The Beauty of Uncertainty

Note: this post runs longer than usual; it’s about a 6-minute read

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One should not underestimate how assumptions and certainties govern our lives. That’s one of the conclusions I drew from reading White Holes by theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli.  

I’ll attempt to summarize this fascinating book and offer some conclusions below. 

White Holes, By Carlo Rovelli

“Science and art are about the continual reorganization of our conceptual space.”

-Carlo Rovelli

Everyone has heard of black holes, the incomprehensibly dense collections of matter at the center of galaxies. Rovelli’s book is the story of white holes, a theoretical complementary structure. The quantum physics of atoms, electrons, and light is well known to science. White holes, however, involve the theoretical quantum physics of space and time. 

First, some background: According to Einstein’s theory of general relativity, space is a 4-dimensional fabric comprised of the three familiar dimensions of length, width, and height with the added 4th dimension of time. This theory, proven countless times over, shatters prior notions of a fixed mechanical reality. 

Here’s an example: I am five feet, eleven inches tall, whether that measurement is made in the mountains or on the seashore. Time passes for me at a constant rate no matter where I am on Earth. Such constancy does not characterize the universe. 

All mass-containing items like you and me, and of course, the Earth and Sun, produce a gravitational field. The object’s mass determines the strength of that gravitational field. 

Here’s the critical part: 

Gravitational fields distort the 4-dimensional space-time fabric. This distortion causes lighter objects to fall toward objects with greater mass. A frequently used analogy to visualize how this works involves dropping a bowling ball on a thin, tightly stretched rubber sheet. The indention in the rubber sheet created by the bowling ball pulls other objects towards it. Mass impacts the space-time fabric similarly. 

So far, that’s not too difficult to comprehend, but Rovelli goes deeper.

Gravity-induced distortions in the space-time fabric impact how time passes in different regions of space. Time slows down in the presence of a strong gravitational field. Physicists today can measure time differences between a clock sitting on a benchtop in a lab and a clock sitting on the floor, which is closer to the center of Earth’s mass. Time measured on the floor passes more slowly than on the benchtop. Einstein’s equations explain the difference. 

The practical implication is that there is no such thing as a universal passage of time. Hold on to that concept because it will be important.

Time is not the only distortion created by mass. Space elongates in the direction of a large mass. Measurements of length are not equivalent in areas of differing gravitational distortions. 

Now that we know measurements of time and space differ due to the influence of gravity, we’re ready to get back to the subject at hand.

Black holes are the densest mass in the universe. Their mass is equivalent to the entire Earth compressed into the size of a ping-pong ball. In the vicinity of a black hole, time, as measured on Earth, slows down and ultimately comes to a standstill. You read that correctly; time (from our perspective) ceases to flow in a black hole. 

Any mass in the vicinity of a black hole is pulled towards it. You probably knew that. But here’s the crazy thing: One would assume that a black hole crushes items that breach its event horizon. This is not the case.

We wouldn’t notice anything if you or I approached and crossed into a black hole. Entering a black hole would be no different than sailing a ship beyond the horizon (as seen from shore). Once inside the black hole, we would be in a new, radically different region of space-time geography from which we could not return.

Fractions of a second inside a black hole equate to millions or billions of years on Earth. Nevertheless, inside a black hole, time appears to pass as normal. Such time differences are the consequence of extreme space-time distortions caused by the black hole’s mass. 

Mind-blowing right? Hold on because it gets even stranger:

A black hole is like a funnel. As the black hole ages, the funnel progressively elongates and narrows. The result is a massive internal space existing within a tiny sphere:

“A very old black hole turns out to have a peculiar geometry: An enormous interior (that continues to grow) and a minuscule (because it has evaporated) horizon that encloses it.”

The interior of an ancient black hole may be millions of light-years in length (in Earth-based measurements). At the bottom of a black hole, the star that collapsed to form it continues to be compressed into an ever-denser mass. The collapsing star is ultimately compressed to a Planc volume, the smallest discrete bit of space-time possible. 

Once the collapsing star collapses to a Planc size, the granularity of space prevents it from being compressed further. At this point (and this is the unproven crux of Rovelli’s theory), the star’s energy quantum tunnels outside of space-time and bounces back, reversed in time. The black hole has now become a white hole.

White holes eject mass rather than trap it. They are like a movie of a black hole running backwards. The collapse of a star into a black hole, the quantum tunneling transition to a white hole, and the subsequent dissipation of its energy take only a tiny fraction of a second. (From a time perspective inside the black hole). Outside the black hole, the process would appear to take billions of years. Rovelli explains: 

“Such starkly different time perspectives co-exist in our universe…Gravity warps time more than we can imagine.”

Things get even crazier!

According to quantum theory, what happens when the Planc star quantum tunnels doesn’t exist! In essence, space-time dissolves into a cloud of probability and then reforms. Rovelli explains:

“The piece of the puzzle to jettison is the idea that events in nature can always be imagined as if they were taking place in space and time.” 

Were it possible to survive quantum tunneling, one would be catapulted a billion years into the future in a fraction of a second. 

That, of course, sounds completely ridiculous!

There’s just one final segment to the story:

You might be familiar with the fact that 95% of the mass of our universe is invisible. Scientists refer to this invisible mass as dark matter. We know it exists because its collective gravity impacts the universe’s rate of expansion. Rovelli theorizes that this dark material emanates from the weak gravity of countless white holes. 

I’ve always wondered what the vacuum of space is made of. Could it be the invisible dark material from white holes?

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So what do white holes have to do with a life well-lived?

Parts of Rovelli’s book were difficult to comprehend, but one thing is clear: the universe is not only stranger than I imagined but stranger than I can imagine. 

The universe is not a mechanical device like a car engine. Its truths are mystifying and transcend human logic. Everything in the universe is relative; nothing is fixed, and yet nothing is separate. 

The book gave me pause to consider my certitudes. What, am I sure of? How do those certainties inform my life, behaviors, and relationships? 

I find astrophysics beautifully mystifying. The subject reminds me to keep an open mind because things aren’t always the way they seem. The book brought to mind a favorite quote:  

“Nothing, not one thing, hurts us more — or causes us to hurt others more — than our certainties.”

-Maria Popova, The Marginalian

When I examine the world, I find that “certainties” are responsible for most conflicts. Why do we insist on pressing our differences? Are our certainties important enough to lose friends over, or worse, go to war?

Mysteries like white holes are beautiful because they demonstrate that reality is beyond our understanding. Life is bigger than us, and regardless of our differing certitudes, we are in this together. 

The hero’s journey in life is to seek union with the mysteries of reality. Each of us must find our own way. Some people turn to science, others choose God. Both approaches point in the same direction. Life’s journey begins with I, moves toward We, and rests in One. 

As I’ve gotten older, my need for certainty has diminished. When I disagree, I’m more inclined to wonder if the other side might have a valid perspective. 

This post is running long, so I better wrap it up.

Song lyrics (as regular readers know) inform my life. The Indigo Girls explain my fascination with the beautiful mysteries of existence and provide a good close:

 “And the less I seek my source for some definitive

Closer I am to fine.”

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