# Relativity: Local space VS wormholes

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relativity-local-space-vs-wormholes/59633>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 27, 2001, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relativity-local-space-vs-wormholes/59633 "2001-03-27T03:20:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2001, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relativity-local-space-vs-wormholes/59633/1 "2001-03-27T03:20:11Z")

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According to the Special theory of relativity, nothing can go faster than light because if it could, there would be reference frames for which this motion would be equivalent to going back in time. Ok. However, some people think that under the rules of General relativity, you could have various kinds of warped space leading to shortcuts. In other words, your local velocity would never exceed the speed of light, but you could still get somewhere faster than a light beam taking the “long” route.

My question is, doesn’t this still run into the “backwards in time” paradox? Because regardless of how you acheive it, you’re still getting to your destination faster than the “one light-year per year” rule. It seems to me that saying that there could be non-local routes to distant stars is equivalent to saying that for some frames of reference, your wormhole goes backwards in time.

Now if it could be shown that such wormholes **must** be allowable under the rules of General relativity, then physicists would be forced to address the time travel problem.

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**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2001, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relativity-local-space-vs-wormholes/59633/2 "2001-03-27T03:51:53Z")

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I post this, and then read the [Speed of light makes space travel pointless](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=64995) thread, which pretty much answers the question. Moderator, you can close this one.