If warp drives exist, then so does time travel AKA here's my time machine

[Legend]

Thought this should get its own thread, since it's really cool.

So to keep things as simple as possible, we'll only talk about sending messages to the past. Also our warp drives will just be phones that communicate instantly.


The time machine is very simple. We have a long piece of wood. At the center is a light. On both ends are simple devices that detect light, and then turn on their own lights. Both machines also have phones that work faster than light.

The second part of the machine is a very long row of light sensors. Each sensor has its own phone. With just this simple device, you can send messages back in time.



To start, the wood is moved along the row of light sensors near the speed of light, relative to the sensors. Then when ready the center light on the wood flashes. From the perspective of the wooden board, this light moves towards each end at the same speed. Both light sensors will naturally be activated at the same time and flash at the same time.

From the perspective of the row though, the back device will flash first. This is because light moves at the same speed in all situations relative to the viewer. So since from this perspective the back is moving towards the light while the front is moving away from the light, the back will flash before the front.

Now for some time travel. When the row sees the back device flash, it phones up the front device. It tells the front device a color. The front device receives this message before the light first reaches it. Then it sends the message instantly to the back device, which again receives the message before even being hit by light. Then the back device flashes the color. The row of sensors will see this flash of color, before it's even sent the message in the first place!

The cool thing about this time travel is that it's legit as far as the math goes. There are only three possibilities. 1: Special Relativity is wrong. 2: faster than light travel is impossible. 3: time travel to the past is possible.

Tldr: I came up with this explanation of ftl time travel while trying to fall asleep. Wrote it with my phone so it didn't end up as clear as I hoped, but eh.

[darkknightkryta]

Mathematically speaking, faster than light travel is impossible in our universe.

[Legend]

Mathematically speaking, faster than light travel is impossible in our universe.

No.

Accelerating faster than light speed is impossible. There's nothing wrong with just going faster.

[7H3]

So the stories of the flash time travelling are true?

[darkknightkryta]

No.

Accelerating faster than light speed is impossible. There's nothing wrong with just going faster.

That's why I said "This universe"

[Legend]

That's why I said "This universe"

Pff there are so many ways to go faster than the speed of light without accelerating. Plus there's nothing wrong with always being faster than the speed of light.


The only thing that's impossible in our universe is using traditional means of acceleration to go faster than the speed of light. Warp drives, wormholes, and other mathematically sound ways to circumvent acceleration are entirely permitted.

[darkknightkryta]

Pff there are so many ways to go faster than the speed of light without accelerating. Plus there's nothing wrong with always being faster than the speed of light.


The only thing that's impossible in our universe is using traditional means of acceleration to go faster than the speed of light. Warp drives, wormholes, and other mathematically sound ways to circumvent acceleration are entirely permitted.

I know .  Still that Warp Drive.

[Legend]

I know .  Still that Warp Drive.

But then time travel becomes possible!

[darkknightkryta]

But then time travel becomes possible!

Possibly, time and space are conencted

[Legend]

Possibly, time and space are conencted

Well mathematically. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_travel#Via_faster-than-light_.28FTL.29_travel

[darkknightkryta]

Well mathematically. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_travel#Via_faster-than-light_.28FTL.29_travel

Somewhat off topic, but I wonder what makes light so special.  Why is it that its speed is constant at all frames of reference, yet everything else is dependent on the inertial frame.

[Legend]

Somewhat off topic, but I wonder what makes light so special.  Why is it that its speed is constant at all frames of reference, yet everything else is dependent on the inertial frame.

It's because light is dictated by quantum mechanics. Big physical objects move physically, while on the micro level it's a completely different set of laws. Light, gravity, magnetism, etc. all move at the speed of light, or max speed if you think of it like that.

It's just really weird and really cool. I hope I live long enough to see most of today's questions answered.

[Raven]

It's because light is dictated by quantum mechanics. Big physical objects move physically, while on the micro level it's a completely different set of laws. Light, gravity, magnetism, etc. all move at the speed of light, or max speed if you think of it like that.

It's just really weird and really cool. I hope I live long enough to see most of today's questions answered.

Quantum mechanics is such an exciting area of study because it's something we still struggle to grasp.

[the-pi-guy]

I wish my school had more physics classes. 

[Legend]

I wish my school had more physics classes. 

Haha I was crazy with science in high school. I took both AP Physics classes, even though one was mostly just a more advanced version of the other.









Also I think I've decided what my next project will be after VizionEck. Just something to spend a few weeks on, but a physics engine that included all aspects of special relativity. Then I could go in and set the speed of light to like 10 mph, and make all of this stuff incredibly easy to comprehend. Could then even make magic objects that go faster than the speed of light, and show how they fudge everything up.