Here is an article from Earth.com that we found "timely" and compelling..After years of research, Professor Mallett claims to have finally developed the revolutionary equation for time travel.
The idea of bending time to our will – revisiting the past, altering history, or glimpsing into the future – has been a staple of science fiction for over a century. But could it move from fantasy to reality?
Professor Mallett’s obsession with time travel and its equation has its roots in a shattering childhood experience. When he was just ten years old, his father, a television repairman who fostered his son’s love of science, tragically passed away from a heart attack.
Devastated, the young Mallett sought solace in books. It was H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine that sparked a lifelong fascination.
Wells’ opening lines became his mantra: “Scientific people know very well that Time is only a kind of Space. And why cannot we move in Time as we move about in the other dimensions of Space?”
This profound question ignited Mallett’s scientific journey. He dedicated himself to understanding the nature of time, determined to find a way to revisit the past and see his beloved father once more.
Decades of research into black holes and Einstein’s theories of relativity led to the time travel equation.
While hospitalized for a heart condition, Mallett had a revelation. “It turns out that black holes can create a gravitational field that could lead to the creation of time loops that could allow us to go back in time,” he explained.
Imagine the fabric of spacetime as a river. While time usually flows in one direction, Mallett theorizes that the immense gravity of a spinning black hole can create whirlpools, where time twists back on itself.
Mallett’s vision for a time machine centers on what he calls “an intense and continuous rotating beam of light” to manipulate gravity. His device would use a ring of lasers to mimic the spacetime-distorting effects of a black hole.
“Let’s say you have a cup of coffee in front of you. Start stirring the coffee with the spoon. It started to spin, right? That’s what a spinning black hole does,” explained Mallett.
“In Einstein’s theory, space and time are related to each other. That’s why it’s called space-time. So when the black hole spins, it will actually cause time to shift.”
“Eventually, a rotating beam of laser lights can be used as a kind of time machine and cause a time warp that will allow us to go back to the past,” said Mallett. Perhaps, what began as a son’s wish to see his father one last time might one day transform our understanding of time itself.
The obstacles on the path from time travel equation to machine are immense. Mallett acknowledges the “galactic amounts of energy” needed to power such a device – energy levels far beyond our current capabilities.
The sheer size of a theoretical time machine is also unknown. While Mallett optimistically states, “I figured out how to do it. In theory, it is possible,” the reality is that he may not live to see the machine built.
Furthermore, Mallett’s theory comes with a significant constraint. “You can send information back, but you can only send it back to the point where you started operating the device.”
In this sense, the time machine is like a one-way message service to the past. You can’t travel to a point before the machine existed.
Despite the daunting challenges, Mallett’s remarkable journey is a testament to the human spirit. Alongside his time travel research, he’s led a distinguished academic career, teaching physics at the University of Connecticut.
Now in his seventies, his work has been propelled by an unwavering belief in the possibility of the seemingly impossible.
Whether Mallett’s time machine will ever transcend the realm of theory is uncertain. Skeptics point to the vast technological hurdles and potential paradoxes raised by tampering with time.
Yet, the mere possibility that science might one day unlock the secrets of temporal travel is enough to ignite the imagination. Could we rewrite our regrets, learn from past mistakes, or witness historical events firsthand?
The original article can be found here: https://www.earth.com/news/astrophysicist-says-hes-cracked-the-equation-for-time-travel/