The Universe

Wormholes and Cosmic Strings

What is a cosmic string?

According to current hypotheses, a cosmic string is a giant vibrating strand or closed loop of matter; it is almost like a black hole, but long and thin, rather than a point or sphere. Cosmic strings may have been produced by gravitational shifts in the early universe. They could be envisioned as “creases” left in an otherwise smooth transition from the initial phases of cosmic evolution. They might also be described as “wrinkles” in the texture of the universe, moving and wiggling around in spacetime. A cosmic string may be many light-years long, but far thinner than the width of a human hair, and may contain the mass of billions upon billions of stars. A cosmic string may also carry an extremely strong electrical current.

