Are we getting close to time travel?
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Are we getting close to time travel?
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Re: Are we getting close to time travel?
#2>"Because time travel is limited to these special particles, it is not possible for a man to travel back in time and murder one of his parents before he himself is born, for example. However, if scientists could control the production of Higgs singlets, they might be able to send messages to the past or future,"
This is absurd. If you can send messages back in time, then someone can build a robot that can accept messages from the future, and kill your parents that way^. Sending information back in time is a paradox. Period.^^
^An option available to everyone after the robot is built. Maybe this is actually enough to resolve the issues they're concerned with. I'm somewhat suspicious.
^^To be clear, I am not saying that the work is wrong or impossible, merely that their example is less than explanatory about why their theory does not have the problems of other theories.
Re: Are we getting close to time travel?
#3Why do people bother researching into time travel? Even if it's possible, it's potentially a massively dangerous act.
Nobody should have the power to alter events outside of the present in any way, shape or form. Period.
Re: Are we getting close to time travel?
#4Why do people bother researching into time travel? Even if it's possible, it's potentially a massively dangerous act. Nobody should have the power to alter events outside of the present in any way, shape or form. Period.
I can't imagine a greater human achievement than time travel.
Re: Are we getting close to time travel?
#5Why do people bother researching into time travel? Even if it's possible, it's potentially a massively dangerous act. Nobody should have the power to alter events outside of the present in any way, shape or form. Period.
> events outside of the present
I hate to break this to you, but there's no such thing that you can describe as simply as "the present". Since we're talking about time travel here, it's important to remember that relativity is real, and that every single atom in your body exists at a different "present".
Our GPS satellites are time travellers. Their distance away from Earth is so great that we must compensate for their different perception of time, or our reported locations would be way off.
You should not be so absolutist in your views, especially when you don't have an accurate understanding of time.
I also take issue with you suggesting that nothing dangerous should be "bothered" with in research. Look where the Manhattan project got us: We have safe nuclear reactors all over the planet, we have sent a few spaceships outside the solar system (Voyager 1 and 2, for example) that run on nuclear reactors. We know that nuclear research presents great danger, but the rewards are so huge it's worth it.
All knowledge is worth some danger, especially the truly incredible knowledge like finding out that our understanding of physics is incorrect, or building spaceships that leave the solar system.
Re: Are we getting close to time travel?
#6Why do people bother researching into time travel? Even if it's possible, it's potentially a massively dangerous act. Nobody should have the power to alter events outside of the present in any way, shape or form. Period.
I can't imagine a greater human achievement than time travel.
The good thing about time travel is that it would make FTL space travel possible as well.
Re: Are we getting close to time travel?
#7Maybe in this context it would be useful to reflect about time.
Our life is a continuous concatenating of present moments. And every present moment is new. But where do they come from? Nobody knows.
I see time as a continuous gift from Someone outside of our physical Universe. No other explanation is logically possible, because any explanation would come from inside our Universe -- but fresh new present moments can't be located inside, otherwise they would not be new.
Re: Are we getting close to time travel?
#8Why do people bother researching into time travel? Even if it's possible, it's potentially a massively dangerous act. Nobody should have the power to alter events outside of the present in any way, shape or form. Period.
I find your objection quite strange. If it _is_ possible, and it _is_ dangerous, than it would be critical to understand how it works, lest it be abused.
That being said, understanding time travel (even if it's impossible) is very important for getting a better understanding by what we mean by 'time' in the first place.
Re: Are we getting close to time travel?
#9Why do people bother researching into time travel? Even if it's possible, it's potentially a massively dangerous act. Nobody should have the power to alter events outside of the present in any way, shape or form. Period.
> events outside of the present I hate to break this to you, but there's no such thing that you can describe as simply as "the present". Since we're talking about time travel here, it's important to remember that relativity is real, and that every single atom in your body exists at a different "present". Our GPS satellites are time travellers. Their distance away from Earth is so great that we must compensate for the…
>Look where the Manhattan project got us:
Oh, the irony!!!
Re: Are we getting close to time travel?
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can't imagine a greater human achievement than time travel.
The good thing about time travel is that it would make FTL space travel possible as well.
Every time I think of possible FTL travel now I remember that it takes light about 8 minutes to get from our sun to the earth. If we ever do get to FTL travel, we really need to figure out the FT part or we still aren't going to be going anywhere too quickly.
Edit: And as soon as I typed that out I remembered relativity effects, and my brain hurts.