Physicist Says Time Travel Is Not Only Possible, but Likely

[Buffmaster]

(Warning the following article is from FOXNEWS.com)



Physicist Says Time Travel Is Not Only Possible, but Likely

April 03, 2008




Time travel? Teleportation? No problem, says renowned physicist Michio Kaku.

Kaku, a professor at the City University of New York, is creating quite a stir in Britain with the release of his new book, "The Physics of the Impossible."

On this side of the pond, outlandish claims in books are recognized as, well, a good way to sell books.

But in Blighty, Kaku's being treated as if he's Doctor Who informing dim-witted humans about the wonders of the Universe, with front-page treatment Wednesday in both the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian. Even the normally staid Economist is chiming in.


Kaku, one of the earliest proponents of string theory, still a contentious issue among physicists, divides the most common science-fiction tropes, or "impossibilities," into three categories — possible soon, possible in the far future and really, truly impossible.

Category 1, as he dubs it, includes things that may become true within the next century, if not the next few decades: teleportation (already possible, but only among subatomic particles); telepathy (thanks to brain implants); invisibility (already being researched using light-bending 'metamaterials'); laser guns (existing, but hugely power-hungry); force fields; and the discovery of extraterrestrial life.

Category 2 includes things that are theoretically possible but would be realized only with thousands more years of technological progress: time travel (possibly through "wormholes" in space); traveling faster than light; and the discovery of parallel universes.

Category 3 consists of things that really are impossible because they violate the laws of physics. Only two concepts qualify: knowing the future and perpetual motion.

"The Physics of the Impossible," released March 11 in the U.S., is currently No. 123 on the Amazon bestseller lists. It comes out Thursday in Britain, though without the "Doctor Who"-themed cover of the U.S. version.

[raum]

BAH - scientific drivel. This is why I hate celebrity scientists.

What reason does this man have for making such claims? The fact that if he is wrong, he will be dead?

Don't get me wrong, I loved Dr. Who back in Tom Bakers days, and am a transcendalist at heart who meditates and astrally explores other realms of consciousness... but by what authority is this anymore than weatherwatching?

The irony that he wrote a book about knowing the future that says knowing the future is one of two impossible things he can come up with is as sensless as a fur liner in a paper cup.

Especially, when we have examples of perpetual motion that stand up to everything but the entropic decay of their components... I think he means "free energy" is impossible.

[Skinny Bastard]

it is true...somebody came back and told them it would happen.....

[AYHJA]

I think physical time travel is pretty impossible...A spiritual though, is probably very possible, and probably has already been practiced for a long ass time...For some weird reason I think souls leave imprints on things we do not yet know, kinda like how when we step in mud and leave a footprint...Over time, those things may fade away, and become corrupted somehow, but as we saw w/the article on shit...If you know what you're looking for you more than likely will find it...Some kind of energy signature maybe...I don't know, I'm babbling...

[ootpoot]

(Warning the following article is from FOXNEWS.com)

Ha ha ha...
So where are the pictures of the big titty Fox News Science Editor bimbette?
;)

[hotheat]

time travel into the future is possible. just travel near the speed of light and u'll arrive at some future time. this is cause time slows down for u.
telportation has its problems with the uncertainty principle.

[AYHJA]

h2, if time slows down the faster you get towards the speed of light, how is it that you'll arrive in the future..? :?:

[ne0knight]

Maybe he means that each step we take is a step into the future. Like if I walk, I'm actually jumping 2 seconds into the future. :p

[hotheat]

h2, if time slows down the faster you get towards the speed of light, how is it that you'll arrive in the future..? :?:

if u travel near the speed of light, time slows down for u. all others will experience 'normal' time. one day for u could mean ten years for them. (i don't have the exact equations to correlate how much time dilates as u near the speed of light but this is just for illustration purposes.) so if u make a round trip to where u r at near lightspeed for a day, u may arrive ten years later from the day u left. hence, u travel to the future. u experience as if just 1 day has passed while all others would've had 10 years of history. all people u know (and didn't know) would've aged 10 years while u've aged just a day !

as far as i know, this is a necessary consequence of the laws of physics.

travelling back in time is another matter. this presents all manner of paradoxes and violates the law of causality. imagine for instance, u went back in time and killed ur grandmother before ur mother was born. ur mother won't be born and u won't be born. then who would travel back in time to kill ur grandmother in the first place? if ur grandmother isn't killed, ur mother, then u, would be born to go back in time to kill ur grandmother.

[AYHJA]

Well it also states that you would get heavy as shit, which would make it pretty impossible to go that fast, lol...So yeah, excluding that little tidbit, I suppose you'd be right... :D