Time Travel

[FallenAce]

Thoughts?

I am a subscriber of M-Theory, so I believe it can be done. Anybody get into space-time continuum stuff? Or quantaum/relative/superstring theory?

[Bakkster]

Thoughts?

I am a subscriber of M-Theory, so I believe it can be done. Anybody get into space-time continuum stuff? Or quantaum/relative/superstring theory?

I try, but theoretical physics in recent years has gone to ridiculous levels to explain such simple things. I'd say most of it violates Occam's Razor.

Not a big fan of string theory, since there's not really a good way to test it (at least that I've heard of) and it seems more like a "well it would be cool if..." idea.

As far as time travel is concerned, I think it's possible on the quantum level, but not really on the macro level. There's always the theoretical time machine that acts like a VCR (rewind or fast-forward through time-space), but the limitations (only works starting with the time it is made, requires crazy energy) seem like it will stay theoretical.

[FallenAce]

You're actually leaning more into the wormhole idea with that line of thought. I consider the issue to be more along the lines of a zero divergence from light. But, I understand the thought process.

I lean towards M-Theory because the worldline idea makes sense to me, and prevents the grandfather paradox. In my opinion, <I>that</I> follows Occam's Razor.

[DShiz1029]

Another question past all the complicated physics and scientific stuff...where would you go???

I would go back to the time of the dinosaurs to see if my theory of creation is true.

[Bakkster]

You're actually leaning more into the wormhole idea with that line of thought. I consider the issue to be more along the lines of a zero divergence from light. But, I understand the thought process.

I lean towards M-Theory because the worldline idea makes sense to me, and prevents the grandfather paradox. In my opinion, <I>that</I> follows Occam's Razor.

There was actually a theoretical time machine that didn't require a wormhole. You just moved around a toroid of warped spacetime, the formation of which moved you forwards or backwards in time.

I'm not too familiar with M-theory. Is that one of the offshoots of brane theory, or am I completely mistaken?

[gh2masterwellalmost]

I SO wanna find out about this stuff, I beg my physics teacher for it, but she only knows the basics like Speed = distance divided by time, nothing actually major. I know FallenAce was keeping me interested with some great pms.

I know a fair bit of physics and maths, but the theories on time are my downfall. Anyone can quickly give me the gist of things, I will be grateful.

[Apples]

I think the current mathematical and physical constructs we have aren't accurate enough to draw any real conclusions. It would be like trying to compose Shakespeare with the vocabulary of a kindergartener.


I don't get too much into all this theoretical physics, it's all theoretical for the sake of being theoretical... and lifetimes away from any practical value/application.

[FallenAce]

Well, M-Theory is the Many-Worlds idea. Basically, if you went back in time, just being there would be different than original history, which would change the past. The present, then, would be altered and therefore not within the constraints of your own universe, thus you would be in a parallel world.

If you were to travel back in time, you would have to outrun the speed of light, but you'd also have to stay within the center of the point-of-reference's <I>light cone</I>, which can be generically considered anything in the point-of-reference's future that would immediately change the outcome of the point-of-reference's future. You could equate it to something appearing in front of your headlights at night while driving. You would react when it appeared in your field of vision, responding accordingly. Your field of vision would be your <I>future light cone</I>, and the decision you made based on the object in the road you could see in your headlights would define your <I>worldline</I>, as it encompasses everything up to that point where you made the decision (everything you had already done would be your <I>past light cone</I>). The decision you make would be your divergence, and thus, had you made a different decision at that point, you would be on a different <I>wordline</I> from then on. This happens with every decision you make, which is led up to by every other decision you have made. Since we are infinitely influenced by our environment and others, there are an infinite number of other <I>wordlines</I>, hence infinite other parallel universes.

If you travelled back in time and ended up standing in your own headlights, you would cause your past self to react differently than in original history, since when you originally drove down the road, your future self was not standing in the road. Thus, you would be in a parallel universe.

Had you done the same, but you HAD appeared in front of yourself, then there are two possibilities:

1. You had achieved a <I>zero divergence</I> from your original history, and were still in your original universe.
2. Another you from another universe had appeared in <I>your light cone</I>, and changed <I>your worldline</I>. There's no real way to know. Future You could be a Parallel Future You who happened to land, out of all possible universes, in yours. He would have to travel faster than light, in an absoulte sense, in order to not diverge from his own worldline and not change his own worldline.

Light travels at 186,282 miles per second, roughly. The issue is that the speed of light is relative to the observer, so if you were moving at 186,282 miles per second, and you clocked a beam of light running parallel to you, it would be moving 186,282 <I>relative to you</I>. This is why it is thought that zero divergence is impossible.

Does that make sense?

[thorn_9]

eehhh what?

[Rock_Starman]

Would you remember the future if you went back to the past with any of these theroys? For example knowing who won the Super Bowl/World Series/NBA final/Stanley Cup.

[theLoser]

my question is if you travel to the future will your future self now what you had done in the past even tho it is in your present?
I know little of any theories but I hope my Q makes sense Even tho the ansewer will only be a theory.

On a side note the GOV'T is working in a Drug named JG-1-11. it makes its users hallucinate into different times and Parallel Worlds I.E. Time travel of the Mind.
The users believe so strongly that the time in which they visited is real they try to bring back items or blue-prints from the "Future".
Of the 50 test subects only 3 lived. They reportedly memorized the cure for AIDS.

But whatever,

The Loser :cool:

[xfMike]

Although I guess I didn't realise that the theory I believe in is the "M-Theory" I would have to say that is the most logical.

www.JohnTitor.com

The above site is what first brought that theory up for me (the whole John Titor story is very interesting, regardless of it being a hoax or not).

Basically, the multiple world line theory was summed up like this:

Imagine you are in a perfectly cubed room. The floor, ceiling and walls are made of mirrors. Therefor you would obviously just see an infinite number of reflections. Imagine the room you are in now, Room 0 we'll call it, as the starting point. Now imagine you moved one room over. Everything looks the same for the most part, but you know it isn't Room 0 any more. As there is now a small difference in the room you are now in and Room 0, there is a small Divergance Rate between the current rooms time line and Room 0's (small stuff I imagine, as the change of going one room over isn't drastic).

Now, lets say you go back in time. It will be as if you just steeped into the next room of mirrors. Everything seems relativly the same, but there will be small divergances from what you know of your history and the new universe you are in. The further back/forward in time you go, the more drastic the changes would be (everything from different news headlines, wars, etc...). Obviously, the more you move around in time, the less likely you will be able to get back to your original time line.

Now, with the above multiple world lines going on, imagine this:

Anything that can happen will happen and has already happened. And everything that has happened will keep happening for ever. For example. Instead of me typing this message, in some other word line I am the one reading this message as someone else has typed what I am typing now verbatim.

Instead of working for a company, you own that company. In some world line everything that is possible will happen. Also, there is also another world line there is nothing possible, like these crazy theories. Somewhere I am now dying, and being born. Somewhere I will have never typed this message or even have any of the thoughts I have, or the experiances I have experianced.


There are a lot of crazy things about time travel and alternate universes/dimensions. I do not believe that time can be a "One Way Road" so to speak. I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to go back in time and blow everything up (people would argue that you wouldn't be able to go back in time to blow stuff up because our ancestors would have been blown up, therefor you would never be able to go back in time to blow stuff up, etc...)...

Anyway, good thread. Got me thinking. :)

[lithiumkc]

Quantum Mechanics is crazy. I don't believe in time travel, really... I mean it holds true that if it were to be invented, it would already have been travelled. Technically, we're in the past now and even 10 years from now if time travel will ever be possible, so why hasn't anybody come back and screwed up our timeline yet :confused:

Quantum Mechanics however.. That's actually got some truth to it. The experiments with breaking bells inequality are pretty mindboggling what with the photon guns and the interference pattern. The mere act of observing this take place changes the results :cool: They're currently doing a lot of atom smashing right now to try and document a few things to see if M-theory is actually possible [Searching for gravitons i believe they're called... this would prove M-theory]

They're building a huuuge atom smasher that should bring some progress.

But yeah. Time travel, not really unless you also believe that a parallel universe would begin and nothing would affect ours. Otherwise it rules itself out inherently I believe. But really, try and follow Quantum Mechanics a bit.. The whole 'If you believe it will happen, it will happen' dealie actually does work. Not on something like lottery numbers or the like, but on a long scale.. if you put your mind to something and believe you'll achieve it, you will ;)

[thorn_9]

The current usa administration is proof time travel is possible and someone screwed it up lol

[FallenAce]

my question is if you travel to the future will your future self now what you had done in the past even tho it is in your present?
I know little of any theories but I hope my Q makes sense Even tho the ansewer will only be a theory.

That depends. If everything ever happens in some timeline, you could kind of say that anything happening has a 50% chance of happening in this worldline, since it will happen in as many worldlines as it will not happen; you have a 50% chance of being in that worldline where it does.

Therefore, if you land in a worldline in the future where you meet another you, and he did the same thing, and traversed back in time to the same worldline where you landed, he would remember doing it. Depending on your divergence, what he did may not be exactly what you do, but there's about a 50% chance he'd remember it.

Keep in mind the whole 50% chance thing is a really, really rough usage of the existence of multiple worldlines and isn't a direct mathematical result, only a rudimental application of the statistical possibilities of the whole of M-Theory.

EDIT: I can't find ANYTHING on JG-1-11. Where did you get that info?

[FallenAce]

I just can't get you guys interested in this topic, can I?

[Bakkster]

Let's put it this way: I'm an engineer who has always read science-related information whenever possible, including a book on quarks when I was in 9th grade. But time travel and dimensional theory make my brain hurt :(

[lithiumkc]

Here's a wicked set of videos on M-Theory and the like.. beginning with Einstein and ending up to date. It'll really teach you the basics of string theory and help you understand.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html