BLOG: Is time travel possible?
Key takeaways
- Time travel is an appealing idea as the psyche of human race is obsessed with the urge to travel back in time so that it can witness the lost glories in the ever going-forward time.
- In this context, scientists have used single particles of light (photons) to simulate quantum particles travelling through time.
- However, many physicists find CTCs abhorrent, because any macroscopic object traveling through one would inevitably create paradoxes where cause and effect break down.
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Time travel is an appealing idea as the psyche of human race is obsessed with the urge to travel back in time so that it can witness the lost glories in the ever going-forward time.
In this context, scientists have used single particles of light (photons) to simulate quantum particles travelling through time. They showed that one photon can pass through a wormhole and then interact with its older self. The source of this time travel conundrum comes from what are called “closed time-like curves” (CTC).
CTCs are used to simulate extremely powerful gravitational fields, like the ones produced by a spinning black hole, and could, theoretically, based on Einstein’s theory of general relativity, warp the fabric of existence so that space-time bends back on itself – thus creating a CTC, almost like a path that could be used to travel back in time.