The Possibility of Time Travel
The idea of traveling back in time has long been a popular fantasy, yet there is little real evidence to suggest that such a feat is possible.
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While movies like The Terminator have made time travel popular among the masses, scientists have been hard at work using calculations and equations to determine whether it is possible or if it simply violates the laws of physics.
Researchers Suggest Time Travel is Possible
According to a new paper published by a group of theoretical physicists, the scientists believe they have finally discovered how to time travel. The key to such a phenomenon is ring wormholes.
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This particular kind of wormhole was first postulated in 2016 and is comprised of a combination of exotic matter and negative energy. Because of the effect exotic matter has on space-time, physicists theorized it may be able to warp space-time after essentially opening up a portal between two distant regions of the universe.
Stepping Through to Another Universe
Andrei Zelnikov, a researcher from the University of Alberta in Canada, explained the complexity of ring wormholes, explaining, “You could go through and not even notice that you went to another universe.”
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Zelnikov and his colleagues have also theorized that these particular wormholes may permit time travel under the correct circumstances.
Time Dilation
According to calculations carried out by Zelnikov and his team, the entrance of a ring wormhole would need to be placed in a higher gravitational field, which essentially means close to a lot of matter.
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In turn, the exit would need to experience a lower gravitational field. In this sense, the two sides of the portal would begin to experience time passing at a much different rate. This effect, known as time dilation, was first proposed in Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
Traveling Through Time
The researchers then suggested that if you passed through the wormhole and then returned, you would essentially be traveling through time due to the wormhole’s effects.
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Regarding the theory, researcher Toby Wiseman from the Imperial College London said, “The time machine is a natural consequence of the wormhole existing.”
Promising Theory
Wiseman suggests that while the theory is yet to be proven, there’s no reason why scientists won’t be able to do so in the future. He admitted the concept is outlandish but certainly possible according to calculations.
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“Apart from the crazy matter that makes up the wormhole, there’s nothing too wild being postulated here, and then the consequence is something even more crazy,” said Wiseman.
Not Like Time Travel From the Movies
Before we get ahead of ourselves, Zelnikov admits it won’t be the same kind of time travel witnessed in Back to the Future or Dr. Who. Their theory doesn’t permit unlimited time travel, i.e., venturing back to a distant part of the past.
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Instead, their paper explains you wouldn’t be able to return to a point before the wormhole became a time machine. So, as it stands, no one is going back to see live dinosaurs or Neanderthals just yet.
Distant Time Travel is Still Feasible Says Physicist
Zelnikov didn’t rule out the possibility of one day returning to the deep past and meeting with, say, a younger version of yourself. “Mathematically, you can go to the past, and your older self and younger self meet,” he says.
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Zelnikov continued, “There are many logical paradox problems, but mathematically there are no contradictions.”
Cambridge Researcher Shares Thoughts on Time Travel
On the other hand, Aron Wall from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom doesn’t share the same enthusiasm as Zelnikov. “I doubt there is any way to make such a string with known matter fields, so probably this is not a physically possible situation,” he said.
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However, the researcher appears open to debate, stating, “We can still ask what would happen.”
Quantum Law Prohibits Time Travel
Previous research conducted on the possibility of time travel suggested that quantum effects would immediately destroy any theoretical object that permits us to travel back in time immediately after it forms.
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“It may be impossible if you consider quantum effects, but nobody knows how to take into account quantum effects in space-time,” said Zelnikov. “If [ring wormholes] don’t exist, it could be because quantum effects made them blow up.”
Going Forward
As it stands, it’s doubtful any scientist will create a machine or portal that will transport humans back to a distant part of the past.
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However, Wiseman claims that a ring wormhole is a relatively “very simple construction,” and further studies might help researchers better understand why time travel appears to be impossible.