Time travel

What are logical theory’s of time travel?
This is probably the most asked question, but if we were to learn how to do it why not go back in time and show people how to do it?
Apparently you could
What would you be using to time travel?
And any other questions I can’t think of…

We can’t, because we didn’t. Or won’t. Or something.

What I thought would always be neat, is an endless improving of the future, by going back to the past, giving them technology of the future, then when you could go back to the same time, and give them even better technology.
For example, if in 3000 we achieve time travel. Say we go back to 1980 and move give them knowledge and technology from 3000. Then, by the year 3000, we’ll be, let’s just say 3000 for simplicities sake, years advanced. So in the year 3000 we have year 6000 technology. Then, we go back to 1980 and give them year 6000 technology. Now in the year 3000 we have year 9000 technology. And so on.
I hope I made sense.

What, you’ve never heard of the Temporal Prime Directive? Jeez, people - if you’re going to time travel, obey the freakin’ rules!

Esprix

I just said it would be neat, that’s all. And besides, some rules were made to be broken :slight_smile:

According to current theories, it is impossible to travel back in time to before the machine that allowed you to do so was created. Of course, all theories of time travel are fairly shaky and insubstantial to start with.
-Oli

Two books on time travel that I highly recommend are:

The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold

and

Thrice Upon A Time by James P. Hogan

Theoretically, one could create a quantum bubble type thing which would allow you to move forward in time and backwards in time (but not before the time you built the machine). Of course, this being quantum we don’t have the technology to even come close to being able to do some experiments. Maybe never will.

But theoretically, its possible.

Of course, time travel in and of itself is only half of the problem that needs to be addressed. The other half? Staying put!
Let’s say you manage to travel back or forward in time a mere five minutes. In that five minutes the Earth has spun on it’s axis, the Earth has continued to revolve around our sun, our solar system has moved within our galaxy, the galaxy has both expanded and moved outward, and so on and so on. So you tell me where exactly you will end up if you travel in time a mere five minutes?

If you’re interested in time travel, watch Donnie Darko. It doesn’t exactly explain time travel, but it does a hell of a job demonstrating it and some of the paradoxes involved.

I’ve heard, and I think it’s safe to say everyone else who’s posted has heard, all or most of the paradoxes that would exist with time travel.
And as for the theory, I’ve seen several different theories on how to do it. I can’t specifically recall them right now because it’s been years since I’ve read about time travel. But theoretically, there’s more than one way.

Yup, learned it all in Time Travel 101, I bet. Required at most major universities, dontcha know.

There is only one credible time travel theory, which has to do with wormholes. But it is only very theoritical as it requires large mounts of exotic matter. I’ll try and dig up the paper.

Is exotic matter anything like exotic dancing? If so, where can I get some? Is it legal?

Topless Black Holes!! No Cover Charge!!

MC Master: IANAP by any stretch, but isn’t wormhole theory about travelling vast distances in space in a very short time, rather than time travel itself? Of course, I’m probably completely wrong, but I thought it was about “folding space” so that two seperate points in space could be linked somehow.

Oh yeah, Czarcasm, count me in on the XXX Live Girl Action!

NAKED singularities! All day, all nite!

Yes, but if you have one end of the wormhole travelling close to the speed of light what you get is basically a time machine.

Hmm… interesting [scratches chin thoughtfully]… so has this actually been done, or is it still at the theoretical stage?

O, it’s dependant on huge amounts of negative energy, which can be produced on a tiny scale but it requires the discovery of ‘exotic matter’ to produce it before it becomes in anyway plausible.