(suspenseful music)
- Our galaxy is over a hundred thousand light years across.
A distance so vast that it defies ordinary understanding.
Even humanities earliest radio transmissions
hurtling through space at the speed of light
would still only have washed over
less than 1,000,000th of the stellar population.
The cosmic speed limit, the speed of light,
is so diminutive compared to a galaxy
that any aspirations we might harbor
for galactic exploration or even just communication
seem impossible,
at least within human lifetimes.
But humanity has long wondered,
could there be a cheat code?
Could there be a way to exceed that cosmic speed limit?
Could we go faster than light?
FTL.
There is no other technology
that I so keenly wish could be realized than FTL.
Since childhood,
I've looked up at the stars and dreamt
of one day reaching them.
Of exploring the ocean of space,
the zoo of worlds, the menagerie of life.
It almost seems like a cruel cosmic joke
that the universe be arranged in such a way
that we are able to look out and glimpse its wonders
and yet are trapped here by the speed of light.
Fated to any other peer through the bars
of our cosmic prison and dream.
And so it's no surprise
that human ingenuity and aspiration has raged
against Einstein's cosmic speed limit.
After all,
we've never been so good at doing what we are told.
To be clear though,
we currently have no way of building
or even conceiving of a practical FTO system
be it for travel or just for communication.
But there are threads that physicists pull out
that it is hoped one day might bear fruit.
For example,
we know that Einstein speed limit only truly applies
to travel through space,
but that space itself has no such constraint.
For this reason,
there are parts of the universe receding away from us
faster in the speed of light
as the fabric of the cosmos itself
expands in all directions.
Could we one day learn to manipulate space then
and somehow use this travel faster than light?
The hypothetical Alcubierre drive
is perhaps the most famous example of this concept.
Inspired by Star Trek's, warp drive,
Miguel Alcubierre, showed that there exists
a solution within Einstein's relativistic field equations
that in principle, could allow FTL.
By expanding space behind itself and contracting it ahead,
a bubble of space could cruise between in the stars
at arbitrarily fast speeds.
The idea has certainly faced many challenges though,
such as requiring the use of exotic matter,
enormous energy requirements
and even obliterating the destination
through the buildup of radiation gathered up by the bubble.
Yet optimist might argue
that none of these are truly show stoppers,
merely engineering challenges.
A more pressing problem is folding in quantum effects
into the Alcubierre drive.
In 2009,
Finazzi showed that the warp drive bubble
leads to exponentially increasing Hawking radiation
on the inside of it.
This isn't just a hazard to their crew,
the exponential buildup destabilizes the bubble itself.
It's important to remember that
we don't have a good theory of quantum gravity yet.
And Alcubierre drive is conceived in its absence
just using general relativity alone.
These kinds of quantum concerns
don't just plague warp drives.
Wormholes, another hypothetical FTL system,
has also been criticized as being possibly unstable
due to these quantum effects ignored by general activity.
Ultimately, we can't truly prove
whether wormhole or Alcubierre drives are allowed or not
until we have solved quantum gravity
or built a working example of one.
The other problem with assessing the feasibility of FTL
is that there are multiple ideas out there
such as tachyons, craznic optubes,
quantum tunneling and entanglement.
And each one of those has a diverse
number of flavors proposed.
For example,
the Alcubierre metric has been tweaked many times
to reduce the energy requirements in various ways.
And of course,
physicists still surely will continue to conjure up
new varieties in the future.
As a result, it seems somewhat hopeless
that we'll ever be able to completely
exclude FTL as a possibility.
On the one hand,
our hearts might rejoice in that
because it means that hope persists
and the dream will always be alive.
But on the other hand,
our minds complain
because after all this is science
and we want definitive clear objective answers,
not eternal maybes that will forever be unfalsifiable.
So is there anything that we can definitively say
with existing knowledge?
Well, it turns out, yes.
Despite the fact that we don't have a theory
of quantum gravity,
despite the fact that there are countless variants
and ideas about FTL systems,
there is a definitive statement
that we can make about all FTL systems.
They all allow for causality breaking time travel.
When you hear that FDL implies time travel,
you might think about sci-fi portrayals
of accelerating past the speed of light,
but actually, the causality breaking is far more subtle
and occurs even with FTL messaging systems alone.
The explanation is a little challenging
so we're gonna break it down into small bite size steps
and use diagrams to help us understand it.
It's worth spending a little bit of time on this
because the consequences are truly profound.
Let's start by drawing a line representing
one dimension of space along the bottom of the screen
and a line representing time that's orthogonal to that.
We now have a space time or Minkowski diagram.
To get acquainted with this setup,
let's consider a distant star like Vega.
This green square represents Vega
at a certain point in space.
In other words, its location
but also at a certain point in time.
Let's consider that Vega is stationary
in this frame of reference
so that as we move through time,
it traces out this line.
Note how it has the same position at all times.
This line is what we would call the world line for Vega.
And we don't have to limit ourselves to just Vega,
we can for example,
put the Earth on the spacetime diagram as well.
Earth isn't moving much compared to Vega,
so let's just assume it's also stationary in this frame
and thus has a parallel world line.
Since we're ultimately interested in speed
when it comes to FTL,
let's now familiarize ourselves
with what speed looks like on this diagram.
Because we are working in the Earth's rest frame here,
we don't feel ourselves moving,
and thus in this frame,
we simply move parallel to the time axis.
So such world lines correspond to no travel through space.
In contrast,
instantaneous travel,
which is the most extreme FTL possible,
would go from the Earth to Vega with no time passing at all.
Thus it would appear as this pink line
parallel to the space axis.
Between those two extremes,
we have traveling at the speed of light,
given this yellow line.
In a Minkowski diagram like this,
light always travels at 45 degree angles just like this.
And technically it's called a "null line".
Removing Vega for the moment,
we first note that we are of course
free to travel both forwards and backwards through space.
However, if the speed of light is the cosmic speed limit,
then any path below the null lines highlighted here,
are impossible to achieve.
These would require FTL systems.
On the other hand,
lines above the null are perfectly accessible,
such as this stationary world line that the Earth occupies.
A slower than light or STL ship,
would travel at some angle between
that of a null and a stationary world line.
Okay, congratulations.
You've mastered the basics of space time diagrams
but now let's go a little bit deeper.
And note some relationships and rules that we'll need later.
Stripping down this diagram,
consider the Earth sat in space as shown here.
And again, working in the Earth's rest frame.
From Earth's perspective,
we don't feel like we're moving.
That's relativity for you.
So as time progresses,
our location in space is always the same
forming this world line.
Crucially, that's the same as the time axis.
In other words,
the world line defines the time axis
as perceived by those following it.
This is important because we all know how relativity
screws around with time.
But here, there's a clear definition
of where the perceived time axis lives.
Now adding the null line back on,
we can note the relationship that the space axis
is really just a flip of the time axis around the null.
So again, this provides a useful rule
for orienting ourselves later
when we'll have to deal with more complicated scenarios.
Okay, so we are finally ready to start
imagining FTL systems on here.
Let's put Vega back on the diagram
as a distant destination.
Consider that at some distant location from Vega
but one closer to the Earth,
a supernova goes off.
We'll call it Supernova X.
The radiation from the supernova
travels at the speed of light
and thus follows a null line.
Following this path,
we can see the Earth sees X first and then Vega,
marked by these stars.
Now imagine that Earth has an FTL messaging system.
As soon as Earth sees X,
we decide to send a warning to Vega.
Recall that FTL lines fall below the null just like this.
So we can see that Vega would learn of X
before it actually sees it.
Mission accomplished.
Now, remember I said earlier,
the whole problem with FTL systems comes down to causality.
So let's look the order of events here
to see if everything makes sense.
For this,
we need to work through time from the past to the future
and track this sequence that occurs.
We can do this by taking a slice through time.
A simultaneous moment and slide it up the screen
from bottom to top noting the sequence of events we see.
And remember,
I'm in Earth's reference frame here,
so the time slices here are time as perceived by Earthlings,
although, this is also equivalent for Vegans too.
So sliding at the page,
we can see that the first event
is that Supernova X occurs.
Sliding further up,
we can see that the next event
is that Earth sees X and warns Vega.
Going further.
Third, we see that Vega receives the warning and wants more.
Finally, we see that Vega sees X.
Looking at the order, this seems sensible.
Cause proceeds effect.
For example,
Supernova X happens and then Earth sees X.
Similarly, Earth warns Vega
then Vega receives the warning.
Okay.
So in if you stopped the video here and walked away,
please don't, you would erroneously conclude
that FTL travel is fine.
It doesn't break causality.
Cause precedes effects,
there's nothing to worry about.
Well that's because in order to unveil
the causality breaking power of FTL,
we have to add another ingredient into the mix.
We have to add a slower than light, STL,
relativistic ship here.
Because doing so leads to some disturbing consequences.
Okay.
So coming back to our diagram,
we currently have no STL ships on here.
Just Earth, Vega, X.
And the FTL message is shown in pink.
STL ships have to follow world lines above the null,
as shown here in red.
Now remember our rules from before,
the world line defines the time axis
as perceived by those following it.
So the time axis as perceived by the crew of that ship,
actually lives along that red line.
It's not the same as the Earth's time axis in white.
The distortion of time is one of those
mind bending consequences of special relativity
which our journey to the end of the universe video
explores in much more depth.
Now remember rule number two,
that space axis flips the time axis above the null line.
So as perceived by the crew,
their space axis actually lives here.
This is a remarkable consequence of Einstein's rule,
that the speed of light is the same for all observers.
Time and space bend to accommodate it constancy
in all frames of reference.
Recall before, that we tracked the sequence of events
with sliding time slices.
Lines of simultaneous moments.
And record that these slices
must be parallel to the space axis.
So if we want to draw these time slices
from the cruise perspective,
they must be parallel to the red dash line
sliding from the bottom right of the screen to the top left.
So coming back to the order of events,
look, we already know what the Earthlings
and the Vegans think happen,
but what did the crew of the ship think?
Using our sliding time slice,
we can see that the first event in time,
as perceived by the ship's crew,
is that Vega receives the warning message
from Earth about X.
Going further,
the second event is that Supernova X happens.
Third, we see the Earth sees X,
and fourth and final,
the Vegans see X.
Looking at this order,
we can immediately see something very strange.
Vega received the warning message about X
before Earth even sent it.
How is that possible?
Cause transpired after the effect.
Causality is broken.
At this point you might wonder,
maybe the problem isn't so much with FTL
but rather with the theory of relativity itself.
What happens if we take away those FTL messages?
Because if causality violation persists even without FTL,
then we would know that it's not FTL that's the problem,
it's relativity.
So let's repeat the experiment,
but now I've remove that FTL message.
Sliding our time slice along,
we see that the first event is now Supernova X.
Next, the second event is that Earth sees X.
And finally, the third event is that Vega sees X.
So the sequence makes perfect sense now.
No causality violation.
Indeed we get the same order
as that which the Earthlings and Vegans would report.
So the causality violation of before
isn't a problem with relativity,
it's a problem of FTL itself.
Now you might say, "So what?"
Does this disagreement about the order of events
truly matter?
Isn't this just an academic question,
one with no real world consequences?
Well, I'm afraid not.
Causality violation here is profound
and it could actually allow the crew
to potentially break the universe.
To see this,
let's modify the scenario
so that the crew are no longer mere observers
but can actually intervene.
Let's modify the FTL world line just a little.
Instead of being sent to Vega,
it is intercepted by the crew of the STL ship.
So they would receive the message here.
After receiving the message,
they decide to send a reply back to Earth
using an FTL transmitter that they have on board their ship.
For a bit of perverse fun,
let's imagine that they send a message back to Earth
saying, "Turn off FTL transmitter."
Okay.
But where does this reply live on this spacetime diagram?
As I lead,
it would follow a world line like this.
Remember that our entire diagram is cast
in Earth's frame of reference,
and in this frame,
the reply message seems to be traveling
backwards through time.
And now we see the problem.
The reply is received back on Earth
before the message was ever sent.
So Earth receives a message saying,
"Turn off their transmitter.",
and so they don't then send a message out subsequently.
But if they never send out that message,
then the ship will never receive it
and thus, it will never reply.
And thus Earth should not turn off its transmitters,
et cetera, et cetera.
Like killing our grandfather before we were born,
we have set up now a grandfather paradox.
Now you might be wondering,
perhaps there's something wrong
with the lines that I drew here.
The diagram is after all getting
pretty complicated at this point.
To simplify things and really nail this home,
let's imagine that our FTL messages
are not just faster than light,
but they're instantaneous.
Modifying,
this means that the original Earth message
must be parallel to the space axis
because no time transpires.
And similarly,
the reply must now be parallel
to the STL ship's space axis, the red dash line.
And we can see that this simplified picture
leads to exactly the same result
all by one that's even more extreme.
So the causality violation
isn't some mere academic issue here,
it opens the door to time travel paradoxes.
And remember that we didn't assume
any particular FTL system here.
This applies to them all.
Whenever you have an FTL system,
you also have a time travel machine.
A machine capable of creating paradoxes in time.
In one of my personal favorites,
we tackled time travel in a previous video
along with the paradoxes that it elicits.
Physicists despise problems like the grandfather paradox
because they undermine the logical underpinnings
of our universe and no good solution exists to resolve them.
It was the late Stephen Hawking
who posed the most accepted way out.
Put simply, time paradoxes and not possible.
Hawking's famous chronology protection conjecture
suggests that the laws of nature are arranged
in such a way that time paradoxes simply cannot happen.
Whenever you try,
some physical effect will prevent you
from achieving that goal.
What might this look like for an FTL system then.
Such as for example,
the Alcubierre drive that we discussed earlier.
How is it that Hawking is going to somehow save us here?
Well, it turns out that in that case,
Hawking himself may have really done so
in his previous work.
Because recall that one of the problems
with the Alcubierre drive
is that they generate enormous amounts of radiation
inside the bubble.
What kind of radiation?
Well, it's Hawking radiation.
That radiation in fact builds up exponentially
and rapidly destabilizes the bubble.
Crucially, Hawking radiation is a quantum effect
and record that a unified theory of quantum mechanics
and gravity so far alludes us.
So even though we don't truly understand
how quantum effects and gravity play together,
Hawking's chronology protection conjecture
essentially argues that it's in that missing knowledge
that the answer lies.
That one day we will discover a unified theory
that neatly explains why time travel paradoxes
can never happen.
And thus why FTL systems too are not allowed.
I promised you something definitive about FTL
and now we have it.
Unfettered use of FTL systems can break causality
and cause paradoxes.
Hawking predicts that such violations are impossible,
and so by that logic,
does that mean that FTL is in turn impossible?
Not quite.
One way that we might be able to salvage FTL
and satisfy Hawking,
is to consider that, "Hey FTL is possible,
it's just that there are strict rules about its use."
After all,
when we removed the STL ship from our spacetime diagram,
there were no violations of causality
or even more subtly just demanding
that the ship never intervenes
leads to no paradoxes.
Perhaps FTL systems are possible
but somehow specific paradox causing activities
like reply to that original FTL message,
are forbidden.
This sounds a little contrived,
but it provides at least a possible way out for FTL.
The other option is just to reject
Hawking's conjecture outright
to suppose that paradoxes are allowed
and deal with the enormously challenging consequences
of making sense of the universe with their inclusion.
As hard as a pill as it is to swallow,
we have to accept that FTL systems
have fundamental problems here
that go beyond engineering or energetics.
But remember,
exploration of the galaxy is not impossible without FTL,
it just takes a lot longer.
It would mean that our efforts to explore space
are not about personal gain or egotistical pleasure
but rather are performed in service of the next generation
and those beyond that.
That as individuals,
we would act selflessly
and as a species in unified common goal.
Perhaps then in the end,
no FTL is a blessing in disguise,
because it might compel us to work together
for the future for something bigger than ourselves.
So until next time,
stay thoughtful and stay curious.
(Upbeat music)
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