A report by:

RAdm. RM Wey

COSR: SFS-SFC

The existence of such esoteric entities as the 'wormhole' have been the topic of physicists since the time of Einstein. For how can space contain less than nothing? And though quantum physics has been the confounder of intuition since its founding, its proven abilities outweigh such conundrums. In Einstein's theory of gravity, part of general relativity, the presence of matter and energy 'warps' the area around an object in question. But when exotic matter (negative energy or mass) bends space-time, the possibilities of all sorts of 'phenomena' become possible. Traversable wormholes, 'warp drive', even time machines become a possibility. For as the laws of physics permit the existence of such entities the remains the paradoxical problems each presents. Now one must be made to understand that 'negative' energy is NOT antimatter. For antimatter is still a form of 'positive' energy. The effects of such 'negative' energy have been demonstrated in the laboratory, so the concept is not one of pure fantasy. Such arise from the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and are used in the field of quantum optics, and has been demonstrated in the Casimir effect. [Where two uncharged parallel plates alter the vacuum fluctuations in such a way as to attract each other. The energy density between the two plates was calculated to be that of zero. The concept of negative energy can be found in various areas of modern physics. One such area is that of black holes. It was the late Stephen Hawking that postulated that black holes evaporate by emitting radiation [see "The Quantum Mechanics of Black Holes, Stephen Hawking, Scientific American, 01 1977]. Now a black hole radiates energy at a rate inversely proportionate to the square of its mass; this, at first appears a contradiction, as the event horizon of a black hole is a one way dead end. So how is this possible? Because energy must be conserved, an equal amount of negative energy is produced as positive energy flows into the hole, termed 'Hawking Radiation', here the negative energy is produced by the extreme space-time curvature near the hole. Another entity where negative energy appears prevalent is the wormhole [a hypothesized type of tunnel connecting one region of space-time with another]. Such a phenomenon as a traversable entity would require negative energy. Or, the space-time bubble (which theoretically does not violate Einstein's theory of relativity, as the concept of 'warp drive' does) which would theoretically propel a vessel at greater than light speeds. However, it would be a one way trip with no stop off's in-between. A vessel traveling at sub-light speeds would produce such a conduit through the use of negative energy. Presupposing one could do such a thing, then time travel itself becomes possible. Negative energy as a force in the universe is so strange, one would be quick to think it must violate some law of physics. However, there are many phenomena that obey the laws of energy conservation, yet never occur in the natural world. Such entities conflict with the second law of thermodynamics requiring an equal distribution of positive and negative energy. Unfettered negative energy would hold dire consequences for the black hole as well. Formed by the collapse of a dying star, general relativity predicts the creation of a region within a black hole (the singularity) where the gravitation pull becomes infinite. Shielded by an 'event horizon' the effects are minimal, for special 'charged' or 'rotating' black holes (known as extreme black holes) even a minor increase in charge or spin could theoretically strip it of its event horizon producing a 'naked' singularity; currently, a theoretical impossibility. And although quantum physical theory does not prohibit the existence of such 'negative' energy, it does impose some severe restrictions. Referred to as the quantum inequalities, they postulate that a beam of negative energy cannot be arbitrarily intense or sustained for a prolonged period. Thus, an intense pulse can be of only a short duration, and a weak one of a longer one. Further, such a burst would require a larger pulse of positive energy. When applied to wormholes, the quantum inequalities imply that such a structure must be extremely small, or very short-lived. In the late twentieth century it was shown that a wormhole would have a throat radius of no more than 10-32 meters. An object only slightly larger than the Planck length (10-35) meters, the smallest distance that possesses definite meaning. For a vessel the size of the 'Enterprise' (from Next Generation) traveling at ten times the speed of light (or Warp2) would require a bubble 200 meters across and the total negative energy equal to ten billion times the mass of the observable universe. Seemingly making such impossible. Of course, we are still dealing with the science of the 21st century, it is not known what advances will be discovered and made in the next two centuries.