The Truth About Time Travel: Separating Fact from Fiction

[ledzeppie]

So I was watching a video on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM28eErikAo"

It says that the faster you travel through space, the slower you travel through time, and that if you went faster than light, you could go back in time. Is this true? Forget about it being impossible to go faster than light, and assume that it is. Wouldn't this only be relative?

 

[HallsofIvy]

Yes, If you were to observe a person traveling at, say, 90% the speed of light, relative to you, you would see their clock moving more slowly, their heart beating more slowly, etc. And, yes, this is "relative". If that same person were observing you, he would see you moving at 90% the speed of light relative to him and would observe everything in your frame moving more slowly.

I don't see why it would be important to "forget about it being impossible to go faster than light, and assume that it is". This has nothing to do with going faster than light. In fact, the effect is one of the reasons it is impossible to go faster than the speed of light: as something approaches the speed of light, relative to you, its "time" comes to a stop.

 

[Entropia]

There is a lot of debate and speculation surrounding the concept of time travel, and it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. While it is true that the theory of relativity suggests that time can slow down or speed up depending on the speed at which an object is traveling, the idea of going back in time by traveling faster than light is not scientifically supported.

Firstly, as mentioned, it is currently impossible for any object to travel faster than the speed of light. This is a fundamental principle of physics and has been proven through numerous experiments and observations. So, even if it were possible to travel at such speeds, we would not be able to test the theory.

Additionally, the idea of going back in time by traveling faster than light is based on the assumption that time is a linear concept. However, some theories suggest that time may be more fluid and nonlinear, making the idea of going back in time more complex and uncertain.

Furthermore, even if we were able to travel faster than light and go back in time, it is unclear how this would affect our reality. The concept of causality, or cause and effect, is a fundamental principle in physics and going back in time could potentially disrupt the natural flow of events and create paradoxes.

In conclusion, while the idea of time travel is intriguing and has captured the imagination of many, it is important to approach it with a critical and scientific mindset. The reality of time travel is still uncertain and there is no concrete evidence to support the idea that we can go back in time by traveling faster than light.