Time dilation plays a key role in Light Year: what is it and how does it work?

AT Light year we see hum working hand in hand, first with Alisha and then with Izzy Hawthorne. Grandmother and granddaughter, both the same age. It’s because a small incident makes him stay. stuck in time. What is only a few minutes for him, his fellow missionaries age by several years. Alisha falls in love and creates a family, in which Izzy is born. No doubt it’s a very touching story, but going back to the theme of time, it’s all thanks to something known as time dilation.

This phenomenon has already been described Albert Einstein when he expressed his General theory of relativity. In it, I mentioned that in a certain sense there is no single time. This can vary for each person and is generally speed dependent. In fact, for someone who moves very fast, time passes more slowly than for someone who is standing still or moving much more slowly. In fact, it is often said that Buzz Aldrin, during his journey as an Apollo 11 lunar module pilot, experienced some time dilation. This would mean that for him time passed a little slower. Although this is not enough to see noticeable results.

In the case of Buzz Light year If this we see noticeable results because perform multiple super speed jumps try to leave the planet where they are stuck. Walking at such extreme speed, time passes much more slowly than his peers. What Einstein predicted came true, although it could have happened in other ways, and this is observed in other films such as the famous interstellar.

Time Slowdown in Light Year and Interstellar

While trying to escape the planet they are stranded on, Buzz and his team must test a special fuel. But first they need to bring the ship to hyperdrive. Lightyear is chosen to pilot the ship on these test flights, and his journey into the past begins. Every try four minutes is several years for your peers. Thus, what is short for him is a whole life for them.

This is not the first time cinema has explored the phenomenon time dilation. AT interstellarfor example, we see references to it twice.

First, when astronauts explore different planets around Black Hole Gargantua they discover that there is one in which every minute of stay turns into seven years on the spaceship. Secondly, Joseph Cooperthe protagonist of the film, leaves his daughter on Earth as a little girl, and when he returns, for what a short period of time for him, he finds her. turned into an old woman

In this case, the second assumption made by Einstein takes place. He explained that time relative to two observers that move at different speeds, as in Light year, or which are subjected to different gravitational fields. And that’s what happens in part interstellar. in planet millervery close to the event horizon of a black hole, one hour equals seven years. The event horizon is the point beyond which nothing can escape the pull of a black hole. Therefore, in its vicinity gravitational attraction it’s huge. This makes it a place where time passes very slowly.

But if he eventually discovers that his daughter has turned into an old woman, it is because, in addition to the three hours he spent in Miller, he also got into inside a black hole. And this, of course, implies a strong gravitational pull. So much so that he allegedly could not escape from there. Nothing can escape a black hole, we’ve seen that before. This is where various film theories come into play. Presumably, the astronaut was saved by other, much more advanced people who are able to control even the fifth dimension. But all this does not interest us to understand what is happening with Buzz in Light year.

One thing is clear: time dilation is a very useful resource in cinema. Buzz won’t be the last character to see his friends age while he stays the same age. Could this happen? beyond fiction? It would take a few bands to solve, but the theory says it’s possible. Only the future will tell how far we can go.