Theoretically, could shrinking down to Planck scale enable time travel?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers around the concept of time travel as depicted in the Ant-Man movies, particularly the idea of shrinking to a Planck scale to enable time travel or time dilation. The initial premise suggests that while shrinking to subatomic sizes is impossible due to the Cube-Square law, the hypothetical exploration of Planck time raises questions about the nature of time and physics. However, responses indicate that the notion is largely seen as speculative and disconnected from real physics, with assertions that at the Planck scale, conventional physics breaks down. The conversation emphasizes that while time dilation is a recognized phenomenon, the proposed mechanism for time travel through shrinking is considered unrealistic and more aligned with science fiction than scientific fact. Ultimately, the thread concludes with a reminder that speculative discussions should adhere to the context of actual science fiction rather than unfounded theoretical physics.
Maximum7
Messages
124
Reaction score
11
I remember one of the Ant-Man movies had time travel enabled by shrinking down to an incredibly small size. This seemed silly to me at first but then I realized that a second is much closer to the age of the universe than a Planck time is to a second. This is mind-boggling and the human brain cannot register how a Planck time operates. Even though it is completely impossible, if you could shrink down to the Planck length; would it enable some sort of time travel or time dilation? Maybe that IS the key to time travel and since shrinking humans is completely impossible; therefore time travel is completely impossible
 
  • Skeptical
Likes weirdoguy, PeroK and BillTre
Physics news on Phys.org
Maximum7 said:
This seemed silly to me

And you were correct.

The last time you asked if something in fiction was possible, we said no, and you were unhappy. I hope we don't repeat this.
 
  • Like
Likes BillTre, russ_watters and berkeman
Gee what a surprise. A condescending answer from Vanadium50. I bet you have an alert on me.

Shrinking down to subatomic size is different than Planck size. Planck scale as I said “a second is much closer to the age of the universe than a Planck time is to a second”. At Planck scale, all physics breaks down. And time dilation is a real thing.

Shrinking down is impossible due to the Cube-Square law BUT my question is a hypothetical and I posted in the Sci-fi section. I just was speculating if this could be possible due to how Planck time works.
 
  • Sad
Likes weirdoguy and PeroK
I'm not V50 so I'm not sure if you'll like this answer better or not....

Everything you just said is barely above gibberish. Sorry, but it's just movie technobabble and doesn't really bear any resemblance to real physics.
Maximum7 said:
BUT my question is a hypothetical and I posted in the Sci-fi section. I just was speculating if this could be possible due to how Planck time works.
That's not how our rules work. The sci-fi section is not a section where the rules on speculative physics don't apply, it's a section for discussing actual sci fi. Since that's not what you are after, this thread is closed.
 
  • Like
Likes Rive, PeroK, BillTre and 4 others
Man, when the Devil comes a-knockin', he does not smell of sulphur and brimstone, he smells of sweet perfume and roses... Doing a bit of research for a short story. All I wanted was some examples of professions typical for jurors in a trial of the time and location of the story (1850s New Orleans - of which I am not very familiar, so I have my work cut out for me). ChatGPT delivered that very nicely, giving me a list of a dozen typical professions for the type of man that was eligible for...
Back
Top