Time travel and cosmic strings

In summary, Stephen Hawking discusses the possibility of time travel to the past in chapter 5 of his book "The Universe in a Nutshell". He introduces the concept of cosmic strings as a potential explanation for this phenomenon. These strings are theoretical and their tension and energy could potentially create other types of energy, such as heat. They are predicted to have been caused by the Big Bang and are allowed to exist by quantum mechanics and relativity. The relation to time travel is that they may have the ability to create a dense, rotating cylinder of infinite length, which could allow for time travel. However, it is not certain whether cosmic strings would actually be infinite in length. More information on cosmic strings and other topological defects can be found
  • #1
Hercule Poirot
31
1
In his book "the universe in a nutshell", stephen hawkings is discussing the possiblity of time travel to the past (ch. 5 How to protect the past). He introducted the concept of cosmic strings to explain that. would anyone here could explain this concept and it's relation to time travel?

Thanks,
 
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  • #2
What cosmic strings exactly are I don't know, but the tension on them is huge and the energy is because of that. They are strings, so that means that their energy and mass are distributed along a line, apparently that does something to the space curvature opening possibilities if they were to slide along each other creating other types of energy that way (like heat). They are apparently predicted to having been caused by the big bang.

Cosmic strings are *very* theoretical, but they seem to be allowed to exist by quantummechanics and relativity. In everything that we've seen before (like all predicted particles for example) everything that was predicted by a (for now assumed) valid theory really exists.
So we might conclude that because they are allowed to exist, they must. Argument comes also from Hawking.
 
  • #3
The relation to time travel is that it's been shown that a hypothetical dense, rotating cylinder of infinite length would allow a traveler moving near it to go backwards in time--google "van stokum cylinder" to find more info on this. But I don't think cosmic strings would actually be infinite in length.
 

Related to Time travel and cosmic strings

1. How does time travel work?

Time travel is a concept that is still largely theoretical and not fully understood. According to some theories, it involves using the curvature of space-time to create a closed time-like curve, allowing an object to move back in time. However, this concept is still highly debated and has not been proven scientifically.

2. Can cosmic strings be used for time travel?

Cosmic strings are hypothetical one-dimensional objects that are thought to have formed in the early universe. While they have been proposed as a potential way to achieve time travel, there is currently no scientific evidence to support this idea. Additionally, the energy required to create and manipulate cosmic strings would be immense and beyond our current technological capabilities.

3. What is the relationship between time travel and black holes?

Black holes are objects with such strong gravitational pull that not even light can escape from them. Some theories suggest that black holes may act as portals to other points in space and time. However, this is still just a hypothesis and has not been proven.

4. Can we change the past through time travel?

Many theories of time travel suggest that altering the past is not possible. This is because any changes made would create a paradox, where the past and present would no longer align. Some scientists also argue that the laws of physics would prevent such changes from occurring.

5. Is time travel possible in the future?

While time travel is currently not possible with our current understanding of physics, it is still a topic of ongoing research and speculation. Some scientists believe that advances in technology and a deeper understanding of the laws of physics may one day make time travel a reality. However, it is important to note that any potential advancements in this area are still purely theoretical at this point.

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