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Home » time travel

Is Time Travel Possible? What Scientists Say

June 17, 2014 By Fred Mitchell Leave a Comment

Since we recently covered the topic of time travel, first by philosophically musing a bit about it, and then by recommending a few nice movies built around the idea, perhaps it’s about time to discuss whether it would be plausible to conceive it or not. After a bit of digging online, trying to separate the hysterically romantic from the scientific, we’ve reached the conclusion that it’s all a matter closer to a philosophical debate anyway. Still, it’s more interesting to hear what scientists say about what would make time travel possible, philosophically, so we went with that. Here’s the summary and prepare to be surprised.

For a long time, physicists (which are the most entitled to have an opinion on the matter) widely affirmed that no, it’s not plausible to assume time travel as a possibility, since time doesn’t really exist, but is more of a human mental construct. Another popular common opinion shared by philosophers, this time, was that even if time travel could somehow be made possible, it would only be conceivable as travel to the past, since the past at least happened, but the future doesn’t really exist at all. Both points seem pretty legit, which is why the issue wasn’t pursued further than this, at least on a larger scale, until recently.

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So, Is Time Travel Possible?

General relativity was the first kind of physics that considered the hypothesis as something worth pondering about. According to this branch, certain types of movement through space could spark up some time travel, if performed in their specific way, since, you know, time and space are so closely sewn together and all. So, to make time travel possible according to general relativity, you would need to enter a closed timeline curve (sounds pretty fancy if we put it like that). In plain English, if you were to move away from Earth’s rotations, at relativistic velocities, and then you would return, more time would have passed in the meantime on Earth than for you, thus you traveled into the future a little bit. On the other hand, backwards time travel wouldn’t be possible at all, according again to general relativity theorists, because that would open the way to too many paradoxes. For example, a minor change in the past could endanger your very existence (or the so-called grandfather paradox).

Newer Views: Stephen Hawking and Brian Cox

However, fresher takes on the matter have been made by contemporary scientists that have gone as far as to deem time travel possible, but only into the future. It seems that the old philosopher’s tale about only being plausible to travel back in time is now infirmed by the newest physics theories. Let’s see what these two prominent figures have to say. Both Stephen Hawking and Brian Cox are a bit main-stream and known as the pop culture versions of a scientist, but let’s not be judgmental since the topic itself is quite bombastic, ok?

According to Stephen Hawking, who draws upon general relativity and the theory about the spatial movements, if we were to build ships which could travel faster than the speed of light, a day onboard such a ship would be a year in Earth’s time. But the motion could only be performed forward into the future, since going back in time would violate the basic principles of cause and effect. He believes that achieving the speed and light and beyond, thus making time travel possible, could help the human race to save itself, by going into our desolate future and starting over somehow (like repopulating a desolate Earth with humans long after we have gone extinct).

Professor Brian Cox shares his colleague’s views on the matter: he too says that it could only be possible to travel into the future, but once one would arrive there, returning wouldn’t be an option any more. According to him, the only thing that could make time travel possible would be the creation of a time machine (which could travel faster than the speed of light, again) and the creation or discovery of some worm holes to travel through. Those worm holes which you may be familiar with from sci-fi movies are defined as shortcuts in the space-time fabric, but most scientists continue to doubt their existence. However, this should deter us from fantasizing: as long as we have scientists as big as these two vouching for at least the possibility of it, the issue needs further investigation.

Filed Under: strange news, top list Tagged With: time travel, time travel possible

Time Travel and 5 Great Movies about It

June 16, 2014 By Fred Mitchell Leave a Comment

Living and really putting yourself out there in life (as opposed to, you know, just quitting and living like a hermit) means risking, all the time. Sure, there’s always the occasional win, but life means dealing with a lot of loss as well. I don’t mean to come off as pessimistic or depressive – the point isn’t that life is emptiness, on the contrary, because life is so full, living it and allowing yourself to care means that you’re also setting yourself up for loss. Ok, so maybe I’m a bit influenced by the recently released “The Fault in Our Stars”, but there’s no denying that if we care about people (and inevitably, if you live life, you do), there will be sorrow and loss at some point. And this is exactly why the topic of time travel is so popular in movies and books and so on. It’s the ultimate fantasy, especially if you experienced a loss you’d like to magically alter as if it never happened.

Even if the main drive propelling the time travel fantasy isn’t the sorrow of loss, but simply desire to give yourself a better start (like that unpleasant Biff character from the Back to the Future series), it still remains a popular topic. The popularity of this time travel hypothesis extends beyond movies and books, but it’s something scientists have tackled as well, even if just on a hypothetical level. Because it seems to be an important component of our general human imaginary, let’s talk about five examples of movies that are built around the time travel idea. Rest assured that they must have been pretty impressive to have made it into a presentation tailored to accommodate only five choices. So, without further ado, here are, in my opinion, 5 great movies about time travel that you should see (if you haven’t already).

1. The “Back to the Future” Trilogy

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The three movies in this trilogy are perhaps the best known cinematic takes on the time travel idea. Sure, they’re a bit mainstream=kitschy, but each one is a cult movie of the 80s and 90s and can propel any of us 80s and 90s kids into a roller-coaster of memories and references to the pop culture of those days. Come on, who doesn’t feel at least a bit touched by Marty’s signature leather jacket or his rock and roll guitar solo?

2. The Butterfly Effect (2004)

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Ah, the butterfly effect! The enormous consequences that can occur from something as seemingly simple and inconsequential as a butterfly’s flap of wings! This is definitely another favorite of pop culture, and the 2004 movie that explores the idea is basically the sad realization that time travel is not so desirable. Multiple tries and fails lead the main character to the conclusion that the past is better left unchallenged.

3. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

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To bring things back on to a lighter tone, let’s take a moment to remember this movie, which could be rightly described as a comic relief from the beginning to the end. Two moronic teenagers who can barely spell are about the change the history of the world. What more there is to say? Cheers to reckless time travel.

4. Timecrimes (Los cronocrimenes) (2007)

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For the sake of including a non-English movie to this short list to keep things more varied, make time (pun not intended) to watch this too. It’s a great movie about a man going back in time for one hour, accidently. When he finds his old self, a series of catastrophes are unleashed. If you’re into a darker touch in movies, this one’s for you.

5. Somewhere in time (1980)

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Last, but not least, a romantic entry for all of us who enjoy a tear-jerker about time travel. A young writer receives a call from beyond time, from a lover he doesn’t know yet, so he finds a way to travel through time, meet her and fall in love, only to lose her for good to the peculiarities of the same time travel mechanism that brought him there. P.S: Jane Seymour!

Sure, many more movies could be mentioned, but perhaps in part two. Have fun with these time travel classics in the meantime.

Filed Under: movies Tagged With: time travel, time travel movies

The Disappointing Aspects of Time Travelling the Movies Don’t Tell You About

March 19, 2013 By This Blog Rules Guest Leave a Comment

According to the movies time travelling is fantastic. Sure, you might alter the course of history and almost destroy humanity in the process but just think about how much fun it always looks like. It’s a shame to think that time travelling isn’t as exciting as we are led to believe that it is. If you don’t believe me then take a look at this evidence.

Your Life Is, Was and Will Be Kind of Dull

Time Travelling and Time Pieces

Why would you want to go back and see what you did 10 years ago or what you are going to be doing in 10 years time? You are only going to get depressed when you see how boring your life was, will be and therefore surely is currently. I admit that zipping through the years might be mildly entertaining if you could relive that great time you went to the beach with Angelina Jolie or get a sneak preview of the night you become a national hero by scoring an unbelievably important goal or a home run or whatever. None of this happened or will happen though. Instead, you will see how you used to sit around doing nothing exciting and how in the future, well, guess what you do?
[Read more…]

Filed Under: movies Tagged With: time travel, time travel movies

The Top 10 ‘Doctor Who’ Characters

December 23, 2011 By Vernon Gadson 1 Comment

When you spend your days casually traveling through the infinite reaches of time and space in a big blue police box, you’re bound to run into a fair share of weird and wonderful characters from all sorts of kooky worlds and dizzying dimensions. The Doctor certainly has in BBC sci-fi series “Doctor Who,” which has been broadcast on British television screens since 1963 and is now approaching its 33rd season and 800th episode.

Throughout its near 50-year reign on worldwide TV screens (though with a 16-year hiatus from 1989 to 2005), “Doctor Who” has presented us with heroes, villains, creatures and monsters who have wowed and perplexed us nerdy viewers since the black-and-white days of ‘63. So, let’s take a look at the top ten characters (according to me) to have ever featured in this ground-breaking series, from the very beginning to the current incarnation.

Note: I’m including certain alien species as one entry as many of their members are, frankly, indistinguishable from one another, and to not include them seems unfair.

10. The Autons

First up, it’s the Autons, who were not only the first villains to be battled by the third Doctor, played by Jon Pertwee, but also by the ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Ecclestone; they were also the first “Doctor Who” villains to be shown in glorious Technicolor. [Read more…]

Filed Under: fun, top list Tagged With: bbc, best dr who characters, british, characters, cybermen, daleks, david tennant, doctor who, dr who, matt smith, sci fi, science fiction, tardis, television, the doctor, time travel, top ten, tv

Top 20 Doctor Who Episodes

November 17, 2011 By Vernon Gadson 3 Comments

The Science Fiction Classic Show Doctor Who confuses me like no other TV show I have ever seen. An alien (that looks suspiciously like a series of British persons) flies around time and space in a phone booth, fighting far more horrifying aliens with nothing but his wits and the mystical power of funny hats.

Oh, and bowties.

But amidst the time travel and questionable fashion choices, there is apparently a pretty decent show to watch in there. Here are the essential 20 Who serials (British speak for a series of episodes that follow the same story arc within a season) to watch for a casual fan to determine if they like it before they embark on the arduous task of watching almost 800 episodes that comprise the entire show (it’s been on since 1963.) [Read more…]

Filed Under: fun, top list Tagged With: bbc, best dr who episodes, cybermen, daleks, david tennant, doctor who, dr who, fantasy, matt smith, sci fi, science fiction, television, the doctor, time travel, timelord, top 20 doctor who episodes, tv shows

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