A recent study conducted by Spanish scientists at the Department of Physics at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) lead to the creation of the first-ever laboratory "wormhole" that can magnetically connect two regions of space, according to The Times of India.
"Wormhole" is a term that refers to a tunnel in space that can connect two places in the universe, no matter how much distance is between them. The term has been popularized by works of science fiction such as "Star Trek" and is typically associated with time travel.
The traditional "wormhole" is a tunnel connected by gravitational energy. However, this is not possible with present-day technology, as it would require large amounts of gravitational energy, something that scientists are currently unaware of how to create.
The laboratory "wormhole" created at the UAB uses electromagnetism to achieve similar results. Using their design, an electromagnetic wave travelled from one point to another through what appears to be an invisible tunnel that exists outside of the currently known three dimensions, according to Sci-News.com.
The UAB scientists used metamaterials and metasurfaces to create a sphere that is impossible to magnetically detect from the outside, according to Gizmag.
"We experimentally show that the magnetic field from a source at one end of the wormhole appears at the other end as an isolated magnetic monopolar field, creating the illusion of a magnetic field propagating through a tunnel outside the 3-D space," said Alvaro Sanchez, senior author of the paper.
Renowned physicist Steven Hawking has stated that for time travel to be possible, "all you need is a wormhole," according to the Daily Mail.
