La magia de los agujeros de gusano

Los agujeros de gusano o puentes de Einstein-Rosen son quizá el método espe­culativo más recurrente para referir una máquina del tiempo en términos de físi­ca.

Aunque el concepto ya era manejado por Einstein desde 1916, el término fue ideado y generalizado por el físico teórico Kip Thorne y un equipo de científi­cos del Instituto Tecnológico de California, Estados Unidos, en 1988.

Consiste básicamente en la conexión de dos agujeros negros para crear un tubo que se mantendrá abierto por acción de materia exótica estelar.

Así, las bocas de este túnel de espacio-tiempo podrían conectar dos distintas etapas en la historia.

En realidad esto no podría funcionar de manera correcta debido a que sería destruido por la energía generada en su interior; Stephen Hawking men­ciona que la radiación energética que penetre por un extremo sería reproducida en la otra época y al entrar en un ciclo continuo se duplicaría en cada intercam­bio y acumularía tanta energía que finalmente lo haría colapsar.

El físico Li-Xin Li, del Centro de Ciencia y Tecnología Avanzada de Beijing, China, propuso una solución a este dilema con la ayuda de un espejo gigante.

Basándose en la teoría gene­ral de la relatividad de Einstein, Li-Xin estima que una máquina del tiempo funcional podría construirse a partir de dos agujeros de gusano de diez kilómetros de ancho, cada uno con una esfera reflejante del mismo tamaño a una distancia mínima de su entrada.

De acuerdo con su teoría, publicada en la revista Physical Review, los centros de las esferas deberán estar alineados, de manera que cualquier tipo de radiación y ondas gravitacionales po­drán ser reflejados de inmediato hacia el espacio sin ocasionar daños.

La limitante en todo caso sigue siendo la misma: no sólo habrá que crear un agujero de gusano, tarea por lo demás complicada, también hacer una esfera de tales proporciones y de un material muy resistente.

La resurrección en el cine de ciencia ficción

La resurrección es patrimonio de las religiones y hasta la fecha, elude los esfuerzos científicos.

No obstante, la ficción científica o ciencia- ficción ha retomado la idea en relatos o películas de corte fantástico que deleitan y seducen a grandes audiencias.




Frankenstein (1815). La novela de Mary Shelley que se considera la pieza que inaugura la historia de la Ciencia- Ficción, es un relato de resurrección. Víctor Frankenstein, prototipo del “científico loco", recupera los miembros de distintos cadáveres y los une para conformar una nueva criatura. El resultado es un monstruo que termina por ma­tarlo y constituye todo un arquetipo del género.




Solaris (1962). La novela del polonés Stanislaw Lem fue adaptada en una gran cinta de Andrei Tarkovsky (1972). En ella conocemos los extraños acontecimientos que el psicó­logo Kris Kelvin vive en la estación espacial situada en el planeta Solaris, entre ellos el regreso de Hari, su esposa que se había suicidado años antes. Aterrado, Kelvin la expulsa en un cohete, pero ella regresa indemne, provista de una fuerza sobrenatural.




La noche de los muertos vivientes (1968) Aunque los zombis no son una invención de George A. Romero, es este director de cine quien ha explotado con mayor inteligencia e inventiva el tema. En ésta, la primera cinta de una serie irregular dirigida por él, los muertos regresan a la vida como agresivos autómatas que se alimentan de la carne de los humanos normales.




Alíen: la Resurrección (1997). Alíen, la serie cinemato­gráfica de culto iniciada por el director Ridley Scott en los años setenta, también aborda la posibilidad de la resurrec­ción. En esta entrega, situada doscientos años después de los episodios iniciales, la agente Ellen Ripley (interpretada por Sigourney Weaver) resucita mediante un proceso de clonación para atestiguar horrorizada el poder en aumento de los extraterrestres.





Resurrection Planet (2009). Este peculiar libro de Lucas Colé se inscribe en el no menos curioso género de la "ciencia-ficción cristiana”. Su trama se sitúa en el futuro remoto, después del segundo advenimiento de Jesús a la Tierra y relata un conflicto interplanetario entre un vestigio del anti­guo Imperio romano y Sibaris, el planeta de la resurrección habitado por zombis.

Nagzira : a sleeping gem

It was around 1030 one night when I had received an invite to visit Nagzira WLS. Nagzira? Where? While I continued to speak to Rajneesh Naidu of India Reconnoiterd, my mind was Googling to find this place on the map of India. Rajneesh was hosting an event named ‘Rendezvous at Nagzira’ where he had invited 20 guests from different spheres of life. I had a busy travel schedule for May, but the idea of meeting many photographer friends was enticing. Talking to some of them did not solve the mystery as all of them were clueless about the agenda of the event.  

Jai displaying Flehman's Response

11^th May, 2012. The Indigo flight from Delhi to Nagpurdeparted on time and arrived before time. I like travelling by Indigo for this reason. Udai, Shovna and Suez Akram (of Serai Tiger Resort, Tadoba) was in the same flight. We shared the vehicle provided by the organizers for the 120km road trip from thereon. It was peak of summer in May, and Nagpurhappens to be one of the hottest places of India. We had the AC on for 100km, but switched it off for the last 20km of the journey to acclimatize. In two hours we were expected to be out on a safari under a blazing sun. As we left the highway at Sakoli and started moving through a sparsely wooded area, the warm breeze wafted in made me feel that it would not be hot as was expected. Green cover always helps to keep temperature couple of degrees lower.

Some guests had already arrived at the camp. The campsite is just inside the first level entrance gate to the park. Visitors to the park have to obtain entry permits at this gate. We joined the lunch party which doubled up as a familiarization session. Motley of crowd from various walks of life – conservations, tour operators, media, photographers, tourists, resort owners, formed the group. I was happy with my tag of tourist. The campsite is a socio-economic development initiative of Forest Deptt and is run with the help of the Pitzeri Village Eco Development Committee, a body of local villagers.  Most of these villagers are rehabilitee from the core area of the park. As a conservation initiative, Rajneesh’s group has provided financial assistance to the project. The 5 acre campuses have about 10 basic tents of different capacities, each equipped with a cooler. The campus has a rustic feel about it. A few more trees will make it cooler. Tents layout also needs to be re-worked. There are a few small shops outside the entry gates which stayed open quite late for the remoteness of the place.

Veeru making a majestic entry to the scene

Post lunch we setout for first safari. The core area of park is about 5-6 km from the entrance gate. You have to cross a second gate, which was the earlier boundary of the park. I shared the gypsy with good friend Udai and Shovna. Local lad Bhavesh Nirwan was the 4^th companion in our gypsy. The park is like his backyard where he comes almost every weekend. Having him as our companion was an added bonus as he had excellent knowledge of the jungle. The park was in news those days for regular sighting of A-mark female tigress with her two sub-adult cubs Jai and Veeru. This peace of news has ensured a heavy stream of tiger tourists. 99% of the tourists are day visitors who have single point agenda – tiger sighting. Tiger was low on priority on the first trip. We wanted to have a feel of the forest. Roads are fairly well defined and were in good condition, though dusty. Terrain is mixed, but generally plain with occasional hillocks to climb. The forest has only one natural water source, a lake by which the forest rest house Neelay is located. Till the camps came up, this was the only option to stay. Due to scarcity of natural water sources, the Forest deptt has built many artificial waterholes across the parks which are the lifeline of the park. In summer time, waiting near these waterholes provides rich dividends as animals will invariably come to these to quench thirst. Safari generally moves checking one after another of these numbered waterholes. ‘Pehle 2 no check kar lete hein, then we will go to 7no’… this is how Bhavesh and the guides decided our course of safaris. During the four safaris, we had many sighting of A-mark and the two cubs. After having covered most corners of the jungle, we decided to wait for them at a waterhole on our third safari. After locating Jai and Veeru, we choose our spot carefully by the nearest waterhole anticipating tiger’s route to the waterhole. During the hour long wait, Jai and Veeru were resting inside bushes, around 100 mtr off the waterhole. The tiger tourists, many in private AC cars, were crowding around that place trying to get a peek of the sleeping tigers. To many of them we looked stupid to sit out in the sun, but we knew what we were expecting. Jai and Veeru did not disappoint us. They came out one by one, walking majestically to the waterhole, along our anticipated path and provided us with one of the best photographic sightings of my life. The light was great for photography. Eventually we left our spot after 10 min of relentless shooting to let others enjoy it. The other fantastic sighting was of a flock of about 20 wild dogs. We missed a leopard sighting by a whisker. Despite our effort, we missed Dendu, the dominant male which is known to be temperamental and charges at vehicles.

Nagzira is yet to be declared as a tiger reserved. It is a Wild Life Sanctuary (WLS), an IUCN Category IV habitat. It was declared a WLS in 1970 and has an area of 152sq km. Both the core and the buffer area are being extended to expand the habitat. All the villages have been rehabilitated out of the core area. It has about 15 tigers, besides leopard and bears. The prey base appears to be small which is a cause of concern. Lack of natural water bodies will continue to hound the park. The lone lake is big enough and was having enough water. Tankers use to pump water from this lake and ferry it to the artificial water holes.

Tourist facilities at the park as of now are limited. Because of lack of infrastructure tourism is at nascent stage. The gypsies are too few and most of them are rickety. These are apparently 3^rd /4^thhand brought from other parks. Rajneesh apprised us of an initiative to finance new gypsy which are likely to come by October 2012. Once new vehicles arrive, entry of private vehicles, at least the diesel ones, will be banned. Authorities are forced to allow private vehicles which were a nuisance. The moment the tigers appeared in the scene, it was a melee. The guards had hard time controlling vehicles. This has come to be a common issue almost all tiger reserves. Nagzira is no different.  Accommodation as now is also limited. Besides the tents, there is a forest rest house. A luxury resort was seen coming up in the periphery of the park. Make sure to book your accommodation and safari before you reach. In my opinion, one should combine this visit with Tadoba.

On the final evening the group sat down to share their experiences and suggestions. The agenda of this event war to expose this motley crowd to this place called Nagzira and discuss on the dos and don’ts to make it a quality destination in future. Sustainable development with concern for conservation was the focus of discussion. Need of the hour is to find a sustainable alternative livelihood for the locals to keep them falling prey to lucrative poaching. Development is a two edged sword. Developing tourist infrastructure will bring in more tourists and hence more means of livelihood for locals. More tourists also mean more funds for forest to spend on conservation. On the other hand, development will destroy some its wilderness and pristine charm. Nobody wants Nagzira to be a la Tadoba or Ranthambhore. It will attract quality tourist only if it can stay untouched of mass commercialization like many other tiger reserves. The big positive for the park is that it has Tigers and they are regularly seen.

Veeru in a royal stance

A lively deliberation that evening enlightened us about initiatives being taken at different corners of India. It was heartening to know that trusts are being set up for each park where all gate fees collected will get parked and will be used only for conservation and socio-economic activities undertaken by the park management. Till now all gate fees collected used to go to the common state treasury, which is used by cash strapped state governments for all purposes – from paying salaries of government employees to btild roads elsewhere. We all believe that fund generated from tourism of a wildlife park should be used only for conservation and maintaining the park.

Rajneesh played a perfect host. From cabs to safaris to food to meeting with forest officials – they took care of everything during those two days. Their hospitality had blown us over. They took care of even small details like, ensuring bottle of mineral water in the cabs. I made several new friends during those two days, some of whom I may not meet again. But Rajneesh is the one whom I will certainly be meeting again and again in future. Looking forward to my first trip to Tadoba.

Last-minute travel has gone mobile

This summer we have seen a notable shift towards the use of mobile devices, when the Brits search for last-minute travel products. For certain types of products, up to 40% of all Google queries are made on either a tablet or other high-end mobile device. We encourage online marketers to align their activities accordingly to ensure full capture of traffic which comes through Search on all devices. Please find more details about our findings at this link.

Posted by Jonas Vang Gregersen, Sr. Industry Analyst

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More travel research for you to explore

Want to understand how search drives travel purchases? To compare mobile and desktop use? To understand more about the ROPO effect: research online, purchase offline. Or perhaps you want to deep-dive into the travel market in a particular country? Think Insights is home to the latest insights from a wide range of industries including the travel sector. The site houses case studies and thoughts from leaders to help you develop your travel digital strategy. And now the site has expanded to cover 21 different countries, across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. You can now search our expanded library by country and by sector, making the latest travel research even easier to find. Plus, there are new tools and videos for you to explore, including: two videos on the consumer journey looking at ROPO and attribution. Check out this video to see how the newly expanded Think Insights website can help you. And follow Think on Google+. Posted by Claire Martin, Product Marketing Manager, Google UK

Let’s start with the stats of the trip - 12 tiger sightings and 1 leopard sighting in 4 safaris.

It was my second visit to the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in less than a year. I fell in love with the park on my first visit last year. Of the all parks I have visited, it provides the best possibility of seeing a tiger in wild. Despite the high possibility and a good tiger density, sighting of a tiger in wild is still a matter of luck. And if luck is with you, you are bound to see more than one tiger here. We saw 12 tigers in this trip. Two of my friends who were in a different gypsy saw 8 in 4 safaris. A minimum of 3 safaris is benchmark out of which at least 2 should be in Tala zone.

Despite large no of tiger sighting, the trip did not started off well for us. This time I took my mother to show her a tiger in the wild. Misfortune stuck us even before we landed at Umaria as my mother’s purse was stolen in the train (Jammu Tawi – Durg Express) where she lost her mobile and cash. With a bit of sadness we arrived at the Green Woods Resort. The resort is about 6 km from the Tala gate which turned out to be a bit too far for a small place like Tala. It is actually inside the Panpatha WLS. The other resort there was the Tiger Lagoon. These two resorts are the farthest located resort at Tala. For the 6am safari, you have to leave resort by 5:15am. If you leave by 5:30am, you are bound to get late. We had stayed there for we could bargain a nice package. Though located far away, its location is quite scenic.

We had planned and booked the safaris well in advance, in Feb itself. It is very important to get safaris for Tala booked in advance. Booking online is not easy as the web portal is problematic. After a couple of futile attempts to book tickets ourselves, we had got it booked through the resort and got the receipts mailed to be double sure that safaris are booked. On our arrival we had found that because of a long weekend, there was considerable rush at Bandhavgarh. So much so that even the Magadhi zone with 65 vehicles was also sold out. Under pressure, the resort staff did not handle the safaris well, even for other guests.

Magadhi madness

Our first safari was planned for Magadhi zone. It was on the afternoon of our arrival. Being a non-premium zone, a safari in this zone cost Rs.3100/-. There is only one area where you get to see tiger in this zone – the Mahaman dam. As it was quite early for tiger movement, we decided to take a round of that area. But finally returned to the Mahaman dam. There was lot activity those days around the dam with Mahaman female with 3 cubs and Mukunda male giving them company. But this being only point to have a tiger sighting, all of 65 vehicles would converge there creating a scene of chaos. Entire stretch of 100 meters or so was blocked by gypsies leaving no passage for tigers to cross. The result was that, in the late afternoon one tiger came out from the bushes and as there was no passage for it to move to the pond, it went back. Only a couple gypsies could see it, one of them being my friends. For my friend Sanjib, it was his first tiger sighting after 2 futile attempts at Corbett. He was the happiest man that night. The no of vehicles allowed – 65 had scared me even before I had booked a Magadhi trip. Even half that no would have been too much. This scare actually turned into a nightmare with 65 vehciles in that evening. It is always better to pay 1000 bucks more for a Tala trip. In fact this Mahaman dam area falls under A-C route of Tala. If you do 3-4 safaris in Tala, then you are bound to get at least one A-C route trip, which would mean you not only have access to Tala zone tigers, but also to the only tiger sighting point of Magadhi zone.

Next morning we set out for Tala. We had booked our both Tala trips in the morning half. Second half safaris are not good for photography as light falls off very fast once it is past 4:30pm or so. The resort staff created another mess by changing my gyspy. The driver had to revalidate the pass. We lost almost 20 min of prime morning time. Later I realized that we lost that time more for the driver then the resort staff. The driver had actually killed time at the counter. In order to save fuel, some drivers tend to waste time at every possible opportunity and uses short cuts in connivance with the guide. With such a driver in tow, I had another bad trip. Though the route was A-C, we did not see any tiger. My friends again saw a tiger that trip, that too in A-C.

While returning we had started to feel a bit depressed. Misfortune and bad luck was refusing to leave us. Before coming to Bandhavgarh, I had a feeling that one would not see a tiger here only if he carries extreme bad luck. Was that happening to us! I felt bad for my mother who at almost 63 had taken all the pain to come this far to see a tiger in wild. She wanted to go to Jaipur, instead I took her to Bandhavgarh. Even my wife and daughter had started showing signs of stress, despite having seen tigers earlier. During the noon break, we tried to keep us upbeat by shooting birds and butterflies at a stream flowing near our resort. I know that with 8 more safaris lined up in next two months at Ranthambhore and TATR, I will get to see tigers. But time was running out for my mother.

The safari that evening was for Khitauli zone. My friend and mentor Shivang Mehta who was leading a photo tour had told me previous evening that there is only one place in Khitauli to spot tiger – Damdama water hole. He saw a tigress there once out of five safaris he took. So he suggested waiting there. After entering Khitauli gate, we came across human settlement. It was more of a buffer zone then a core zone. We wondered as to how to how those village children were playing in an area which is frequented by Mukunda male. Given the human habitation around, the chance of seeing a tiger appeared further remote. But this time my both my driver and guide were good. God sent them to lighten our misery. The guide suggested that a new male is getting sighted regularly at Mazhargarh River. While most gypsies were seen returning for a wait at Damdama (which also helps them saves fuel) ours decided to press further. One need to make an entry at a gate at the end of the road, then cross the main road to Borohi to enter into the Mazargarh area. When we had reached Mazargarh, there was no tiger, but around 6-7 vehicles were waiting. Just imagine that out of 25-30 odd vehicles that had entered the zone that day, only 6-7 had come this deep. This is where the importance of a good driver and guide lies in a safari. Thought the spot looked ideal for tiger spotting, no tiger ventured out that evening. No luck. As was time was running out eventually all vehicles left, we being the penultimate ones. Only a gypsy with couple of photographers with bazookas stayed back. While returning there were no vehicles in sight for long. We were comfortably seated as not even a deer was in sight. Then the vehicle braked suddenly. A leopard had jumped onto the road barley 50 feet in front of us. The braking of the vehicle also startled it. What a moment. I had seen many tigers in wild, but not a leopard. Honestly speaking, I had told my wife before departing that I wanted to see a leopard this time. And it had just happened. By the time I pulled my camera out it leaped into the bushes. I got a couple of docu shots of my first leopard sighting. Being almost evening with very low light did not give me a good shot. But I was happy. So do all of us – my daughter, wife, and more importantly my mother. Even the guide and driver were ecstatic. They are used to tiger sighting, but leopard sighting is very rare and hence it was special even for them.

Surprisingly enough, my friends saw another tiger that evening. That too in Khitauli  zone. It was not one of the generally seen tiger there. This made 3 out of 3 for them. That evening everyone was happy. The moods have changed. So did our luck. The resort organized a folk dance program that night. Sipping beer we discussed events of the last two days. We decided to start off early next morning and try for route B-D.

Next morning, we set out for our final safari with elated mood. It was again Tala. By tipping the driver of last trip I had ensured that he remains with us for this final trip. While my friends got route B-D, we were again assigned route A-C. While misfortune followed us, everything was going right for them. My wife was not happy with it. She tried to get the route changed to B-D, but eventually gave up and resigned to fate. The drivers counseled her as it is not route, but luck which matters for tigers. However by starting early we could enter the park as soon as the gates opened. Every min of prime time in morning is very crucial. Losing 15-20 min might be a disaster.

Vijaya aka Kankati

Barely 10 min into our trip, we had our first tiger sighting. The Kankati female (Vijaya) was sitting majestically just 20-25 feet from the track. It was an ideal sighting. I mean the way one dreams of sighting a tiger. The next best is a tiger walking straight at you, as if looking into your camera. The elusive tiger had finally appeared in a grand way. There were just 6 vehicles. It is not a melee seen on Magadhi. Only 8 vehicles allowed into each route at Tala out of which 2 misfortunate vehicles went different way. Everyone had enjoyed those 20 min when Vijaya gave us a majestic darshan. She has 3 cubs around 6 months old which were playing at the hill nearby. After sometime she stood up and started walking towards the hill where cubs were playing. But then changed her track midway and vanished into the bushes. We decided to follow the cubs. Forest deptt elephants were chasing the cubs in the hills, probably to manage one of those notorious tiger shows. Forest deptt mahouts have become notorious to chase away tigers from areas closer to road, to deprive tourist from an easy and free sighting. If tiger remains inside bushes, then it is a tiger show, meaning lot of tips to the mahouts. Please for god shake; do not tip the mahouts after tiger shows. They are actually fleecing tourist. The cubs of Vijaya were running up and down the hills. They did not provide a good sighting.

The guide decided to move on and instructed the driver to go to Mahaman. The guide Tej Pratap aka TP turned out to be a jolly good fellow. His sense of humor kept us entertained. The collusion of driver and guide previous day had deprived us a take at Mahaman. On arrival at Mahaman, we found another melee. It was pure chaos. There were at least 3 tigers in the bushes about 100mtrs away. It was the Mahaman family. Vehicles have left no passage for them to come out. Later I came to know from Shivang that Mukunda male was also there, but it was chased away by the greedy mahouts. Though tigers were visible, it was not a good sighting. We decided to move on.

After arriving at centre point, we were offered the option of either trying to spot the Vijaya cubs or go for tiger show which was happening with Banbai (Wakeeta) family in route B-D. On enquiring I came to know that even majestic Bamera male (now Sashi) is also there. The thought of seeing Bamera again made me decide in favour of the tiger show. When we had arrived there was a queue of about 7-8 vehicles. We had to wait for about 20 min for our turn. The Banbai female with 3 sub-adult cubs were cooling off in the bushes by a stream. Bamera, the father of the cubs, were paying them a visit. A 2 day old sambhar kill had kept the family there. One of the cubs was seen trying to finish off whatever is left of the carcass. It was nice to see 5 tigers together up so close. It was my third sighting of majestic Bamera.

As it was well past 10am, we headed out of the park. We were more than happy. We were ecstatic. The count of tiger sighting of the trip that morning is 12. Unbelievable, but true! Luck had finally smiled on us. Thus we had 2 trips with no sighting, 1 trip had the leopard sighting, and 1 trip had 12 tiger sightings.

Bandhavgarh is rocking with so many cubs. Vijaya, Banbai (Wakeeta) and Mahaman – all are having 3 cubs each (as of April 2012). Now my friend Sanjib vouches that if there is any place which almost guarantees a tiger sighting, it is Bandhavgarh. I wish there was little less crowd. Next time I will plan my visit when there are no holidays around. I will certainly skip Magadhi and instead will do Tala and Khitauli.