This has potential to bridge general relativity and quantum mechanics

It argues that wormholes and quantum entanglement are the same thing

This links the theories proposed in two papers by these physicists

In 1935, physicists published two papers introducing key concepts on the theoretical understanding of the universe: wormholes and quantum entanglement.

But, what if these two separately described phenomena were actually the same thing?

A Stanford physicist has proposed this radical idea in the form of a new equation, ER=EPR – and he says it could build a space-time bridge between the long-competing theories of general relativity and quantum mechanics.

Scroll down to watch Leonard Susskind explain his theory

A Stanford physicist has proposed a radical idea in the form of a new equation, ER=EPR – and it could build a space-time bridge between the long-competing theories of general relativity and quantum mechanics

QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT In quantum physics, entangled particles remain connected so that actions performed by one affects the behaviour of the other, even if they are separated by huge distances. This means if you measure, 'up' for the spin of one photon from an entangled pair, the spin of the other, measured an instant later, will be 'down' - even if the two are on opposite sides of the world. Entanglement takes place when a part of particles interact physically. For instance, a laser beam fired through a certain type of crystal can cause individual light particles to be split into pairs of entangled photons. The theory that so riled Einstein is also referred to as 'spooky action at a distance'. Einstein wasn't happy with theory, because it suggested that information could travel faster than light. Advertisement

The equation is not numerical, but instead relies on the authors behind the renowned theories: the Einstein-Rosen bridge and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement.

Though it was first proposed by Leonard Susskind from Stanford University and Juan Maldacena from the Institute for Advance Study at Princeton in 2013, according to Science Alert, the implications of this equation have now been described in a new paper, published to the journal arXiv.

‘I feel that our current views of quantum mechanics are provisional; it’s the best we can do without a much deeper understanding of its connection with gravity, but it’s not final,’ Susskind wrote.

‘The reason involves a very particular development, the so called ER=EPR principle.

'ER=EPR tells us that the immensely complicated network of entangled subsystems that comprises the universe is also an immensely complicated (and technically complex) network of Einstein-Rosen bridges.’

Wormholes, also known as Einstein-Rosen bridges, act as a link between two points in space-time.

If you were to fall through one end, you would appear on the other side almost instantly, even if it were on the other side of the Universe, and in a different time.

Entanglement describes a phenomenon in which particles remain connected so that actions performed by one affects the behaviour of the other, even if they are separated by huge distances.

In quantum physics, entangled particles remain connected so that actions performed by one affects the behaviour of the other, even if they are separated by huge distances. This is illustrated in the artist's impression above

By marrying these two concepts with this equation, the researcher argues that ‘the phenomena of Einstein-Rosen bridges and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement are really the same.’

The implications of this idea can be considered in both modest and ambitions terms, Susskind says.

‘The ambitious view is that some future conception of quantum geometry will even allow us to think of two entangled spins – a Bell pair – as being connected by a Planckian wormhole,’ Susskind writes.

WHAT IS A WORMHOLE? Space-time can be warped and distorted. It takes an enormous amount of matter or energy to create such distortions, but theoretically, distortions are possible. In the case of the wormhole, a shortcut is made by warping the fabric of space-time. Imagine folding a piece of paper with two pencil marks drawn on it to represent two points in space-time. The line between them shows the distance from one point to the other in normal space-time. If the paper is now bent and folded over almost double - the equivalent to warping space-time - then poking the pencil through the paper provides a much shorter way of linking the two points, in the same way a wormhole would create a shortcut. The problem with using wormholes to travel in space or time is that they are inherently unstable. When a particle enters a wormhole, it also creates fluctuations that cause the structure to collapse in on it. Advertisement

‘The modest view first of all says that black holes connected by ERBs are entangled and also the conversely entangled black holes are connected by ERBs.’

And, it doesn’t stop there, the researcher explains.

Susskind says that entanglement can be seen as a ‘fungible resource,’ which can be used to carry out a wide range of tasks, including teleportation, and can be transformed between its many forms.

Essentially, the physicists suggest ‘that quantum mechanics and gravity are far more tightly related than we (or at least I) had ever imagined.