Of all the sci-fi superpowers and spec fiction fantasies that are out there, the interest in
time travel just refuses to die down. And with good reason, because what could be cooler than
moving not just through the three dimensions of regular space, but through the fourth dimension,
as well? It’s no secret that there have been some real world efforts toward achieving time travel,
too. And, to some degree, there are a select few who have technically managed it,
such as those who have spent time off-Earth, on board the International Space Station. But,
while that’s all very impressive, it’s not exactly “Doctor Who”. We’ve still got a long
way to go before “Back to the Future” is actually doable. So, what is awaiting us, on the horizon?
This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question;
will time travel ever be possible?
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Officially speaking, no one has yet traveled through time. There are countless rumors,
legends and conspiracy theories, of course - including claims of shady goings on in New York
State, at the Montauk Project, more recently made famous as the inspiration for the Netflix show,
“Stranger Things”. Also in the mid-to-late twentieth century, there were allegations of
the Chronovisor at the Vatican - an alleged time viewer capable of transporting users
back to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ - and also Die Glocke, a supposed Nazi time machine
said to have been built using alien technology. But, so far, there’s still nothing even remotely
above board to suggest that time travel is, has been, or ever will be possible.
Arguably the best concept we have for use in a genuine time machine is the Alcubierre Drive.
If it ever were built, it would utilize what are known as warp bubbles around a spaceship… to allow
that spaceship to travel at faster than light speeds without breaking any local laws of physics…
which then should, according to predictions, enable it to achieve backwards time travel.
With backwards travel being theoretically more difficult than forwards travel (which technically
should be manageable, if only we could find a way to travel really, really fast with (or without) a
warp bubble) it all means that the Alcubierre Drive really could be the key invention we’ve
all been waiting for. It’s a shame, then, that it hasn’t ever been built. Not even in a true
prototype form. Leading many to label it fantastic on paper, but probably impossible in reality.
The problem with all time travel designs (including the Alcubierre Drive) is that they
typically require something that either we don’t have yet, can’t reach yet, or don’t understand
yet. Some kind of exotic fuel or material, or some massive frame of reference that’s currently beyond
our capabilities. Really, we’ve known that time travel is theoretically possible since at least
the days of Albert Einstein and his revolutionary illustration of spacetime as the true basis for
the structure of the universe. Humankind may have suspected that time travel is possible for even
longer than that, though, given that it invariably turns up in various ancient texts - including in
early Hindu scripture, Buddhist teachings, and in some interpretations of the Bible. However,
from then until now, it has remained as physically impossible as ever. We just can’t work it out.
What’s perhaps most concerning, however, for those who want time travel to be real,
is that there are no signs of the picture improving. That isn’t to say that our
scientific knowledge is getting worse, or that our critical understanding of time travel is
dwindling… it’s more that there is no genuine, incontestable evidence of time travel happening
in the future. As with most things around this theme, it’s a bit of a head-spinner… but,
when was the last time you encountered someone, something or somewhere from your future? Or from
the future of anyone or anything else? Unless you’re in the small minority that claims to
have had a true brush with time travel before, then the answer is probably never. You’ve never
seen time travel in action. Which doesn’t sound all that crazy… until you consider that there is
a potentially infinite amount of time stretching out in front of you, and there always has been.
For the sake of argument, let’s put a number on it. Let’s say that there is
(and was) at least another one billion years between the moment you were born
and the end of the universe. The fact that you have never witnessed any aspect of the
future bleeding into your present (its past) arguably casts into severe doubt that anyone,
at any time, is ever going to time travel at all. Because, if they were, then wouldn’t you,
or your parents, or your friends, partners, children, neighbors… wouldn’t you all have
met a backwards time traveler by now? Visiting this time from their future time,
just because they can. It could be that the universe ends in one billion years, in ten
years, in one trillion years… it doesn’t matter because it’s the same result. No one is coming.
It boils down to a quite simple realization. If time travel is ever going to be possible… then
surely it already is possible. That’s just the nature of the beast. If time travel exists at
any time in the future, then it by default is at least impacting the here and now. The invention of
time travel would mark the moment (in time) that our understanding of time itself disintegrates.
From that point forward, there would never be a past, present or future in quite the same way,
ever again. But we - the human beings on Earth at this very moment - are the past
from the future’s perspective. And, clearly, our status as such has so far shown no signs
of changing. Therefore, we might conclude that time travel will never be possible.
Except, that’s also only half the story. Or an even smaller fraction of the overall potential.
Because, fine, time travelers from the future haven’t yet arrived en masse into the twenty-first
century… but there’s some argument that that particular eventuality actually is never going
to happen. Instead, the invention of time travel will represent a major cut-off point in history;
a truly incomparable before-and-after moment. Some claim that time travel
(if and when it does exist) will only ever stretch backwards in time to the point of its invention,
but not a second before then. This means that, as time travel hasn’t been invented yet, it really
makes perfect sense that we also haven’t been flooded with travelers yet. Because,
as much as they might like to visit a pre-time travel age like our own,
they physically can’t thanks to the inherent limitations of the time travel they enjoy.
Another, perhaps more likely possibility is that while backwards time travel is (and will
always be) impossible, forwards time travel isn’t. And, to some degree, we know that forward travel
certainly is achievable. At the most basic, all of us do it everyday, in increments of seconds,
minutes and hours. Since you started watching this video, your past self has transformed into
your current self, which is busily transforming into your future self, as well. You can’t go
back to your past self; you can’t remain as your current self; you’re always on the brink of a new,
future version. Even in the time it took for me to say that last sentence,
we’ve all moved into the future. And again, and again. But, really… that’s a bit of a cop out. And
true forward travel would presumably involve massive jumps into the future, moving years,
decades or centuries in just a couple of seconds local time. Will that ever be achievable?
Unfortunately, right now, it’s not something that anyone can say yes or no to. We will likely need
to have made many major scientific developments between now and a time when it might be possible,
though. For example, while we know that time dilation would theoretically set in
for a traveler in a spaceship moving extremely fast away from Earth for a sustained period of
time… we still have almost zero means of ever making that happen. It’s grounded in physics,
yes, but it’s still closer to a fairy tale in terms of our capabilities.
Could time travel, instead, ever be possible for some other more advanced group than us?
That’s another question, and one with infinite potential answers. Clearly,
however, with no official knowledge of any other intelligent group other than ourselves,
it would all be speculation. A Kardashev Type Five certainly could travel through time;
for any civilization that can tap into the multiverse, it could use that to
bend the temporal rules as we see them. But we are neither of those. And, so far, while
we know and to some degree understand the fourth dimension, we’re also inescapably limited by it.
Until such time as we break into time itself, it’s a painful paradox with no end in sight.
What do you think? Is there anything we missed? Let us know in the comments, check out these other
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