Concept of White Hole: Universe may have resulted out of a ‘Big Bounce’

Source: The post is based on the article “Concept of White Hole: Universe may have resulted out of a Big Bounce” published in “The Hindu” on 14th November 2023

Why in the News?

Carlo Rovelli has written a book called White Holes: Inside the Horizon. In this book, he explains the theoretical existence of white holes.

What are White Holes?

White Hole is the reverse of Black Hole.

Black hole is a region from which nothing, not even light, can escape due to the overwhelming gravitational pull.

On the other hand, white hole is envisioned as a region into which nothing can fall. Instead of matter and energy being pulled inward, a white hole would expel matter and light, but nothing could enter it.

Who devised the idea of White Holes?

White holes emerge from the solutions of Einstein’s theory of general relativity devised by Karl Schwarzschild in 1916, just a year after the theory was first published. 

Is there any evidence that White Hole exists?

No, White holes are still purely a theoretical concept and have not been observed. 

What does Carlo Rovelli say about White Holes in his book?

White holes are the reverse of black holes, where objects fall in and then bounce back. Einstein’s theories predict the bounce-out phenomenon, but quantum mechanics provides more support.

The concept of “loop quantum gravity” proposes that a black hole can bounce and transform into a white hole.

This bounce-out theory implies that space and time undergo “quantum jumps,” challenging our conventional understanding of space-time.

Moreover, there is also a possibility that our universe originated from a white hole and a previous universe might have been swallowed by a black hole.

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