of the theory of general relativity. They were called Einstein-Rosen "bridges," and

are thought of as holes through space-time. Wormholes have never been spotted, though

one Russian researcher believes he could spot them with a radio telescope… but it's never

been done. Until now, sort of.

Scientists at the Autonomous University of Barcelona have created a magnetic wormhole

that appears to transfer a magnetic field through quote "an extra special dimension."

Magnetic wormholes aren't space-time wormholes, but they are a similar concept. Space-time

wormholes are a manipulation of gravitational energy, which we don't YET know how to do,

whereas magnetic wormholes are manipulating electromagnetic energy. Which we're really

good at. Using metamaterials (something that gave me a headache on DNews before) the scientists

were able to create a tunnel of magnetic energy last year, and this year they made the tunnel

invisible. See, while "normal" space-time wormholes connect two points in this (or other)

universes through an unseen bridge, but this wormhole connects two magnetic fields through

an unseen bridge!

It's really key to point out, that if you looked at the wormhole, you'd see it. It's

not invisible to the human eye, just to magnetic sensing. A normal magnet has two poles, North

and South, and they're opposed, with a magnetic field connecting them. In this case, their

wormhole separated the poles, singling them out, creating a monopole -- something that

does not happen in nature. Researchers can't tell where the magnetic field that connects

those monopoles is, which gives the illusion it's in a "special dimension." This device

makes a monopole pop into existence, with no detectable connection to that pole on the

other side.

Manipulation of magnetic fields is used for Magnetic Resonance Imaging at hospitals. MRI

machines use giant magnets to force the protons inside our bodies to align, then use radio

waves to knock them around, causing them to show up on the scans. MRI scanners are very

sensitive to other magnetic interference, and any metal can ruin the image and be dangerous

to the occupants; because it's basically a giant electromagnet. Not to mention people

have to slide into that claustrophobia-inducing tube. With this new magnetic manipulation

technique, MRI machines might be built which could scan multiple things at once without

interference, and wouldn't need one massive magnet. Using a magnetic wormhole MRI they

might be able to do surgery and scan at the same time!

Plus, the manipulation of electromagnetic fields isn't just big business in medical

science… Remember way back in 2007 when Bush was president

and I was a server at a popular chain Italian restaurant? A study in Physical Review Letters

made a big splash when it found if you could manipulate electromagnetic energy in such

a way, to create an "invisibility cloak," and that is essentially what these Spanish

researchers have done! They hid a magnetic field's distortions from the outside, by using

metamaterials, to create an invisible electromagnetic wormhole.

In the end, this wormhole can't move anything from one place to another, and, like much

scientific research, doesn't do anything super practical at the moment, but it IS a proof-of-concept

for some future technologies and could be used for things we haven't even thought of

yet. On top of that, it's a great simulation of the gravitational wormhole we sci-fi addicts

know and love! So, when we finally learn to manipulate gravitational energy on a massive

scale… we'll have a few more theories to work with.

If you're more into the mystery of gravitational wormholes, Dr. Ian O'Neill and I did a podcast

over on TestTube Plus all about black holes, wormholes, white holes and really insane physics.

It was a great series!! (soundup-link to playlist) There's also a link in the description if

you're on mobile, OR if you're more of a radio person, check it out over on itunes! We took

all five episodes from YouTube and smushed them into one kick-ass black hole podcast.