It seems to me that if time travel to the past were possible that every configuration of matter in the universe at each of the tiniest possible intervals of time would have to be stored somehow, or the state of the entire universe at each instant in history would all have to exist simultaneously. Can you think of any way in which you could get to the past without needing a record of each moment of the past to somehow still exist? I don't know how to put this any more clearly. I hope someone understands what I mean.
2007-12-15 04:00:41 · 10 answers · asked by Meatball 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
With certain breakthroughs in science, time travel is closer than you think. The ability to slow down a light particle, stop it in it's tracks, then let it go has already been done. Research being done in regards to time travel are facinating. The next few years are going to be interesting.
2007-12-18 14:01:41 · answer #1 · answered by r0bErT4u 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Time travel into the past poses logical problems such as the grandfather paradox.
It's a logical contradiction to assume that you could "get to" the past without there being a record of each moment. If you could to the latter, then the former would be implied. Historians would simply use a time machine to audit their history books for accuracy, and the past would effectively *be* the record.
Keeping careful consideration of semantics is important for thinking about such things. The English language is a rather clumsy tool for such transcendental considerations. Consider you use of the word "simultaneously". This means "at the same *time*", so clearly the word is inappropriate. "Stored" is a good word; it means "retained over time". To a large extent, information about the past is retained in the form of present information that permits retrodiction (look up that one in a big dictionary!). Not all information is stored, however, according to current quantum theory.
2007-12-15 05:39:02 · answer #2 · answered by Dr. R 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you have stated a pretty good reason why backwards time travel seems impossible. There's the problem of going back and meeting yourself and trying to figure out what that would mean, too.
We can travel into the future without having to go the speed of light -- the 'twin paradox' in relativity is a real effect. Gravity also affects the passage of time. They have to compensate for it in the GPS satellite system. The effect is pretty tiny at ordinary speeds, though.
Instead of focusing on the impossibility of going backward in time I like to think about the reverse. Isn't it astonishing that forward time travel is REAL?!
2007-12-15 04:16:32 · answer #3 · answered by Steve H 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the only possible way i can think of alternate to your theory is parallel universes
an exact replication of this universe just with a different outcome or in this Case a few hundred years behind this universe
you would have to find a way to travel between realities finding one that is the same as ours just behind
then in essence you would have gone back in time to whatever time you need depending on which reality you choose because the events will all unfold the same way
other than that i have no idea
but if you were to travel back in time you would run in to the paradox problem
i personally believe that if some one was going to travel back in time and do something then they would have already done it
it is a little confusing but think of it this way
the main example of a paradox is someone going back in time and killing their mother before they are born
so what would happen to that person
well my theory is that if you are going to go back in time and prevent your conception then you would never be born because you mother would have been killed by you
so something like that is impossible because no one who has been born would do that or they in fact would never have been born
i know that was kinda off topic but i was waiting for an opportunity to tell people that and i found it
XD
2007-12-15 04:25:50 · answer #4 · answered by kevin g 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The illusion of time travel is possible. For example, when viewing a star that is 100 light years away you are truly looking at the star as it appeared 100 years ago. Therefore, if you traveled at twice the speed of light for 100 years, and turned a sufficiently powerful lens back at the earth you would be looking at light that left the earth 100 years ago.
2007-12-15 04:10:52 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No - It MAY be possible to travel to the future, if someone discovers a way to travel as fast as the speed of light. However, traveling to the past is completely up for debate.
2007-12-15 04:06:35 · answer #6 · answered by Glitter 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well there was an article on space.com a while back which suggested a similar way. The scientist who wrote the article said that if we managed to curl space and time we travel back in time. The only drawback would be u can only travel as far back when the first curl was created.
2007-12-15 04:17:06 · answer #7 · answered by E=MCPUNK 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is only possible if any object travels faster than light but when it reaches to the speed of light then the mass would become infinite and then it can't continue moving at that speed.
2007-12-15 04:28:06 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You must understand that time is a man made thing. Think about it. He had to create it in order to be able to calculate speed and distance of motion.
2007-12-15 04:15:13 · answer #9 · answered by johnandeileen2000 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can so go back and forth in time... all you have to do is cross over the time zones hahaha like Ohio is 3hrs ahead the wahington....hahahaha you go to the future going there and go back in time going back to washington......ANYTHING IS POSIBLE!!! hehehe
2007-12-17 21:36:55 · answer #10 · answered by fairygirl888 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋