudolphs nose is glowing red. : >

[@mariotedde3446]

Neils explanations are so easy to understand, makes learning about the universe so easy and enjoyable

[@MikeNmurdoc]

Chuck's excitement for his 3D print is infectious! That's such a cool model for demonstrating the wormhole concept!!

[@j.erlandsson]

I love how the talk about bending the universe never comes up in these talks. Folding a sheet is one thing, folding an entire universe feels like it’s a whole other story. Would love to hear you talk more about that @StarTalk

[@megalodon1726]

It's not necessary to fold the entire universe; it's sufficient to fold the space between the origin and destination.

[@STAYYZ]

@@megalodon1726 yes but it seems that it would create massive gravity waves in the space time fabric. That could potentially create far reaching consequences but that's another story.

[@Spartan-oj9dc]

As human beings we always want to venture into the new frontier but basically we have to accept that interstellar travel is an impossibility unless there is a breakthrough in Astro physics understanding and engineering at the same time

[@crossfordmax4181]

​@@Spartan-oj9dc there will be a breakthrough, just gonna take a while. Oh and as long as humanity doesn't end itself

[@smokeyjerz2688]

“You gave space a black side” my sides are split 😂 😂

[@gyozakeynsianism]

Speaking of Space Obama, Star Trek: Deep Space 9, which was probably the best part of the entire Star Trek franchise, had a story that hinged on the discovery of a stable wormhole. (Space Obama is a silly recent nickname for the show's lead, played by Avery Brooks.)

[@astrophiledevansh898]

"8:17" Neil:- laughs Captions:- [ MUSIC ]

[@nachoghost]

his laughter is music to the ears

[@astrophiledevansh898]

@@nachoghost yes

[@barrios5430]

@@astrophiledevansh898 Have you had that profile pic for years? I've seen someone with that profile picture (I think. It looks VERY familiar) a year or 2 ago... maybe it's someone else with the same profile pic or similar one, or it was you. 🤔

[@peterkallend5012]

Finally, Time Bandits gets its day on Star Talk.

[@justnoah2073]

There's like thousands of wormholes in my garden. Get your facts right Neil.

[@evonite841]

Was it glow forged?

[@markthebldr6834]

Brilliant!

[@AMikeStein]

Lol! I see what you did there.

[@rondrajaeev2957]

Especially tennis ball sized

[@lsd-rickb-1728]

Your a sid I'm a rick buddy

[@Sergio-fu7mv]

Love wormhole talk! I bought “astrophysics for people in a hurry” (his book), and he touches on that, and it’s so dang interesting. If you haven’t read his book you definitely should. You have to reread it to even capture everything he’s saying in it. There’s so much information. It’s great. I highly recommend it if you’re a space nerd. 😂👌🏼

[@AMikeStein]

I recommend “Death by Blackhole.” Super informative and not so advanced that I get lost. :)

[@frogz]

even better than reading it, is listening to neil read it! i know he has released an audiobook version because it keeps popping up on me as i am trying to get to sleep and autoplay turns it on

[@HS-mx5bt]

should read Space Chronicles too love you, astronomy

[@lexithepinkwitch9330]

love this entire chat thread, you all are amazing😭💜thank you for the book recommendations!!

[@Spartan-oj9dc]

The question is do wormholes exist naturally in space or do we have to create one and HOW???

[@timcarder2170]

You forgot about the movie (and especially the tv series) *"Stargate",* and how they worked out wormholes. :-)

[@Brotherbranflakes]

I was hoping someone else would say something. I agree, I was curious why he didn't mention sg1.

[@brianbierlein4747]

Don't forget the knock-off series Wormhole X-Treme too! :P

[@MentalBrothers]

Love that show! I wonder how many predictions they got right about the Universe! Like Replicators, a frightening thought!

[@mariotedde3446]

The chemistry between you two is amazing, chuckle brothers

[@troythegreat7369]

I really like this series. Found it not long ago and it is one of my favorites. Thank you guys for the great shows.

[@najmiter]

if Dr. Tyson explained "How To Boil Water?".... I'm definitely watchin that❗

[@gyozakeynsianism]

And he'd make it super interesting and teach you something new about it.

[@Morpheux1]

He has done that, when explaining water behavior in low pressure

[@DraperJake]

The fact that Chuck gave the best visual representation of a wormhole that I've seen is the most mind-blowing part of this video.

[@ZeroOskul]

3:38 OOH!!! Chuck is ballin'! 7:17 And he bringin' extra credit projects! Neil turned on Chuck's brain and it ain't turnin' off!!!

[@origamimastersgaming927]

My daily dose of big brain

[@Jason_Family_Man]

BIG IMAGINATION THAT'S ABOUT IT BRO

[@gamerx3354]

@Link of Hyrule (sorry)LIKE THE UNIVERSE

[@Jason_Family_Man]

@Link of Hyrule NO HE'S TALKING ABOUT A THEORETICAL CONCEPT AND IMAGINARY CONCEPT A THEATRICAL CONCEPT NOTHING MORE......YOU THINK THERE'S MORE BUT THERE'S NOTHING MORE IT'S LITERALLY DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS

[@Jason_Family_Man]

@Link of Hyrule YES FLAT EARTH WINNING VEGAN ATHLETE....

[@gamerx3354]

@Link of Hyrule "care to expand"

[@nicko7238]

it's such a treat to come back from work and see that Startalk just uploaded a new video. That's something that can really make your day!

[@CaptPhiI]

Chuck's crafts enthusiasm is my new favorite thing.

[@JasonB808]

Tyson: I want to walk through a wormhole and appear on the other side. Lists Back to the Future, Contact, Bill and Ted.. Star Gate: Am I a joke to you.

[@clintnoodle0496]

Interstellar: Am I a joke to you

[@arnhelmkrausson8445]

Event Horizon: Am I a joke to you

[@jaisere]

terranova: Am I a joke to you

[@keeranimal8]

On my way home tonight I was listening ti an older Cosmic Query and one of the questions was about black holes possibly being connected to each other via worm holes...I thought to myself "later this evening I need to remember to look up what wormholes really are." Was just about to look it up now when this episode popped up in my notifications. Neil has finally perfected mind reading!!

[@MarkoMood]

I have to say this educational format of people just chatting is so much more entertaining and engaging to watch than a person reading a script on their own with some fancy animations along with it.

[@gabrielgonzalez1993]

Chuck and Neil! I love the show so much I've listened since the begining... You two are the perfect hosts to discuss our universe!

[@milenkozivanovic1489]

Neil, thanks for your explanation of how wormhole works. It is always a privilege for me to watch and listen to star talk. This time I want to point out that I am thoroughly fascinated by creativity and innovation skills of Chuck. He is a great motivator and Star talker you could ever imagine! Good on you guys! 👍

[@Ivomartinz]

This is more important than my work. 😍

[@attractedtothemetallikemag9385]

Pretty lady

[@turkishboyMLT]

What do you do?

[@ishe728]

I just do both

[@rogerdodger5886]

Such a great voice backed by interesting knowledge 😉. Makes for an excellent educator .

[@celindacochran6977]

I love your talks! They're always FUN and educational! THANKS!

[@crontemisto8994]

Props for the props, Chuck. That made everything all the more fun.

[@agent_joker0388]

I’m such a geek. I love space and dinosaurs. So thank you Neil and thanks for star talk!

[@StaticBlaster]

Lisa Randall ironically has a book about both topics and how dark matter might have led to the dinosaurs' extinction.

[@Jason_Family_Man]

YOU LIKE A LOT OF FANTASY THEORETICAL CONCEPTS YOU SHOULD GET INTO SOMETHING THAT'S MORE REALITY-BASED

[@Jason_Family_Man]

@Callmedaddy THE PROBLEM IS YOU KEEP USING FALSE REALITY AS YOUR ACTUAL REALITY YOU WON'T KNOW WHEN TO SEPARATE THE TWO

[@Jason_Family_Man]

@Link of Hyrule THERE'S NOTHING IRONIC ABOUT MY COMMENT YOU'RE JUST UNEDUCATED

[@romanbykov5922]

9:50 Nobel Prize to Chuck!

[@armygrunt13]

Loved Neil name-dropping Time Bandits! One of my favourite films of all time, which doesn't get nearly enough love. I mean, it has Sean Connery as Agamemnon, John Cleese as Robin Hood, and Sir Ian Holm as Napoleon; what's not to love? 😄

[@richardrice3137]

you guys are having WAY TOO MUCH FUN!!! love it! educational and fun. should be on TV!

[@aryadev8212]

bruh i literally just laughed my lungs out imagining the scenario where chuck gets arrested by interdimensional bank dudes

[@RohitSingh-lx5ck]

Lol

[@diabeticgoose9916]

As Neil gets older he looks more and more like that crazy science teacher we all had in school who was your favorite teacher 😂👍🏼

[@ARWest-bp4yb]

Always great to see Neil & Chuck together! British sci-fi/ comedy series Red Dwarf did a brilliant episode called White Hole, funny & smart.

[@hori83]

Chuck, you are such a great guy, a big and important part of the show. Wish you nothing but the best. By the way, that wormhole you created looks nice.

[@dialvin]

Whoever discovers precisely how to make wormholes deserves unlimited riches.

[@Chrisrhamm85]

Smooth product placement tho! 😂

[@ruaway]

Not really smooth

[@sigmamind711]

Awesome visualization, Chuck! Understood that wormhole way better than any movie example lol 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@mattcraft7164]

Chuck, the best science fair project ever!!! I want one!

[@stih201]

Even horizon is one of my favourite films

[@kurtisrinker1202]

Event horizon is my favorite sci-fi horror movie for sure.

[@mikematt67]

Looks like Neil's eyebrows went through a wormhole 🤣

[@coryfrazier5078]

Legendary commenr

[@e30m3mike]

This is literally the best channel on KZbin. thanks guys :)

[@timandersen8030]

​@StarTalk Hi Dr. Tyson, would the wormhole impose any negative effects on the space between the two openings that become bent after wormhole creation? For example, more gravity in that space due to increased curvature and thus changing planetary orbits if planets were present there? Thanks!

[@KingsMom831]

“I’m kind of a crafty guy, like, I look at Etsy“😂

[@davidsisson194]

There's an easier way to explain the relationship between the fabric of space and gravity. I always describe it like this: "Gravity tells space how to curve and space tells gravity how to move."

[@lovemycity420]

That was a science project for Chuck, he did a great job, it perfectly explains the wormhole theory!

[@alexandercatton9117]

Love the series! And quick Q, Even if we are able to stabilize a wormhole, do you have any idea how we even go about controlling its destinations within space? AND, modeling space and time as 2 space ds and 1x time d, what's to stop the wormhole travelling through the time dimension? 👍

[@braddles8684]

chuck really reminds me of kevin hart sometimes, he has such charisma and comedic sense no matter the situation

[@GovindSomai]

Petition to include Kevin Hart to the Star Talk.

[@trippplefive]

na.. this guy isn't annoying. kevin hart might be one of the most annoying people on the planet

[@sainstranger]

That's cool. Totally like warp space in warhammer 40k!)

[@alejandromansilla2737]

Great talk... Thanks for letting us here it... Blessings 🙏

[@hellaswagga2205]

A much awaited video. Thank you

[@andrewparker318]

I was disappointed Neil didn't mention Interstellar

[@hyouzanren1846]

Humanity:"speed limit is speed of light! " Advance Aliens:"I see you still have much to learn Grasshopper! "

[@prietaxxx]

Say no alien ever

[@itseric5117]

Love listening to these guys. Chuck really made the science less dry with his charm

[@no6ixfigureabrahams457]

Probably the only show on youtude I look forward to watch..

[@jadecoley]

Yeah! My favourite people 💕

[@Sergio-fu7mv]

My favorite Irishman. ✊🏼🇮🇪

[@scottvassar6728]

"a wrinkle in time" kind of like the tesseract

[@allanmacdonald7265]

I don’t understand where all the dislikes come from. These guys are just as great of entertainments as they are educators of their desired topics. I personally think they are great for the younger generation.

[@user-el1lm9yh8y]

So thankful for this, learning how the things are connected in Universe is fascinating,

[@tigrerasti1299]

Hi from México 🇲🇽🇲🇽

[@animarte4795]

Hi I'm from Brazil

[@JoesGLI]

Hi from North Mexico...

[@Spacecowboy1101]

Love it..Neil's 👁 brows though 😆

[@Pfromm007]

One of my favorite episodes this year.

[@emilywilhite5807]

Extremely cool visual made with the Forge.

[@elck3]

This video should be titled Glowforge.

[@wambamit344]

Good1

[@pseudopeppers2702]

This is a really drawn-out ad for glow forge

[@psprateekchauhan885]

Love you Neil from India! I just saw the movie Tenet and was both intrigued and confused at the concept of Time Inversion. Would love to see your take on that and the probability of one such machine allowing time inversion existing in future and its implications on past, present and future.

[@superbowltournament1692]

Wow. Just watched this video, and noted Mr. Tyson mention that with sci-fi time travel, people don't take into account the fact the earth has moved on, so they'd appear in empty space. So glad to hear this from Mr. Tyson, as I wrote a sci-fi screenplay in the 1990's that noted this as 'fact,' and the reason time travel hasn't been successful, until the time traveler in the story figured out a way around it to make it work. Thanks for reinforcing my time travel sci-fi screenplay with some actual 'fact!'

[@freethinker1679]

I was waiting for them to talk about how much energy and where one would get the energy to fold space. Any guesses?

[@raymondj6749]

Maybe from dark matter?

[@Kefe376]

Love you Neil

[@TheeFlashbackMan]

u first tho

[@Brazi187]

Hey guys, love star talk! Just saw there was a phone case and it looks awesome!! Unfortunately idk if they there one for my phone.. its an asus rog phone 2.. any way there could be a one off of it? Hahah again love the videos and the talk 🤘🏽

[@BJamesThompson]

This channel completely fills the void of not having Cosmos season 2.

[@robertdobie2544]

What if “Space Worms” live in wormholes?

[@Chinese_Hacker_LMFAO]

Hi from India🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳

[@prezbige]

Thanos says hi

[@harmonixxxtv1897]

respect.... much love.. you 2 are amazing and extremely inspirational... thank you

[@trent797]

Hi Neil...can you talk about galactic voids some time? How would you grade Earth's position in the universe with respect to how much we can learn from what is (or is not) nearby? Seems like an interesting topic.

[@khazimo]

lol i love how chuck breaks the thing in half part way through the episode and then swiftly gets it taped back together with scotch tape by the end. go glowforge!

[@feidry]

Scrolling through the comments, I thought I was the only one that noticed. Until I found this one.

[@twonumber22]

I have wormholes all in my garden. Never knew they were so special. 😏

[@sumanthasaha7207]

Really awesome explainer video, this was the best video of this pathetic year for me👍👍

[@ronaldmeyer1314]

I want to hear about human evolution as it relates to - seasons, gravity, tides, length of day, length of year, hemispheres, and anything else that might have influenced evolution. Love these presentations.

[@bryanbaxter5154]

Neil's moustache is the curvature of space time.

[@backtfup7934]

It cracked me up at first and then i realised it's the goatee not moustache

[@MatthewGompertLordOfSealand]

but isn't a black hole a singularity in time as well as space?

[@animistchannel2983]

In a way, kinda. The theory is that when you cross the event horizon, they invert into each other, so time becomes space and space becomes time. That's why once you enter it, you inevitably end up going to the singularity, because the center of the black hole has now literally become the future. How wacky is that?

[@felicityc]

@@animistchannel2983 that's more or less a roundabout way of explaining that the light arrow = the time arrow, and since all light must go towards the singularity, then all time goes towards the singularity in truth, a 'singularity' is simply a point in relativistic physics where the mathematics breaks down, and can no longer be used. It doesn't imply it is an absolute object or the effects of it; in fact, the event horizon is not actually that interesting. it's just the threshold of no return, much like how every gravitational object has such a horizon for a velocity = 0 object. to make any real predictions of the effects of a singularity requires a theory of quantum gravity, of which we do not have one.

[@animistchannel2983]

@@felicityc Well, we pretty much know what the 2 options are for encountering the singularity, we just don't know which one will happen. Unfortunately, no one is ever coming back from there to tell us what it was, either way :)

[@VeerArjun5]

Hi Neil, I would love to see your explainer on Tenet!

[@avisjohnson35]

I love star talk and I love chuck.He is perfect

[@MCtribe22]

Chuck eyes are so glassed over... he looks high asf😂

[@Chalepastel]

he is

[@pinkypink4823]

we have been trying to reach you about your extended warranty

[@dibamorady2131]

The funniest talk I've seen yet. Losing my mind.

[@hopelessdroid]

That episode was so funny man loved it :)

[@muthrfuqrjonz3530]

If you want to know the universe think of energy

[@prezbige]

I don't get it, but very curious to that statement

[@joehebert789]

A take off of Tesla's quote. Nice.

[@lowmax4431]

Ugh I spaced out when they started talking about the 3d printer.

[@insane_troll]

Do you print out when they start talking about space?

[@Jay-om8gr]

@@insane_troll nice

[@NoahPolyak01]

I’ve recently been listening to Neil Degrasse Tyson, and I must say he is absolutely fascinating to listen to, and it allows me to develop a further interest in science!❤

[@Jesse_2022]

I love how this actually ended up sponsored by glowforge, also I cant stop watching these talks with Neil