Time travelling - Einstein's revolution

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SUMMARY

This discussion centers on the complexities of time travel as explained through Einstein's theories of special and general relativity. Key concepts include the nature of spacetime as absolute, the definition of worldlines, and the conditions necessary for time travel, such as achieving superluminal speeds. Participants debate the implications of simultaneity and the experimental evidence supporting Einstein's theories, including the time dilation observed in high-speed travel. The conversation highlights the ongoing confusion and intrigue surrounding the intersection of theoretical physics and practical experimentation.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Einstein's theories of special and general relativity
  • Familiarity with the concept of worldlines in spacetime
  • Knowledge of time dilation and its implications in high-speed travel
  • Basic grasp of simultaneity and its role in relativity theory
NEXT STEPS
  • Study Einstein's "Relativity: The Special and General Theory" for foundational concepts
  • Explore the twin paradox and its implications for time travel
  • Research experimental evidence supporting time dilation, such as the Hafele-Keating experiment
  • Investigate modern theories like quantum field theory and their relation to spacetime
USEFUL FOR

Physicists, students of theoretical physics, and anyone interested in the implications of relativity and time travel concepts.

12345
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Hello.
I was wondering what you guys think about time travelling.
I read Paul Davies's book called How to Build a Time Machine which
left me more confused about this topic. What do you think :smile:
 
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12345,

I have not read Paul Davies' book. But what I learned from Einstein's theories of special and general relativity is that spacetime is absolute. Everything in the universe is a point in spacetime. This point is called an event. The path of motion of an event in spacetime is called the worldline. Simultaneous events are the intersection of worldlines. Can two worldlines really intersect? I am still in doubt. To travel in time, backward or forward need the worldlines to intersect.

To go back in time, we need to turn around our existing worldline of a time machine and intersect a previous point of another worldline.

To go ahead in time, we need to go superluminal speed to intersect a worldline that already contains a future event.

My worldline started when I was born and it will end when I die. The atoms and molecules in my body will eventually generate other many worldlines. I am typing these words here but by the time you read them my worldline has progress far into the future. So it seem to you that you are reading the worldline of my past and not my present state of mind. Can our worldlines really intersect?
 
einstein has proved Issac Newton to be wrong. he says time is relative to where you are. Issac said time is absolute and universal. [eg. if an observer on planet X (which has twice the mass and is more compessed than earth) will experience time going to slower than an observer on Earth. He said if we were to tarvel at 99.99999% of the speed of light then we will be able to reach the future.

i presume that u may have heard about the twin theory?
 
Space by itself is relative. Time by itself is also relative. But spacetime is absolute.

All modern theories (quatum field theories, superstring theories, M-theory, special relativity and general relativity) are based on the absoluteness of spacetime. And the speed of light in vacuum remains the maximum attainable speed for all physical processes.
 
12345 said:
eg. if an observer on planet X (which has twice the mass and is more compessed than earth) will experience time going to slower than an observer on Earth.

How does one 'experience' time going slower?

Matt
 
spacetime is unalterable

only the perception of space and time measurements are variable

the mathematical model of Relativity Theory states that length decreases with velocity in the direction of travel

this causes an illusion for the traveller, of space being stretched in the direction of travel

since time is a temporal dimension at right angles to the spatial dimensions
real time seems condensed (speeded up) for the traveller

to a stationary observer the traveller is shrinking in one dimension
and the traveller's clock is moving more slowly
 
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baffledMatt said:
How does one 'experience' time going slower?

Matt

ok...i meant in comparison to the observer on earth. :confused:
if an observer cannot 'experience' the time going slower, a clock
will 'slow' down.
 
energia said:
spacetime is unalterable

only the perception of space and time measurements are variable

the mathematical model of Relativity Theory states that length decreases with velocity in the direction of travel

this causes an illusion for the traveller, of space being stretched in the direction of travel

since time is a temporal dimension at right angles to the spatial dimensions
real time seems condensed (speeded up) for the traveller

to a stationary observer the traveller is shrinking in one dimension
and the traveller's clock is moving more slowly

Take Einsteins example in hios bool "relativty" where he introduces loss of simultaneity. Without analyzing the whole problem the moving observer crosses the midpoint between two light sources that pulse on at that time. Taking this positon in space time as smultaneous, ie the lights pulse on for moving and stationary frames at the same time, say at t = 0.

Later the moving observer records light from the forward light before the light arrives at the midpoint and later from th rear light source. Now when we place recording (detecting gea)r along the path of the moving platform and the observers make simultaneous observations of the pulses each event is simultaneous in space and time whether we use clocks or not.

Is this not true?

Now my question is, how does one get to the loss of simultaneity under Einstein's example if every event 'thing' is measured simultaneously? If the moving observer knows of the simultaneous mesurements will she later conclude that there were any events originally measured unambiguously simultaneous to both frames to have happened at diffeent times, or places by imposing RT?

It seems this is what RT is all about: that observers may corrupt measurenments and observations by the imposition of postulational theories.

http://frontiernet.net/~geistkiesel/index_files/ :smile:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
12345 said:
einstein has proved Issac Newton to be wrong. he says time is relative to where you are. Issac said time is absolute and universal. [eg. if an observer on planet X (which has twice the mass and is more compessed than earth) will experience time going to slower than an observer on Earth. He said if we were to tarvel at 99.99999% of the speed of light then we will be able to reach the future.

i presume that u may have heard about the twin theory?

12345, where and when did Einstein prove Newton wrong? Just when and where was Einstein proved "right" in his theoretical postulations about anything?
:devil:
 
  • #10
geistkiesel said:
http://frontiernet.net/~geistkiesel/index_files/ :smile:

I was so dissapointed with this link. It starts by setting up the experiment, great, then talks about what each observer might see, ok, but then goes off on a ramble about what is physical reality or something etc etc (yawn) with confusing diagrams and unclear explanations to justify it all.

If there is a flaw in the theory please show it concisely and clearly. If you have to resort to hand waving, on the other hand, you have no argument.

Matt
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #11
geistkiesel said:
12345, where and when did Einstein prove Newton wrong? Just when and where was Einstein proved "right" in his theoretical postulations about anything?
:devil:

geistkiesel,( i have only have an outline on this experiment) proof is that an experiment was conducted with a clock on earth, and a man flying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
when the man landed with his plane back on earth, the clock which was on Earth was 0.000057 seconds slower. the fraction of time difference might be small, but proves Newton wrong.but they are also sending a spacecraft with four individual probes to space. if einstein is right then the probes will hopefully move positions. this will confirm his theory. :approve:
 
  • #12
baffledMatt said:
I was so dissapointed with this link. It starts by setting up the experiment, great, then talks about what each observer might see, ok, but then goes off on a ramble about what is physical reality or something etc etc (yawn) with confusing diagrams and unclear explanations to justify it all.

If there is a flaw in the theory please show it concisely and clearly. If you have to resort to hand waving, on the other hand, you have no argument.

Matt

baffledMAtt, your yawn is your problem. You misread the point, but then you can always use thaty for an excuse when someone splains it to you later and you won't have to be embarrassed. RT is a psychological encumberance. The point about physical reality is that observers coming along with theoretical tools do not altersthe physical reality. Sorry. Go back to sleep. You can always read Einstein's biography, if you ever wake up.

However take comfort. You have all those others with comments except the one that damages the link. The link, baffkledMatt, flushed the consequences of "simultaneity' down the toilet. Go find a physicist, she'll explain it to you.
 

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