The position of something next to me, I can accurately find. What about if time travel were possible? There is nothing absolute about position in space anyway - there is no real grid that the universe fits into, only relative positions. Something never tackled in sci-fi about this, is where would you be if for example, you went back in time by a second? Not on the Earth probably, maybe in it or above it. I can touch something and place an object on that, but can't reach back in time to position myself.
2006-07-15 00:59:52 · 13 answers · asked by Chris cc 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The question is theory and mentions sci-fi. And people hypothesise when they don't understand all, or if something is possible or not.
2006-07-15 01:48:45 · update #1
When you send a probe out into space to another planet, you send it to where the planet will be at the time that you expect the probe to arrive. This is quite a complicated computation,but is easily accomplished with the computers that we have now.
If time travel were possible it would presumably be possible to do all the computations necessary to ensure that you arrived at the "placetime" you wanted to. It would not really be different to what we do already, just more complicated.
I think it would be the least of the problems. I think more problematic is this: you are made out of material which is constantly changing. This material is however always in existence. So if you moved to a different time, the material you are made of would be in you, and also in existence outside you. In other words you would add matter to the time you went to and subtract matter from the time you went from. Or would you? Either you would change the total amount of matter in the universe at a given moment in time, which would cause immense gain or loss of energy(as E=MCsquared), or you would have to de-materialise in the NOW and re-materialise in the past or future. The effect of the first could devastate the universe, the effect of the latter would probably be uncomfortable if not fatal to you.
Maybe this can be got round, but I cannot see how.
2006-07-15 11:06:50 · answer #1 · answered by hi_patia 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That is a great question. The hard part of traveling through time is not the bending of gravity but the plotting of your course and holding to the basic "position" in your environment. I use a variable gravity lock system. Not because it is the best system out there, but because it is cheaper than the alternatives. The gravity lock system takes a reading of the local gravity and samples it during the "trip" in pulses. If the gravity is too far off the reading that was taken at your point of origin, the unit stops or reverses itself to the last sample period where the readings were correct.
As to actually traveling to a physical location different from the point you started, while it is theoretically possible, it has not been acheived.
2006-07-15 10:53:23 · answer #2 · answered by questionman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you not considered the space-time continuum? Basically, since we don't understand all of these things it is impossible to answer your question. Not to mention that time travel is not known. Sci-Fi is just that: Fiction. Many things are never tackled or explained in Sci-Fi. Just accept that this is only one of them. And put questions like this in a Sci-Fi category.
2006-07-15 08:11:04 · answer #3 · answered by gtoacp 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You do realize that the "fi" in "sci-fi" stands for "fiction" right? As in "fake", "not real", "not possible". If you are relying on Star Trek for theoretical physics on time travel then you've got some issues. How can your question be answered when no one can travel through time yet?
2006-07-15 08:09:50 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are travelling through time right now. Why should the fact that you travel a bit faster mean that you relate differently to the frame of reference that you are in. You don't fly across the room as a result of the Earth's motion, because of the principle of relativity. I don't see why this principle fails if you change your speed or direction through time.
2006-07-15 17:43:14 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well spotted.
This is one of the many reasons why time travel is inprobable. If you go back in time what reference frame do you come out in? The Earth is moving at 25km/s around the sun, the sun is moving at 100km/s around the galaxy. The galaxy is presumably moving but by that point is is hard to find a reference frame to work in.
2006-07-15 14:42:56 · answer #6 · answered by m.paley 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes you can return back in time if you do like a wheel of a car which is running in a curved road for that you see its wheel picture moving in opposite direction of rotation .The universe movements is doing like that .
2006-07-16 11:44:36 · answer #7 · answered by M.Ali 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well if i was trying to fix the problem in real life i would put a marker outside of my time machine so if i was going into the future i coul just judge off that marker, as long as no one moved it. but a lot of scientists think the only way to time travel is via portals so it wouldn't be a problem since you would just come out whereever the portal your coming out of is.
2006-07-15 08:08:38 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
RJ is an idiot.
this is a great question.
you probably just ruined a lot of movies for me.
maybe as they go back in time they move in sync with the location.
2006-07-15 08:07:48 · answer #9 · answered by sean_mchugh6 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, given that time travel's an impossibility, this question is moot; it does not belong in a physics forum. Have you tried a philosphy or hand-waving section?
2006-07-15 08:06:02 · answer #10 · answered by poorcocoboiboi 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋