Wormholes in Space

[Sindri]

In a space game using wormholes for FTL what are good excuses to keep the wormholes in space rather than on the surface of planets.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Sindri

In a space game using wormholes for FTL what are good excuses to keep the wormholes in space rather than on the surface of planets.

Stable Wormholes may (possibly must) require massive negative mass equivalents (like negative Jupiters even for throats a few meters in diameter). Obviously putting that much negative mass on a planet would be disastrous.

[David Johnston2]

Thank you, I think I'd like to still have a planet tomorrow. However you make wormholes there's got to be a lot of energy invested in them. The most energy, the bigger the kaboom.

[RyanW]

The traditional justification for FTL not being done on a planetary surface is that creating a stable wormhole/entering hyperspace/establishing a warp bubble/etc. is difficult, dangerous, or impossible within a gravity well above a certain threshold.

[roguebfl]

Oh and don't forget to Jedi Mind trick you players that "Stargate is not the show you are looking for" ;)

[thrash]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Stable Wormholes may (possibly must) require massive negative mass equivalents (like negative Jupiters even for throats a few meters in diameter).

Not necessarily, according to Visser, Kar, and Dadhich (2003). Traversable wormholes still need to be fairly massive (asteroid-equivalent), but the exotic matter requirements can be arbitrarily small.

Of course, you can say that these guys were wrong if that produces the setting you want.

Originally Posted by Sindri

What would be the effects and how far away should a wormhole be located from a inhabited planet to be safe?

Same as any massive object, and probably at least as far as the planet's Roche limit (a couple of diameters, say).

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by thrash

Not necessarily, according to Visser, Kar, and Dadhich (2003). Traversable wormholes still need to be fairly massive (asteroid-equivalent), but the exotic matter requirements can be arbitrarily small.

Interesting, I have an older book by Visser that that says the opposite. I guess it changed.

Still there's good reasons not to put on a planetary surface.

[Captain Joy]

Originally Posted by Sindri

In a space game using wormholes for FTL what are good excuses to keep the wormholes in space rather than on the surface of planets.

A wormhole near a gravity well?! Are you crazy? [Hand wave. Hand wave. Hand wave.]

Wormholes aren't mere doors you just open and walk through. They are a severe curvature of spacetime. You might as well ask why we don't put a solar-mass black hole on the surface of a planet.

Why are you asking about this? Is somebody planning something like this? If they are you better 'fess up right now, buddy.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Captain Joy

A wormhole near a gravity well?! Are you crazy? [Hand wave. Hand wave. Hand wave.]

It's not really much of a handwave. If you can have stable wormholes at all, they are going to be extremely large negative masses. A planet would be repelled by them and they'd be attracted to the planet. It would be a really bad idea to put one anywhere near a planet you want to keep.

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

It's not really much of a handwave. If you can have stable wormholes at all, they are going to be extremely large negative masses. A planet would be repelled by them and they'd be attracted to the planet. It would be a really bad idea to put one anywhere near a planet you want to keep.

I read that triple hand wave like the Japanese body language of negation ... basically trying to waff the thought away like bad air.