9781802062144

W HITE HOL E S

PENGUIN BOOKS

WHITE HOLES

The biggest small book you’ll ever read’ Simon Ings, Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year

‘White Holes edifies, excites, and even transforms me’ Maggie Nelson

‘Will enchant the many fans of the stellar cosmologist . . . a work of poetry and imagination as much as physics’  Financial Times, Books of the Year

‘Carlo Rovelli’s big new idea . . . Like Virgil, he is our guide to the unknown . . It is always worth reading Rovelli. He writes like he believes you are as learned and clever as he is. Yet he also writes with such care for your ignorance that it feels every page is urging and coaxing you – a non-physicist – to see what he can see’ Tom Whipple, The Times

‘Carlo Rovelli’s brilliant new book White Holes asks surprising questions . . A beautiful little book, by a celebrated physicist and writer, about a phenomenon that is permitted by equations but might not actually exist . . . What elevates this book is the author’s supernatural concision, and his artistic and philosophical elegance’

Steven Poole, Daily Telegraph

‘The rockstar theoretical physicist . . . In White Holes, Rovelli, in lyrical prose and quoting extensively from Dante’s Inferno, takes us inside a black hole, a tunnel that narrows as it lengthens. At the bottom is the star that created it . . . a hallucinatory journey’

Pippa Bailey, New Statesman

‘Carlo Rovelli is brilliant at making even dopey arts graduates understand physics before comprehension disappears into the black hole of ignorance. Now he turns to white holes. Apparently, where time and space end, the white hole is born (I think)’ The Times

‘We all know about black holes – we’ve even seen a picture of one. But white holes? In his latest book, theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli weaves a poetic spell to persuade us that these mysterious entities are real . . . an enjoyable and enlightening read . . . one of the clearest pictures I have encountered about the physics inside black holes . . . You probably won’t ever fall into a black hole (or exit a white hole), but reading this might be the next best thing’ Abigail Beall, New Scientist

‘Possibly the most charming book by a mainstream scientist this year . . . Carlo Rovelli is a maestro’ Clive Cookson, Financial Times

‘Taking the journey with Rovelli is more than worth the price of the book. Dante gave us his tour of the underworld. We could not do better than having Rovelli as a guide into the dark world of black holes’ NPR

‘White Holes reads more like poetry than a science lesson . . . and says as much about imagination and exploration as it does about physics . . . Rovelli helps readers grasp how important imagination is to seeing the universe in new ways, for both artists and scientists’ Andrew Demillo, Associated Press

‘World-renowned physicist Rovelli’s writing is so magical –  weaving in Dante and Einstein and art as he goes – you’re happy to be transported. His new book . . . takes us on a bewitching trip into the heart of a black hole. There where time and space end, its opposite – a white hole – is born’ Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller, Editor’s Choice

‘Carlo Rovelli is the poet of physics. His sense of wonder obliterates the barrier between Science and the Arts’ Alan Garner

‘Rovelli’s genius is to unlearn what we think we know to make space for what we don’t know . . . so that we can know it’ Jeanette Winterson

‘Carlo Rovelli combines science and story like no one else. This short book starts with a wild idea that turned out to be real (black holes), and leads to a wild idea that remains speculative at the moment (white holes). It’s a journey through time and space and possibility, led by a charming guide’ Sean Carroll

‘Carlo Rovelli’s combination of a brilliant scientific mind with philosophical clarity and a deeply and humanely poetic gift of expression is rare. This latest book is a wonderful addition to an already impressive list of works, leading us from the remotest reaches of cosmological speculation to revolutionary insights into our own consciousness’ Rowan Williams

‘A wild, exhilarating ride, Dantesque in scope and beauty’ Michael Symmons Roberts

‘This is a radical wonder of a book that dares to take the lay reader by the hand and lead them, with generosity and tenderness, into a place that is so conceptually terrifying that it hovers on the periphery of what humans can imagine – namely – the inside of a black hole. Referencing Dante’s voyage in the Divine Comedy and framing Einstein as Virgil, who takes us as far as his theories could then go, it is Rovelli himself who becomes our Beatrice, revealing through time elastic and true physics, the existence of another, perhaps stranger, cosmic eventuality’ Tacita Dean

‘A brilliant, expansive and richly rewarding read’ Irenosen Okojie

‘What a lovely idea, to cast research into white holes – which may or may not be floating like dragonflies through the universe – as a Dantean journey to the heart of cutting-edge theory. Beautifully done’ Ruth Padel

‘Thought-provoking, mind-expanding, and utterly charming. An intellectual feast that’s also a fast and entertaining read’ Robert J. Sawyer

‘To venture across the threshold of a black hole and then – incredibly – to burst through to the other side into the imagined but unseen realm of a white hole requires the most expert and sympathetic of guides. Carlo Rovelli is just who you need for such a daunting cosmic journey – ever patient, crystal clear and ready with a steadying hand. What could be a bewildering experience becomes one that’s lyrical and illuminating. I read this short, enchanting, mind-opening book in one sitting and was so gripped I immediately read it again’ David Shukman

‘Rovelli’s vivid, beautifully written book guides us on an incredible journey through a black hole and the science and history of discovery that surrounds these strange, fascinating objects. I couldn’t put it down’ Daniel Locke

‘A charming introduction to the mysterious concept of white holes. Carlo Rovelli is a truly beguiling tour guide’ Sarah Hart

‘Whenever I feel like I’m descending into obscurity I think of Carlo Rovelli and feel much better’ Sabine Hossenfelder (via Twitter)

‘Rovelli poetically yet rigorously guides the reader through the physics of black holes, never talking down to the reader but at the same time leaving no stone unturned in making sure everything is understandable’ Astronomy Now

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carlo Rovelli is an internationally acclaimed writer whose books, including  Seven Brief Lessons on Physics,  The Order of Time and Helgoland, have been No. 1 bestsellers around the world, translated into over forty languages. As a theoretical physicist, he has made significant contributions to the physics of space and time and he is currently directing the quantum gravity research group of the Centre de physique théorique in Marseille, France.

White Holes

carlo

rovelli

Translated by Simon Carnell

PENGUIN BOOK S

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Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com

PENGUIN BOOKS

UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia

India | New Zealand | South Africa

Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com

First Published in Italian by Adelphi Edizioni S.P.A. Milano 2023

This translation first published by Allen Lane 2023

Published in Penguin Books 2024 001

First Published in Italian by Adelphi Edizioni S.P.A. Milano 2023

Copyright © Carlo Rovelli, 2023

Translation copyright Simon Carnell, 2023

This translation first published by Allen Lane 2023

Published in Penguin Books 2024 001

The moral right of the author and of the translator has been asserted

Typeset by Jouve (UK), Milton Keynes

Copyright © Carlo Rovelli, 2023

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A.

Translation copyright Simon Carnell, 2023

The moral right of the author and of the translator has been asserted

The authorized representative in the EEA is Penguin Random House Ireland, Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin d 02 yh 68

Typeset by Jouve (UK), Milton Keynes

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A.

isbn : 978–1–802–06214–4

The authorized representative in the EEA is Penguin Random House Ireland, Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin d 02 yh 68

www.greenpenguin.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library isbn : 978–1–802–06214–4

www.greenpenguin.co.uk

Penguin Random Hous e is committed to a sustainable future for our business , our readers and our planet. is book is made from Forest Stewardship Council® certified paper

Penguin Random Hous e is committed to a sustainable future for our business , our readers and our planet. is book is made from Forest Stewardship Council® certified paper

To Francesca, comrade in science and dreams

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger . . . is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.

– Albert Einstein

part one

Beginning is the hardest step. The first words open a space. Like the first glance of the girl I am about to fall in love with –  a life is decided by the hint of a smile. I long hesitated before starting to write. Long walks in the woods behind the house, here in Canada.

Still not sure where I am going.

For some years now my research has focused on white holes, the elusive younger siblings of black ones. This is my book about white holes. In it, I try to describe black holes, which we now see in the heavens in their hundreds, as best as I can: what happens at the edge of these strange stars, their horizon, where time appears to slow until it stops, and space seems to end. And then inside, down, all the way down into the deepest inner regions, where time and space melt. Where time seems to reverse direction. Where white holes are born.

it is a travel tale. it is also the story of an ongoing adventure. as at the beginning of any journey, i am not sure where it will take me –  at that first smile we can’t ask where we are going to live together –  but i have a flight plan in mind. we get to the edge of the