The World's First Time Machine: A Documentary and a Mystery

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a documentary titled "The World's First Time Machine," which explores the concept of using lasers to send particles back in time. Participants express curiosity about the feasibility of this idea and the current status of related research.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant mentions the documentary and questions the possibility of sending particles back in time, noting a lack of updates on the project's progress.
  • Another participant recalls reading in Michio Kaku's "Physics of the Impossible" that sending particles back in time has not been achieved and suggests it may be impossible.
  • A third participant raises a question about how one would confirm the success of such an experiment, highlighting the need for prior expectations of results.
  • A fourth participant references Ron Mallett's attempts to create a time portal, indicating that those efforts have not succeeded and suggesting further research on the topic.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the feasibility of time travel and the status of related experiments, indicating that multiple competing perspectives remain without a consensus.

Contextual Notes

Some statements rely on interpretations of past literature and personal recollections, which may not reflect current scientific consensus or advancements. The discussion also touches on the challenges of verifying experimental outcomes in theoretical physics.

leroyjenkens
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I just finished watching a documentary called The World's First Time Machine on youtube about a dude trying to use lasers to send particles back in time. It's kinda old but I'm sure a lot of you have already seen it. I can link it if you want.
But they were acting like the dude was on the brink of making this thing work, yet I haven't heard anything further on it.
Anyone know anything about it or if what he was trying to do is even possible?
 
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I think I remember reading something like this, about particles and time travel, in Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku. I think he said they hadn't been able to do it (send them back in time anyway), and as far as I know it's impossible. I'm not sure if it was the same thing, or even if I remember correctly. Either way it was a great book.
 
Just how would you even know if such a thing was a success? You would have to be expecting and looking for the result prior to doing the experiment. And, what would happen if you got a positive result, and then decided not to do the experiment?
 
It was a show on tv from several years ago hyping Ron Mallett's now failed attempt at opening a portal to the future. You can google on him if you want more information. There have also been a number of threads discussing this already.
 

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