Scientist claims to have come up with mathematically plausible method of time travel

http://ift.tt/2oIGugK

Quote:

The model is based on the idea that instead of looking at the Universe in three spatial dimensions, with the fourth dimension (time) separated, we should be imagining those four dimensions simultaneously. That allows us to consider the possibility of a space-time continuum, where different directions in space and time are all connected within the curved fabric of the Universe. Einstein’s theory of relativity links gravitational effects in the Universe to a curvature of space-time – the phenomenon thought to be behind the elliptical orbits of planets and stars. If space-time were ‘flat’ or uncurved, planets would move in straight lines. But according to relativity, the geometry of space-time becomes curved in the vicinity of high-mass objects, which causes planets to bend their paths and rotate around their star instead. What Tippett and Tsang argue is that it’s not just physical space that can be bent and twisted in the Universe – time itself can also be curved in the vicinity of high-mass objects. “The time direction of the space-time surface also shows curvature. There is evidence showing the closer to a black hole we get, time moves slower,” says Tippett. “My model of a time machine uses the curved space-time to bend time into a circle for the passengers, not in a straight line. That circle takes us back in time.” In order to harness this theoretical property, the physicists propose creating a kind of ‘bubble’ of space-time geometry, which carries whatever’s inside it through space and time along a large circular path. If this bubble can hit speeds greater than the speed of light – something the pair say is mathematically possible – this would allow it to move backwards in time.

Here is the paper itself, although it's paywalled.

I've not read the paper, and I'm certainly not as qualified as Dr. Tippett, but I remain firmly sceptical. The article casually says that it's possible for this bubble to move faster than light, but wouldn't that be useful information travelling faster than light, and therefore impossible?

via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/2oIGsFE