Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to Looking for Time Travelers

The physics argues against time travel and Faster than Light travel for many reasons- the two topics are very linked
R.L. — (archived)

As a physicist I have to say that time travel and FTL travel are- given everything we know- very unlikely.... As a wannabe writer I have to try to come up with a way that both are possible - the difference between my musings an those of - oh say, SDAI is that I dont claim them as fact...

In the 'Many Worlds' interpretation, if you flip a coin the universe splits- in some universes it lands 'heads' in others 'tails' in some it lands on edge- in short the universe is constantly splitting- every chance movement of every atom triggers a paralell universe- I dont personally believe this, but you have to admit it makes for great sci fi plots

The 'Many worlds' interpretation of quantum mechanics can be used as a plot device to eliminate many of the paradoxes associated with FTL and time travel, so if you want to have FTL or time travel in a story, adopting the many worlds interpretation might help- but it has consequences.... Keep in mind, I am only putting forth a plot device- not anything I actually believe has any validity....

So, for time travel, the idea is pretty simple, you go back in time and make a change- a new timeline is created- it doesnt change your original timeline, so no paradox is possible- you just spawn a new universe where the change you made is fact...

In the case of FTL it gets complicated....

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