The mind-bending science 'Interstellar' actually got right
What's the story
The film Interstellar is famous for its portrayal of complicated space-time concepts, leaving audiences spellbound across the globe. Though fictional, the movie features a number of scientifically accurate elements that correspond with the current understanding in physics. Here, we take a look at some key areas where Interstellar matches real-world space-time theories, giving you an insight into how they are shown on screen.
Black holes
Black holes and gravitational time dilation
In Interstellar, the depiction of black holes is surprisingly accurate. The movie shows how time slows down near a humongous gravitational field, thanks to gravitational time dilation. The idea stems from Einstein's general theory of relativity, which describes how time passes at different rates based on the intensity of gravity. The visual from the film closely matches scientific simulations.
Wormholes
Wormholes as cosmic shortcuts
The concept of wormholes as shortcuts through space-time is yet another idea explored in Interstellar. Although wormholes are still theoretical, they are grounded in solutions to Einstein's equations, which indicate possible passages connecting distant points in space-time. The movie employs this concept to enable intergalactic travel, mirroring ongoing scientific conversations about their possible existence.
Higher dimensions
Tesseract and higher dimensions
The iconic tesseract scene in Interstellar familiarizes viewers with higher dimensions beyond the three we see. In theoretical physics, higher dimensions are plausible under certain frameworks (like string theory). The movie creatively visualizes these ideas by showing a character manipulating time as a physical dimension, in line with speculative scientific theories.
Space travel challenges
Realistic depiction of space travel challenges
Notably, Interstellar also deals with realistic challenges of space travel, such as limited resources and human survival in extreme conditions. These are similar to actual problems scientists and engineers working on long-duration missions beyond Earth's orbit have to deal with. By showing these problems, the movie emphasizes the complexity of exploring faraway worlds while remaining rooted in scientific reality.