If you enjoy theoretical physics then discuss here...
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The current discussion point is:
Time travel! Theories to explain the structure of time, how to time travel, and how to solve paradoxes.
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Helpful Resources:
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List of Theories (red means old theory that has changed)
By maxskywalker
I think that I may have solved every time paradox EVER. I think that time has a past, present, and future all at the same spot, but we're just in what we call the present, and we can't easily move significant distances. So that there's a past you typing this topic RIGHT NOW, but in the past, and there's a past me typing this reply RIGHT NOW, but in the past, all thinking that this is the first time they (we?) posted (well, not really, because I'm the one who came up with this theory and therefor believe that I my future selves may have already typed it).
by me
So I think that it started out with one universe and then more universes are created as each action was done, with the diffrent options as paralell universes which dont affect the MAIN universe.
The significance of a main universe is that it was the first universe. All other universes go off of it.
Here's an example of how it would work:
You'r in a car, and you come to a fork in the road. You turn right. Once you turned right, a new universe would branch off where you would turn left. The universe where you turned right is the main universe, and the one where you turned left is a "side universe"
by me
Well, I think that time travel is like teleportation in the fact that basically it is copying yourself and putting the copy in a new place or time then deleting the old copy... is that like a linear version?
by wmays
I have a theory about parallel universes. They are not parallel, just like the sea is not parallel; it doesn't mean anything. Also, they aren't strictly speaking "universes", because each universe is not actually a "thing", as such. It is just a way of looking at what is technically known as the "Wasogm", or "whole sort of general mish-mash". The Whole Sort of General Mish-Mash is not actually a thing either, but is just the sum total of all the ways of looking at it if it did.
by maxskywalker
The same thing happens in every instance, because it's all the same universe! And there are no 'main' or 'side' universes, because it's all just different moments in the same timeline. And I don't really think there's a 'first' universe. Other universes would not branch out like a spiderweb because it would all be the same universe: this universe. It's just different instances in time. Not parallel/alternate universes. Just this universe, but different times in this universe. If you're in a car and you turn left, then when you wait 2 seconds afterwards, the instance of time 2 seconds before what you live in will turn left, because that's what happened. Then they will wait 2 seconds while the instance of time 4 seconds behind you (or two seconds behind them) turns left and waits in their own turn, and so on. It's all the same path.
Theoretically, I suppose that given the theory of multiverses, each multiverse COULD have its own line of time, but my theory only regards this one.
by deatheater
I believe that there are multiple timelines, and if you did travel back in time and say kill your grandfather, it wouldn't affect you because it would only affect the new timeline you were in, and if you were to travel back to your timeline then nothing would have changed.
by rdococ
I think that there is already thousands of "past" mini-universes and one of our "present" mini-universe, which we move to a newly created mini-universe which is now the only present, and the creation depends on what is happening. So, the future is created after the present is defined (and the process continues, and the future becomes the present), and we could possibly time-travel (possibly with normal travel, infact it's possible in the real world).
Because of time dilation, every piece of matter is always "alive" to have real consiousness in either a present or a past mini-universe.
If you did travel back in time and kill your grandfather, you would still exist, because when you're born you're not connected to the consiousness of your parents anymore. Think if your parents died in the present. You would still be alive. Same with them, if their past was dead, their present would be alive. Think of a baby, that is not existant in the past. Then, it exists, and then it's born. Before that, it didn't exist or was "dead" in all kinds. If the baby didn't exist in the past, then with some theories, the baby would die instantly. This is the same with lots of events involving matter. However, this would only be proven biologically, because scientifically everyone has always existed in some form of matter. The universe has a specific number of matter and energy, so matter or energy cannot be made, unless you use energy to make matter, or matter to make energy (which is not possible). Because of that, the paradox is solved and the result is that you're still alive.
by me
Time travel defies the laws of thermodynamics.
Time travel would be spontaneously creating energy>matter, because when you time travel technically you still exist in the past.
This means that either the laws of thermodynamics are wrong or time travel is impossible.
So, here's a solution:
I think that there's a main universe where time continues from a point, and each instant in time is another smaller universe, and time continues normally from the point in each of the other universes. When you would time travel, you would teleport to the universe from the specific point in time. There would be 'ripples' in spacetime that would signify that an event would be changed, and in the main universe the event would be changed, but in the universe that you changed the event in, it would continue as if you hadnt changed anything, because another 'duplicate' universe would form when you changed an event in the offset universe.
by agscratcher
You see, we exploit the qualities of something at absolute zero: superconductivity and superfluidity. Using this, we can exclude a magnetic field from the substance and use its superfluidity to creep around it. If we direct the magnetic field in a certain direction, we can control where the substance moves. The vehicle is dependent on the movement of the superfluid. However, for the superconductivity to work, we need to run an electrical current through the substance. This is why plasma supercooled to absolute zero would be the ideal candidate. If we could somehow manipulate the superfluidity to work at extremely fast speeds, you could, in theory, get very close to FLT travel.
by agscratcher
You don't accelerate the superfluid, you accelerate the vehicle. Normal propulsion combined with my method could reach pretty fast speeds. But then, when you're fast enough, you use the electromagnetic field as a sling of sorts, still using normal propulsion. You then inject the supercooled plasma into the fuel. The result is reheating of the plasma and an extra oomf to your speed. BRILLIANT!
by agscratcher
Electromagnetic radiation (that includes light) contains both electric and magnetic properties. Why not use it as a platform for out absolute zero experiments?
by me
Now we need to find out how to get a substance to 0 Kelvin, and then get the superfluidity to work at increased speeds.
Noting the "very close to FTL travel", if you could use a velocity/intertia system, then by transferring energy, you could get it to faster than light.
However, coliding theories here, the amount of time it would take to get an object about the size of a space ship to the speed neccesary, you would be on the edge of the universe, and would then go into another universe, therefore you already would be in a different time. However, that's only for going back in time, to go forward you would need to go faster than light. So you would have to loop around the universe.
Alternatively, you could create a device which spontaneously creates tachyons, then almost silmountaniously reverses them and destroys them. The reverse is neccesary, as otherwise it would take many years to slow down to a normal speed after you have reached FTL speed.
by agscratcher
1) I mentioned using light itself as a platform. However, light never goes in a concrete, uniform direction. So, I decided you could move across lasers.
2) I then realized that lasers would be inefficient, as they're weaker than actual light. So, I decided trying to find a method to control light to move in a concrete direction.
3) I then realized that only one thing could be powerful enough to do this: gravity. We need to create a controlled gravity field where the light would be forced to bend into a concrete direction. At first, I thought the thing we'd need to make the proper artificial gravity field would be a miniature black hole, but I though it might be too dangerous. I then decided on dark matter as the candidate. Unfortunately, we don't know what dark matter is. Boo hoo.
4) REJOICE! I looked back on my mini black hole theory and realized it had some truths to it. Remember when everyone was freaking out over the Large Hadron Collider having the potential to destroy the world by sucking it into an artificial black hole? The answer to our problem is a miniature Large (lol oxymoron) Hadron Collider.
by samtwheels
you could aquire [dark matter] by using some super-rocket to push a star or large planet, and then using gravity to capture and contain it.
by agscratcher
Now moving on to a different discussion, I figured out why black holes get bigger as they suck more in. They don't. You see, because there is less mass in the universe when a black hole absorbs it, the universe gets smaller. So in reality, they're just getting proportionally bigger.
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Last edited by wolvesstar97 (2012-04-12 02:17:08)
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wolvesstar97 wrote:
MY BRAIN IS IMPLODING FROM THE "Grandfather Question". The question is "If you went back in time and killed your grandfather before your father was born would you exist? Or would you even exist in the first place to kill your grandfather? Then would your grandfather die? How would you exist to kill your grandfather in the first place but if you DIDNT exist in the first place why wouldnt you exist if you didnt exist to kill your grandfather in the first place?
The grandfather paradox can be solved if you consider the "multiple universe" theorem, so that two universes are created, one in which you never exist and one in which you do. Therefore you simply cross from the universe in which you do exist to the one in which you don't.
Last edited by Kileymeister (2012-01-14 08:34:46)
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Well, we aren't going back in time, so I wouldn't worry about the Grandfather Paradox. Maybe forward though.
I have no idea what I'm saying but I swear I heard this explained by Hawking
But I tend not to worry about theoretical physics because they use tons of theories to get to one theory, and then I have to believe every theory for this theory or whatever.
Last edited by soupoftomato (2012-01-14 09:29:21)
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You Have Killed Me
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Kileymeister wrote:
wolvesstar97 wrote:
MY BRAIN IS IMPLODING FROM THE "Grandfather Question". The question is "If you went back in time and killed your grandfather before your father was born would you exist? Or would you even exist in the first place to kill your grandfather? Then would your grandfather die? How would you exist to kill your grandfather in the first place but if you DIDNT exist in the first place why wouldnt you exist if you didnt exist to kill your grandfather in the first place?
The grandfather paradox can be solved if you consider the "multiple universe" theorem, so that two universes are created, one in which you never exist and one in which you do. Therefore you simply cross from the universe in which you do exist to the one in which you don't.
So, I'm NOT wrong?!?
YAHOO!
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wolvesstar97 wrote:
Kileymeister wrote:
wolvesstar97 wrote:
MY BRAIN IS IMPLODING FROM THE "Grandfather Question". The question is "If you went back in time and killed your grandfather before your father was born would you exist? Or would you even exist in the first place to kill your grandfather? Then would your grandfather die? How would you exist to kill your grandfather in the first place but if you DIDNT exist in the first place why wouldnt you exist if you didnt exist to kill your grandfather in the first place?
The grandfather paradox can be solved if you consider the "multiple universe" theorem, so that two universes are created, one in which you never exist and one in which you do. Therefore you simply cross from the universe in which you do exist to the one in which you don't.
So, I'm NOT wrong?!?
YAHOO!
He never said Multiverses were true, but there is the theory of them.
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soupoftomato wrote:
wolvesstar97 wrote:
Kileymeister wrote:
The grandfather paradox can be solved if you consider the "multiple universe" theorem, so that two universes are created, one in which you never exist and one in which you do. Therefore you simply cross from the universe in which you do exist to the one in which you don't.So, I'm NOT wrong?!?
YAHOO!He never said Multiverses were true, but there is the theory of them.
But my first theory for time I said was the multiverse theory!!
Wait..
So I think that it started out with one universe and then more universes are created as each action was done, with the diffrent options as paralell universes which dont affect the MAIN universe.
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wolvesstar97 wrote:
soupoftomato wrote:
wolvesstar97 wrote:
So, I'm NOT wrong?!?
YAHOO!He never said Multiverses were true, but there is the theory of them.
But my first theory for time I said was the multiverse theory!!
Wait..
So I think that it started out with one universe and then more universes are created as each action was done, with the diffrent options as paralell universes which dont affect the MAIN universe.
Well according to Multiverse theory there is no main universe. Each one branches away from the other, and you simply exist in one of them, taking each branch at seeming random. None of this is proven, or even widely supported, however.
Or, if you consider a linear version of time, the old you will most likely be expunged from existence and a new you starting from the time you leave the time machine in the past will exist.
Last edited by Kileymeister (2012-01-14 15:10:25)
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Kileymeister wrote:
wolvesstar97 wrote:
soupoftomato wrote:
He never said Multiverses were true, but there is the theory of them.
But my first theory for time I said was the multiverse theory!!
Wait..
So I think that it started out with one universe and then more universes are created as each action was done, with the diffrent options as paralell universes which dont affect the MAIN universe.Well according to Multiverse theory there is no main universe. Each one branches away from the other, and you simply exist in one of them, taking each branch at seeming random. None of this is proven, or even widely supported, however.
Or, if you consider a linear version of time, the old you will most likely be expunged from existence and a new you starting from the time you leave the time machine in the past will exist.
Hmmm....
Well, I think that time travel is like teleportation in the fact that basically it is copying yourself and putting the copy in a new place or time then deleting the old copy... is that like a linear version?
I also have my own variation to the multiverse theory:
So I think that it started out with one universe and then more universes are created as each action was done, with the diffrent options as paralell universes which dont affect the MAIN universe.
So it breaks down to theorys.
You know, theres more to theoretical physics than just time.
Last edited by wolvesstar97 (2012-01-14 19:32:39)
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Heres a really cool picture of the 3-D model of dark matter:
http://asymptotia.com/wp-images/2007/01 … map_3d.jpg
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I think that I may have solved every time paradox EVER. I think that time has a past, present, and future all at the same spot, but we're just in what we call the present, and we can't easily move significant distances. So that there's a past you typing this topic RIGHT NOW, but in the past, and there's a past me typing this reply RIGHT NOW, but in the past, all thinking that this is the first time they (we?) posted (well, not really, because I'm the one who came up with this theory and therefor believe that I my future selves may have already typed it).
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maxskywalker wrote:
I think that I may have solved every time paradox EVER. I think that time has a past, present, and future all at the same spot, but we're just in what we call the present, and we can't easily move significant distances. So that there's a past you typing this topic RIGHT NOW, but in the past, and there's a past me typing this reply RIGHT NOW, but in the past, all thinking that this is the first time they (we?) posted (well, not really, because I'm the one who came up with this theory and therefor believe that I my future selves may have already typed it).
No, you just hurt every brain ever.
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maxskywalker wrote:
I think that I may have solved every time paradox EVER. I think that time has a past, present, and future all at the same spot, but we're just in what we call the present, and we can't easily move significant distances. So that there's a past you typing this topic RIGHT NOW, but in the past, and there's a past me typing this reply RIGHT NOW, but in the past, all thinking that this is the first time they (we?) posted (well, not really, because I'm the one who came up with this theory and therefor believe that I my future selves may have already typed it).
Wait, so there are infinite instances of every single point of time occurring simultaneously? That seems to overcomplicate matters a bit.
Also wolvesstar, I don't understand your idea, what is the significance of a "main" universe? Would the others branch out like a spider web? How does this reach different conclusions?
And we are still on time theories because it was the starting discussion point that never really concluded.
Last edited by Kileymeister (2012-01-15 11:13:09)
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Kileymeister wrote:
Also wolvesstar, I don't understand your idea, what is the significance of a "main" universe? Would the others branch out like a spider web? How does this reach different conclusions?
And we are still on time theories because it was the starting discussion point that never really concluded.
Yes, were still on time.
The significance of a main universe is that it was the first universe. All other universes go off of it.
Here's an example of how it would work:
You'r in a car, and you come to a fork in the road. You turn right. Once you turned right, a new universe would branch off where you would turn left. The universe where you turned right is the main universe, and the one where you turned left is a "side universe"
Make sense?
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wolvesstar97 wrote:
Kileymeister wrote:
Also wolvesstar, I don't understand your idea, what is the significance of a "main" universe? Would the others branch out like a spider web? How does this reach different conclusions?
And we are still on time theories because it was the starting discussion point that never really concluded.Yes, were still on time.
The significance of a main universe is that it was the first universe. All other universes go off of it.
Here's an example of how it would work:
You'r in a car, and you come to a fork in the road. You turn right. Once you turned right, a new universe would branch off where you would turn left. The universe where you turned right is the main universe, and the one where you turned left is a "side universe"
Make sense?
Yes, but I don't see how the one in which you turn right, (or either one, it makes no difference) has any more significance. To me they seem to have equal significance. Such that we do not exist in one central universe, and we ourselves are simply taking a semi-random path one of the branches. That makes more sense to me.
Last edited by Kileymeister (2012-01-15 19:22:16)
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maxskywalker wrote:
I think that I may have solved every time paradox EVER. I think that time has a past, present, and future all at the same spot, but we're just in what we call the present, and we can't easily move significant distances. So that there's a past you typing this topic RIGHT NOW, but in the past, and there's a past me typing this reply RIGHT NOW, but in the past, all thinking that this is the first time they (we?) posted (well, not really, because I'm the one who came up with this theory and therefor believe that I my future selves may have already typed it).
I thought about a theory like that before.
There was a guy from England on a "Through the Wormhole" who had a similar-ish idea.
Its a bit complicated, but I think that what your saying is that basically every action in time is already predecided, and its like framerates for time? Like each instant is a frame and time is just the playing of those frames?
If that is true, then I think it would be possible to time travel into the FUTURE (and only the future) by somehow speeding up the "framerate"?
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I have a theory about parallel universes. They are not parallel, just like the sea is not parallel; it doesn't mean anything. Also, they aren't strictly speaking "universes", because each universe is not actually a "thing", as such. It is just a way of looking at what is technically known as the "Wasogm", or "whole sort of general mish-mash". The Whole Sort of General Mish-Mash is not actually a thing either, but is just the sum total of all the ways of looking at it if it did.
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Even if you had a time machine time travel would be impossible.
Say I wanted to go back in time to see dinosuars, I did that and I saw them, the future me wouldn't want to go back in time because he has no reason to.
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Kileymeister wrote:
maxskywalker wrote:
I think that I may have solved every time paradox EVER. I think that time has a past, present, and future all at the same spot, but we're just in what we call the present, and we can't easily move significant distances. So that there's a past you typing this topic RIGHT NOW, but in the past, and there's a past me typing this reply RIGHT NOW, but in the past, all thinking that this is the first time they (we?) posted (well, not really, because I'm the one who came up with this theory and therefor believe that I my future selves may have already typed it).
Wait, so there are infinite instances of every single point of time occurring simultaneously? That seems to overcomplicate matters a bit.
Also wolvesstar, I don't understand your idea, what is the significance of a "main" universe? Would the others branch out like a spider web? How does this reach different conclusions?
And we are still on time theories because it was the starting discussion point that never really concluded.
No. There is only one instance of every moment in time. It's all just stacked up in the 4rth temporal dimension, where we can't see them. And what "main" universe? There is no "main" universe. I never typed that, I don't think. Nothing reaches different conclusions, they're just at different times that have already happened/going to happen. You're complicating things too much on your own.
Kileymeister wrote:
wolvesstar97 wrote:
Kileymeister wrote:
Also wolvesstar, I don't understand your idea, what is the significance of a "main" universe? Would the others branch out like a spider web? How does this reach different conclusions?
And we are still on time theories because it was the starting discussion point that never really concluded.Yes, were still on time.
The significance of a main universe is that it was the first universe. All other universes go off of it.
Here's an example of how it would work:
You'r in a car, and you come to a fork in the road. You turn right. Once you turned right, a new universe would branch off where you would turn left. The universe where you turned right is the main universe, and the one where you turned left is a "side universe"
Make sense?Yes, but I don't see how the one in which you turn right, (or either one, it makes no difference) has any more significance. To me they seem to have equal significance. Such that we do not exist in one central universe, and we ourselves are simply taking a semi-random path one of the branches. That makes more sense to me.
No. The same thing happens in every instance, because it's all the same universe! And there are no 'main' or 'side' universes, because it's all just different moments in the same timeline. And I don't really think there's a 'first' universe. Other universes would not branch out like a spiderweb because it would all be the same universe: this universe. It's just different instances in time. Not parallel/alternate universes. Just this universe, but different times in this universe. If you're in a car and you turn left, then when you wait 2 seconds afterwards, the instance of time 2 seconds before what you live in will turn left, because that's what happened. Then they will wait 2 seconds while the instance of time 4 seconds behind you (or two seconds behind them) turns left and waits in their own turn, and so on. It's all the same path.
Theoretically, I suppose that given the theory of multiverses, each multiverse COULD have its own line of time, but my theory only regards this one.
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my-chemical-romance wrote:
Even if you had a time machine time travel would be impossible.
Say I wanted to go back in time to see dinosuars, I did that and I saw them, the future me wouldn't want to go back in time because he has no reason to.
Only travel to the past. Movement makes you travel forward (see 'time dilation'). And my theory (previously in the thread) solves that, too!
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my-chemical-romance wrote:
Even if you had a time machine time travel would be impossible.
Say I wanted to go back in time to see dinosuars, I did that and I saw them, the future me wouldn't want to go back in time because he has no reason to.
What are you talking about? Of course you would want to see them again because they are cool, the end.
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