Time travel using laser technology

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of time travel using laser technology, specifically referencing the work of Professor Ron Mallett. Participants explore the implications of Mallett's claims, the accessibility of related scientific papers, and the quality of science journalism in reporting on such topics.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express interest in Mallett's claims about time travel and seek to access his published work and rebuttals.
  • Others point out that links to PDFs on arXiv may not lead to the original papers and suggest that the main page would provide more context.
  • There is a critique of CNN's reporting on the topic, with some participants questioning the journalistic quality and relevance of the article.
  • Some participants highlight the age of Mallett's original paper and suggest that discussions should not merely rehash past debates.
  • One participant expresses frustration over the placement of the discussion in a general forum rather than a physics-specific one.
  • There are multiple comments about the human interest angle of the CNN article, with some participants feeling it detracts from the scientific content.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the appropriateness of the discussion's placement or the quality of the sources cited. There are competing views on the relevance and accessibility of Mallett's work and the effectiveness of the media coverage.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note limitations in accessing rebuttals to Mallett's work and express concern about the lack of detailed scientific discussion in the media coverage. The age of the original paper is also mentioned as a factor in the relevance of the current discussion.

pinball1970
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Professor Ron Mallett is claiming that time travel is possible using lasers. I've put this in general for a reason (I was considering putting this in the sci fi section)
Article here
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/time-travel-ron-mallett-scn/index.html
What I would like to ask is regarding his published work and rebuttals to it which are given in the article.
They are blank when I click. Ken Olum
https://redirect.viglink.com/?forma...iced in 2005 by Ken D. Olum and Allen Everett
 
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Why do people post links directly to the PDF on arXiv and not the main page (which has the "cited by" link)? It's more work for a less useful answer. In this case, it's not pointing to the Mallett paper but rather the rebuttal. (And because its PDF one can't click on the "refers to" link to get the original paper)

The original paper is R. L. Mallett, Found. Phys. 33, 1307 (2003).

Note that it's sixteen years old. Also note that it was discussed contemporaneously here, as well as here and and here. And more. I would hope that any discussion now doesn't just rehash what was said before.
 
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pinball1970 said:
I've put this in general for a reason...

And the reason is... you don't want any actual, real, verified, established science to be included in the discussion?

Zz.
 
Tom.G said:
That link resolves to a 5 pg. article:
"Can a circulating light beam produce a time machine?", dated 17 Oct, 2004
https://arxiv.org/pdf/gr-qc/0410078.pdf

ZapperZ said:
And the reason is... you don't want any actual, real, verified, established science to be included in the discussion?

Zz.
No. Why would I do that?
 
Vanadium 50 said:
Why do people post links directly to the PDF on arXiv and not the main page (which has the "cited by" link)? It's more work for a less useful answer. In this case, it's not pointing to the Mallett paper but rather the rebuttal. (And because its PDF one can't click on the "refers to" link to get the original paper)

The original paper is R. L. Mallett, Found. Phys. 33, 1307 (2003).

Note that it's sixteen years old. Also note that it was discussed contemporaneously here, as well as here and and here. And more. I would hope
This came out today I thought something else may have been published
 
CNN is not a terribly good source of science journalism. And as for time loops, they seem to be caught up in one, because it seems like every time I turn it on they are saying the latest news in Washington marks "the beginning of the end". :wink:
 
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Vanadium 50 said:
CNN is not a terribly good source of science journalism. And as for time loops, they seem to be caught up in one, because it seems like every time I turn it on they are saying the latest news in Washington marks "the beginning of the end". :wink:
Ok, mistake, I went for the human story.
Papers rebutting which I could not access and my search on here, feeble.
Not open to further replies thread closed.
 
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  • #10
pinball1970 said:
No. Why would I do that?

Exactly! And your reason for posting in the GD forum is... ? You still haven't offered any.

Otherwise, you would have posted this in the proper forum that engages in actual physics content.

Zz.
 
  • #11
pinball1970 said:
Ok, mistake, I went for the human story.
Papers rebutting which I could not access and my search on here, feeble.
Not open to further replies thread closed.

[separate post]
This came out today I thought something else may have been published
Yeah, the article is a little odd -- it's about 90% human interest story and very thin on even discussing the science at all. And it appears to be in the Travel section. Given the age of the paper, I don't see why CNN chose now to publish the story or what the point of the story even is. CNN is bad at science, but this is worse than normal, even for them.

Sure, we can close this.