• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

Time Travel, is it possible...? (1 Viewer)

Marky24

member
Joined
Mar 18, 2005
Messages
93
Location
The Shire
Gender
Male
HSC
2005
Bobness said:
Wait, what?

That's pretty self-explanatory.

In regards to OP's question. If you want order in time. Kill the Batman.
I know was being a smart arse ;)
 

Slidey

But pieces of what?
Joined
Jun 12, 2004
Messages
6,600
Gender
Male
HSC
2005
sam04u said:
Honestly... it's simply impossible to travel back of forward into time.
Uh, no. Time travel forwards is quite possible (even at variable speeds - such as faster or slower than the world around). Time travel backwards probably isn't.

Even if we looked at the universe through the string theory, multiple identical dimension, bullshit idea of the universe. For something to physically move from this universe to another point in time of the universe is impossible.
Maybe it seems impossible to you. Doesn't make it so. I agree instantaneous time travel appears to be impossible as far as we know.

1) It would require the matter in the "past" to dissapear, and move to the "future". Matter can not dissapear.
Not a strong argument. You're basing it off the thermodynamic laws, which themselves are based of scientific observation. It's conceivable for a framework to exist which approximates our current understanding of physics in most cases. There could be extremities where things change significantly, though. This has happened before. C.f. classical mechanics and quantum mechanics.

String theory is the most likely candidate. I'm not sure humans will ever fully understand that, but I'm pretty convinced it's roughly the right direction, now (some of the mathematics of it describes our world quite nicely - as in it fits with our observations and predictions, while some other parts of it may or may not - but the thing to remember is that there are multiple running theories for it... and heck, they could all be wrong so far - once/if we're capable of testing them, we'll find out).

wikipedia said:
From a mathematical point of view, the energy conservation law is a consequence of the shift symmetry of time; energy conservation is implied by the empirical fact that the laws of physics do not change with time itself
'empirical fact'. This is what science is, I know, but here is where the uncertainty comes in - science is the most accurate model of reality humans have ever built... but it's still a model. Biology and chemistry are fairly set in stone, but when you have the study of extremes (physics), it's a lot harder to be 100% confident.

So basically, conservation of energy only applies if the laws of physics do not change over time. You can probably see the dilemma; how do you know if the laws of physics are changing? Is it even detectable? What if it were happening over millions or billions of years? We don't even know how big the universe is - it could be infinite... what if the laws of physics are actually local? Certainly, our universe (the observable universe) is but a speck, assuming the universe continues on in the same density pattern as it does at the edges of detectable reality.

sam04u said:
The only rules we have in this universe is "matter/energy can neither be destroyed nor created", time travel breaks those rules.
That rule gets 'broken' a fair bit, actually. Look up virtual particles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_particle#Pair_production

Certainly, matter can be spontaneously created from energy (including vacuum energy), at the very least (which actually isn't breaking the conservation laws, as long as corresponding anti-matter is created).

The question is, can information (not necessarily energy) be sent through a shortcut in time? I certainly don't know enough to give an answer, other than "it wouldn't surprise me". Why? Space is a dimension - and as such, the universe, and its other dimensions aren't distinct from each other, but linked together quite tightly in various ways... but that's getting into string theory.

On the topic of dimensions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_particle#The_Loop_Interpretation_of_Virtual_Particle_Pairs
 

sam04u

Comrades, Comrades!
Joined
Sep 13, 2003
Messages
2,867
Gender
Male
HSC
2006
Slidey said:
Uh, no. Time travel forwards is quite possible (even at variable speeds - such as faster or slower than the world around). Time travel backwards probably isn't.
You're a moron. Why don't you go into the future and tell them what you are now so they can laugh at your moronic statements?

Maybe it seems impossible to you. Doesn't make it so. I agree instantaneous time travel appears to be impossible as far as we know.
No, it's actually impossible. It's that you, and may others can not grasp what time is that you can make such a stupid error into believing time travel is possible.

(Really, claiming time travel to be possible is like scientific illiteracy. You use alot of terms and cite examples which neither prove your point or make it any more likely for time travel.)

Do you understand what time is Slidey? Time is the movement of all things in the universe, in their respective courses. For you to travel forwards in time (lol so stupid even talking about it) you've got to completely STOP all effects on you. So you've got to practically "freeze" with no involvement with the outside world. Basically... you've got to come to a complete stop. Absolute Zero temperature, and move away or as far as possibly away from any gravitational effect.

So, although it's funny. Travel into the future, is really just like cryogenic freezing. Travelling backwards in time, lol is impossible.
 

u-borat

Banned
Joined
Nov 3, 2007
Messages
1,755
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2013
I thought string theory was fail, as far as the current trend in quantum physics goes.
 

STx

Boom Bap
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Messages
473
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2006
u-borat said:
I thought string theory was fail, as far as the current trend in quantum physics goes.
Well no one really knows because they can't test anything it predicts yet, but the Large hadron Collider is going to start operation in August this year so we might know the answer very soon.
 

Slidey

But pieces of what?
Joined
Jun 12, 2004
Messages
6,600
Gender
Male
HSC
2005
sam04u said:
You're a moron. Why don't you go into the future and tell them what you are now so they can laugh at your moronic statements?
Ah, I was waiting for you to start with the insults. Instead of calling me a moron, please do some research on the Theory of Special Relativity and the relativistic time dilation effects which occur more strongly the closer one gets to the speed of light. The rest of your post is similarly uninformed.

u-borat said:
I thought string theory was fail, as far as the current trend in quantum physics goes.
Nope. Many aspects of string theory are fairly set in stone, some of them it's hard to tell which line of theory is correct yet. As such, the CERN LHC will hopefully help, as STx said. Assuming it doesn't create a run-away black hole or stimulate a vacuum energy bubble metacrisis first. ;)
 
Last edited:

JamesTockuss

Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Messages
95
Gender
Male
HSC
2008
Time travel into the future - certainly. All you need is a relativistic speed and time around you will speed up while you age very little.

Into the past though? I doubt it.
 

5233andy

Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Messages
417
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
Err keep reading science fiction novels - that's as far as time travel will get, in my opinion.
 

aussie-boy

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
610
Gender
Male
HSC
2008
if time travel to the past existed, then matter would have to continually exist at all points in time

and for that to happen, your conscience would have to shift to a completely new body and universe every time the smallest possibly unit of time ended

it seems too farfetched to be true

however the possibility for future time travel is really really awesome, and if it was offered to me i would go for it. people who say its not real time travel because it takes time to get there piss me off... if you want to fly to london it takes 23 hours - not real travel?
 

pwoh

O_O
Joined
Jun 28, 2008
Messages
709
Location
Behind you
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
Uni Grad
2016
Great, now I feel like choosing physics just so I can comprehend this stuff.
 

pwoh

O_O
Joined
Jun 28, 2008
Messages
709
Location
Behind you
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
Uni Grad
2016
What's time dilation? The wikipedia article is a bit hard to understand (I've been cramming a lot so my brain isn't functioning very well xD)
 
Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
90
Gender
Male
HSC
2008
pwoh said:
What's time dilation? The wikipedia article is a bit hard to understand (I've been cramming a lot so my brain isn't functioning very well xD)
As ones speed approaches the speed of light, time dilates.

say Pwoh is travelling at c (speed of light). As you look back at earth, you will see everything moving faster, and many generations will pass while you age at a normal (or abnormal, depending on the perspective) rate. You travel for a while and return back to earth, and its like the year 3000.
 

pwoh

O_O
Joined
Jun 28, 2008
Messages
709
Location
Behind you
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
Uni Grad
2016
Wearingmyrolex said:
As ones speed approaches the speed of light, time dilates.

say Pwoh is travelling at c (speed of light). As you look back at earth, you will see everything moving faster, and many generations will pass while you age at a normal (or abnormal, depending on the perspective) rate. You travel for a while and return back to earth, and its like the year 3000.

Awesome! Now I really want to do physics...
 

Garygaz

Active Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2007
Messages
1,827
Gender
Male
HSC
2008
aussie-boy said:
if time travel to the past existed, then matter would have to continually exist at all points in time

and for that to happen, your conscience would have to shift to a completely new body and universe every time the smallest possibly unit of time ended

it seems too farfetched to be true

however the possibility for future time travel is really really awesome, and if it was offered to me i would go for it. people who say its not real time travel because it takes time to get there piss me off... if you want to fly to london it takes 23 hours - not real travel?
You're not taking into account multiple universes that aren't interrelated, maybe an atom difference in each one. i.e time travelling from one to the other and killing your grandfather wouldn't be a paradox.
 

Zingy

Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2008
Messages
87
Gender
Male
HSC
2008
Ok homos, if it's possible to travel back in time, where the fuck are all the future men coming back into OUR time telling us how much we suck and that we've fucked the world up?
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top