Time Travel - Does It Create a New Dimension?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of time travel and its implications on reality, particularly whether traveling back in time creates an alternate timeline or dimension. Participants explore theoretical scenarios involving time travel, the potential effects on the present, and the associated paradoxes.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether traveling back in time and altering events would create an alternate timeline, suggesting that the present would remain unaffected.
  • Another participant dismisses the notion of alternate dimensions in the context of time travel, asserting that plausible time travel scenarios, like closed timelike curves, would not lead to different universes.
  • A participant raises a concern about the implications of changing the past and its effects on the present, seeking clarity on the consequences of such actions.
  • One participant references the Novikov self-consistency principle, implying that it may provide insight into the discussion of time travel and paradoxes.
  • Another participant expresses skepticism about the physical possibility of time travel, citing logical paradoxes as a significant concern and suggesting that the universe may not permit such contradictions.
  • A later reply reiterates uncertainty regarding the effects of time travel, emphasizing that the current understanding of physics does not support the feasibility of time travel, leading to the conclusion that the topic is not valid for discussion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants exhibit disagreement on the nature of time travel and its implications. While some propose the idea of alternate timelines, others reject this notion, leading to an unresolved discussion regarding the physical possibility and consequences of time travel.

Contextual Notes

The discussion is limited by the current understanding of physics, which does not support the feasibility of time travel. Additionally, the implications of paradoxes and the definitions of dimensions in this context remain unresolved.

TachyonRSC
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Hello and first of all I would like to say that I appreciate your work here since I am new to this forum. So here it goes. I was wondering for a long time. Someone travels back in time somehow and let's say he goes 1000 years back. He knows the future and he makes an action to change it. Our world and our present will not be affected right? So when he traveled back in time he went to an alternate time line? Did he create that time line or dimension? Or our world will really be affected? And what about those paradoxes? I would really appreciate an educated answer. Thanks a lot!
 
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No. That's just silly science fiction stuff. The term "dimension" isn't used this way in physics. The only kind of time travel that is remotely plausible in real physics is closed timelike curves. These, if they exist, keep any traveler in the same universe.
 
And if that traveller does something that will change the future then what happens to us in the present?
 
I believe that will do the job. For any questions I will reply again. Thanks a lot.
 
The very fact that the idea of time travel can result in logical paradoxes is a big red warning sign that it's likely not physically possible - unless the Universe simply 'doesn't allow paradoxes to happen', but that I think is an assumption too far.
 
TachyonRSC said:
I was wondering for a long time. Someone travels back in time somehow and let's say he goes 1000 years back. He knows the future and he makes an action to change it. Our world and our present will not be affected right?

We have absolutely no idea. Time travel is not possible as far as we know, so there's no way to answer your question. Since time travel violates physics, it is not a valid subject for discussion here on PF. Thread locked.
 

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