Time travel is a theme addressed in many works of science fiction, whether in literature or cinema; Unfortunately, there is still no evidence that time travel is actually possible, at least towards the past. As presented in the movie Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014), the only type of temporal displacement possible is future-oriented and only under certain conditions.
The feature film shows how the effects of a black hole’s event horizon can ‘suck’ time around those nearby. While the main character, Gordon Cooper, is on a planet near a black hole, Time is distorted due to intense gravity; In this case, each hour is equivalent to seven years on Earth. When Cooper returns to the ship, he realizes that more than 20 years have passed on his home planet.
The concept used in the film was discussed extensively by German theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, who developed the theory of general relativity, published in 1915. As Einstein himself explained, time is relative and can pass differently for each person depending on the situation.
Regarding how humanity perceives time, the German physicist said, “People like us who believe in physics know that the distinction between past, present and future is a stubbornly persistent illusion.”
Doubling of time: Einstein’s theory and the possibilities of traveling to the past and future
In his theory of general relativity, Albert Einstein states that everything is measured relative to another, so time is relative. However, the speed of light is constant and remains the same wherever it is; After all, nothing is faster than light. Based on this, the German physicist announced that time dilation was possible.
So if someone If he could move at a speed close to the speed of light, this individual would experience the flow of time slower than those who were not accelerating through space. – For example, if an astronaut travels at close to the speed of light, he will notice that time flows slower than for people on Earth.
The same thing happens when you travel to a planet in space close to regions that can bend gravity. The outcome would be similar to what happens to the character Cooper, who is much younger than his own daughter, as he approaches a black hole in the movie Interstellar.
In this case, time travel became possible precisely due to the intense gravity of the black hole. This causes a curvature in space-time and causes the gravitational effect of the passage of time.
Gravity works like the curvature of space-time, and hypothetically it would be possible to create a type of ‘wormhole’ connecting two different points in the universe. This will avoid an extremely long and costly journey and the traveler will experience the passage of time differently.
In other words, the faster you travel through space, the slower time flows; and the closer you are to massive gravitational interactions, the faster time will pass for those standing still on Earth.
“Machine [do tempo] It is space-time itself. “If we create a field with such distortion in space that would allow timelines to close, this could allow future generations to visit our time,” said Amos. Ori, a theoretical physicist at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, in a message posted to the website Live Science.
On the other hand, Traveling to the past may be extremely unlikely and nearly impossible. Some scientists even believe in this possibility, but it is purely theoretical as there is no real evidence of the feasibility of this type of travel.
Laser rings and time tunnels: reality or fiction?
According to American physicist and University of Connecticut professor Ronald Mallet, it is actually possible to travel in time using the concepts of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. The scientist claims this could happen through a rotating laser loop designed to constantly warp time. The hypothesis is called the laser ring theory.
As Mallet explains, such a device could create a gravitational field that could create time travel loops into the past and future. The researcher claims to have designed the device, which consists of a ring of rotating lasers, but the concept is not yet functional.
“Let me give you an analogy. Let’s say you have a cup of coffee in front of you right now. Start stirring the coffee with a spoon. It’s starting to spin, right? That’s what a spinning black hole does. In Einstein’s theory, space and time are interrelated. That’s why it’s called space-time. So, as the black hole spins, it will actually cause a warp in time,” says Mallet.
In any case, it is important to emphasize this. Mallett was heavily criticized by other scientists who claimed that the idea of creating a time machine was impossible. — even with a rotating laser ring. In fact, there is no real evidence that Ronald’s project is feasible.
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Source: Tec Mundo
I’m Blaine Morgan, an experienced journalist and writer with over 8 years of experience in the tech industry. My expertise lies in writing about technology news and trends, covering everything from cutting-edge gadgets to emerging software developments. I’ve written for several leading publications including Gadget Onus where I am an author.
