Time Travel
With Light-speed Space Travel
Im From........THE FUTURE!
In movies, tv shows and other entertainment scenarios, time travel usual consists of a character sitting at a contraption that took a genius to create. Usually a walk in machine, a car or a head band or helmet is what we think about when people time machine, when really all we need is a fast ship, and a lot of space, outer space to be exact. Now this isn't just any fast ship, this ship needs to be able to travel as fast or faster than light, causing time to bend around it. This flyer will show you about the theories that prove faster than light time travel has a high potential to actually work.
The theory of time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner comparable to moving between different points in space. Some theories, most recognized, special and general relativity, suggest that suitable geometries of space time, or specific types of motion in space, might allow time travel into the past and future, if these geometries or motions are possible
What happens?
When we consider this ability to travel in time through space, we consider a twin paradox. A twin paradox is the theory that if one twin traveled in a high-speed rocket into space, and the return some time later, the twin on earth would appear to have aged more.
Time dilation is allowed according to Albert Einstein's special and general theories of relativity. These theories state that, relative to the observer, time passes more slowly for people moving quickly relative to that observer, or bodies that are deeper within a gravity well. For example, a clock which is moving relative to the observer will be measured to run slow in that observer's rest frame; as a clock approaches the speed of light it will almost slow to a stop, although it can never quite reach light speed so it will never completely stop. This effect in turn will also affect the observer, causing them to feel like they have only traveled for a few weeks, when on earth they could be gone from a few months to a few thousand years!
Scientists also recently proved that particles can be sped up to the speed of light, so its just a matter of taking this technology and somehow making it possible for a human in a ship to reach the speed of light. Now this is WAY easier said then done, however NASA has made a few advances in the theory of this type of space travel.
NASA Takes Action
NASA believes they can achieve faster then light travel. Nasa believes if they can create a spherical ship surrounded by a halo-like ring, they could create a warp bubble, and move space-time around the ship. This would effectively reposition the ship, the end result being faster than light travel without the ship having to move, (with respect to its local frame of reference) at light speed or faster.
Then what's the problem?
The amount of energy required to power a ship like this is equivalent to the mass energy of.......pause for effect........ Jupiter. Most would think this a "fairly" large problem. NASA, however, does not. According to NASA physicist Harold White, the energy problem may actually be surmountable by simply tweaking the warp drive’s geometry. White, who just shared his latest ideas at the 100 Year Starship 2012 Public Symposium, says that if you adjust the shape of the ring surrounding the object, from something that looks like a flat halo into something thicker and curvier, you could power Alcubierre’s warp drive with a mass roughly the size of NASA’s Voyager 1 probe.
Instead of taking “decades or centuries,” White says this would allow us to visit a spot like Alpha Centauri — a little over four light years from us — in as little as “weeks or months."
In Conclusion
Even though right now it is only a well grounded idea, time travel by faster than light travel is still a very promising speculation. The evidence and possibilities are all there, it's just a matter of creating a device that could possibly curve space time. Who knows, in maybe ten years a device like this could exist, giving mankind a whole new world to explore!
Bibliography
Harris, William. "What if you traveled faster than the speed of light?."HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.
Pappas, Stephanie. "Faster-Than-Light Discovery Raises Prospect of Time Travel."Live Science. N.p., 23 Sept. 2011. Web. 22 May 2013.
Peckham, Matt. "NASA Actually Working on Faster-than-Light Warp Drive." Time Tech. N.p., 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 22 May 2013.
"Status of Wrap Drive." Nasa. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.
"What is the twin paradox?." Curiosity. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.