TIME TRAVEL!

Lucas ONeil
Brendan Cassidy

Overview

Introduction
Theories
Paradoxes
Research
References in Fiction
Conclusions
References

Introduction

What is Time Travel?

A concept in which time is traversed in
much the same way that space is
traversed.
Possibly between parallel
realities and universes
Once confined to fantasy
and science fiction, time
travel is now simply an
engineering problem.

Concept of Time
The indefinite continued progress of
existence and events in the past, present,
and future, regarded as a whole." [Oxford
Dictionary]
Measurement to quantify duration of
events?
Social phenomenon?

Spacetime
Model combining 3D space and 1D time into a
single manifold.
Einsteins special relativity: Space and Time are
not possible to separate.
New concept of distance,
spacetime interval:

Theories

Time Dilation
Permitted by Special Theory of Relativity.
Time appears to pass more slowly for faster moving
bodies.

Where

is Lorentz factor

Gives rise to Twin Paradox

Preserves causality as only forward travel is possible

Wormholes
Hypothetical topological feature of
spacetime.
Essentially a shortcut through space and
time.
Analagous to a worm burrowing through
an apple rather than travelling around the
surface.

Wormholes for Time Travel

Wormhole created.
One end accelerated to near speed of light and
brought back to point of origin.
Due to time dilation, opposite ends of wormhole
have experienced different subjective passage
of time.
Therefore travelling through the wormhole would
be travelling to different point in spacetime.
Would require orders of magnitude more energy
than sun can produce in its lifetime (according to
current theories)

Tipler Cylinder
Hypothetical object theorized
by Frank J. Tipler in 1974.
Sufficiently long cylinder with
mass of several neutron stars.
Induced to spin at near speed
of light rotation rate.
Creates frame dragging effect,
warping spacetime in its
locality.
Travel limited to times in which
cylinder already exists.

Light Cylinders
Single continuously circulating
unidirectional beam of light.
Produces weak and strong gravitational
field.
Exterior strong gravitational field is shown
to contain closed time-like lines.
Presence of such lines indicates possibility
of time travel into the past.

Flux Capacitor
Conceived on
November 5, 1955 by
Dr. Emit Brown.
Requires speeds in
excess of 88 MPH.
Energy requirements
of 1.21 JigoWatts.
Stainless steel
mounting assists in
flux dispersion.

Paradoxes

Twin Paradox
Stems from theory of special
relativity. Uses concept of time
dilation.
One of two twins undertakes long
space journey at near speed of
light.
Due to time dilation, the amount of
time observed by the twin moving is
less (Lorentz factor) than the time
observed by the stationary twin.

PARADOX!!!!!!1

Grandfather Paradox
Often used to argue that backwards time travel
is not possible
You travel back in time and kill your biological
grandfather before he met your grandmother.
One of our parents, and thus you, would never
have been conceived.
It is therefore impossible for you to have traveled
back in time to kill your grandfather.
Therefore your grandfather would have lived to
conceive your parent, who would have
conceived you.

PARADOX!!!!!!1

Predestination Paradox
Somewhat opposite to the grandfather
paradox.
A loop of events in time that predestine a
time traveler to travel in the first place.
A closed causal loop.
Events are both cause and effect of one
another.

PARADOX!!!!!!1

Causal Loop

Ontological Paradox
Used to argue why history can not be
changed by time travel.
Backwards time travel is only fulfilling role
in history, not changing it.
Whatever has happened was meant to
have happened.
Raises question of where, when, and by
whom items or information are created.

PARADOX!!!!!!1

Causal Loop

Conservation of Mass/Energy
Net amount of matter and energy in
universe is constant at any given time.
If a person travels back in time, the net
mass/energy at the origin is lowered while
the net mass/energy at the destination is
increased.

PARADOX!!!!!!1

Research

Ronald L. Mallett
Received Ph.D from Penn
State University at age 25.
Professor of physics at the
University of Connecticut.
Specializes in quantum
gravity, general relativity,
and time travel.
Featured in 2003 BBC
documentary The Worlds
First Time Machine.

 Working on plans for a time machine using Ring

Laser (Light Cylinder).
Life dream is to travel back in time to save his
father who prematurely died of a heart attack at
age 33.

Has thus far been unsuccessful...

References in Fiction

 Time travel is a popular topic for fiction,

especially in science fiction movies, television,
and novels.
Many stories of time travel have had profound
effects on pop culture.

Terminator
Cyborg travels back in
time from postapocalyptic future where
robots rule over remnants
of human race to kill
leader of resistance
movement when he is
young.
Features examples of
grandfather,
predestination, and
ontological paradoxes

Superman (1978 film)

Superman flies around the world at super-speed
in the opposite direction of the Earths rotation.
Momentum from him flying causes Earth to spin
backwards on its axis.
Logically, this causes time to move backwards.

Futurama
Crew travels 1000+ years back in time to
1950s.
Fry, under the instruction of Professor
Farnsworth to not do anything to change
history, like killing your own grandfather,
inadvertently kills his own grandfather.

 Due to Grandfather
Paradox, Fry should have
never been born and thus
not able to travel back in
time to kill his
grandfather.
However, in an example
of the predestination
paradox, Fry finds himself
overjoyed to still be alive
and in celebration, end up
impregnating a local
waitress who turns out to
be his grandmother.

Back to the Future Trilogy

Marty McFly and Doc
Brown travel throughout
the past, present, and
future in a tricked out
Delorian.
Wacky hijinx ensue.

Paradoxes seen in Back to the Future

Predestination:
Chuck Berry inspired to
write Johnny B Goode
after hearing Marty play
that very song
Mayor Goldie Wilson
inspired to become
mayor after Marty
informs him that he will
be mayor

Grandfather:
Marty prevents his
parents from meeting
and as a result his mom
has the hots for him

Conclusion
Time travel is awesome
However, you must be
careful not to:
Kill your grandfather
Become your grandfather
Cause your mom to have the
hots for you
Reverse the rotation of the
Earth

References
Wired
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.08/pwr_timetravel_pr.html

Special Relativity
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/relativ/tdil.html

Ronald Mallett
http://www.phys.uconn.edu/faculty/mallett.html

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_travel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_dilation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormhole

Questions?