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I figure it's probably possible. Though i'm not a physicist, time is a constant and I don't think that a change in velocity will change that. However there probably is a way to alter the fabric of time to move between periods of time, both forwards and backwards.
Although there are some constants in the universe, time is not one of them. Any change in velocity changes the rate of time. Fortunately, we rarely (never) travel at speeds for the change in time to be noticeable.
Location: Los Angeles, which as I understand was once upon a time ago part of the United States of America
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Originally Posted by mattpoulsen
Yes, its a matter a degree. The point of the question though is asking whether or not space travel, in a noticeable sense, is possible. As I clearly stated, even at slow speeds time dilation occurs. But the point of the question is not to address these subtle effects...its to address time differences that are large enough for a human to notice.
That is absolutely a matter of technology.
I would also add your mixing the use of the word "theory." The way it was framed in the early posts it is clearly the layman's version of "theory." In science there are theoretical descriptions of expected behavior which are governed by things like "the theory of gravity" or the "theory of relativity." However, even scientists use the word "theory" to describe things that have been "done on paper" as opposed to things done by experiment. This latter description is clearly what the poster was suggesting.
Also, the correction made in satellites is due to general relativity not special relativity.
Ah, but we've already noticed time differences when we've accelerated particles in cyclotrons.
Location: Los Angeles, which as I understand was once upon a time ago part of the United States of America
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Originally Posted by HighPlainsDrifter73
Were all stuck in a river of time flowing in one direction only. It's like a raging river with no way to get out. We are prisoners, for now.
Yes, time travel into the future is possible if you go a significant fraction of light speed. Going backwards in time, that's a completely different problem.
Scientists have hypothesized that it is possible to travel in the other direction via extremely powerful magnetic fields.
I think that if someone would travel in time a new "PARALLEL REALITY" would exist leaving the original reality intact and changing the outcome of the new one.
Thats one of me theories.
You should read up on String Theory and Multiverses then.
Here's a good video for everyone to enjoy. The Mobius Strip (the 4th and 5th dimension(s) otherwise known as time and the folding of it) is something I wanted to bring up in all of this.
Yes, of course we have. In fact, we have to use special relativity corrections to explain the decay rates of elementary particles that are moving at a significant fraction of the speed of light. I'm not at all suggesting humans haven't noticed the effects of special relativity. It has been verified over and over and over.
I'm suggesting we don't have the technology to notice special relativistic effects on humans.
The point of the original question was to ask whether humans could ever travel through time. I responded by trying to point out that all moving objects actually are experiencing "time travel", however our current state of technology does not allow for high enough velocities to allow human beings to experience the effect at any perceptible degree.
Time travel to the future: Easily done and we've already done it. You just need to get an object to relativistic speeds and time on the object will move slower. Did you know that they have even observed this fact on airlines with precise atomic clocks? The difference was minute since the plane wasn't moving even 1/10th of a percent of the speed of light (c).
If someone were to set off in a rocket ship to the nearest star (which is 4 light years away) at 99.99% of the speed of light, an observer from Earth would see them arrive after barely more than 4 years time. However, to our explorers only a month or so would have passed-so if one had a twin back on Earth he would now be almost 4 years younger than his twin.
Travel to the past: Theoretically possible. This delves into science fiction a bit. I don't understand how but I've read that an infinitely long rotating cylinder would allow backwards travel at certain spots. I think we can safely rule out this scenario though.
If an object could go faster than light somehow, it would probably go backwards in time.
Google Tachyons. And of course there is the wormhole which is the most viable option of the 3. Even this is not without its problems though. Besides the fact we've never discovered one, for us to create one and hold its "mouth" open would require energies in excess of the suns output and the use of yet another undiscovered element called exotic matter which would have a negative mass!
Its not theoretically possible to travel into the past. Different theories actually yield opposite answers to that possibility. Some say we can...some say we can't. The only thing that can be said is that its not "theoretically impossible."
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