Time travel may soon be possible, according to an astrophysicist who believes he’s worked out a way to build a time machine.
Professor Ron Mallett from the University of Connecticut in the US claims to have written a scientific equation that could be used to create a device that takes people back in time.
The Physics expert told CNN that he’s already built a prototype to illustrate how the key component of his machine would work.
However, Mallett’s peers are said to be unconvinced by his proposals.
His machine is based around Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity, which says that time accelerates or decelerates according to the speed at which an object is moving.
For example, if you were on a spacecraft traveling at the speed of light then the theory suggests time would be moving slower for you than people back on Earth.
If you were then to return to Earth having travelled in space for less than a week at this speed, Einstein theorizes that 10 years would have passed on Earth while you were gone.
This would technically mean the astronaut had travelled in time as they would be the same age but their loved ones would be older.
Most physicists accept that this form of time travel could be possible.
Time traveling to the past is faced with much more skepticism but Mallett thinks that lasers could be the solution.
His theory relies on an additional Einstein’s theory that states massive objects can bend space-time.
According to Einstein, the stronger the gravity, the slower time passes.
Mallett told CNN: “If you can bend space, there’s a possibility of you twisting space.
“In Einstein’s theory, what we call space also involves time — that’s why it’s called space time, whatever it is you do to space also happens to time. By studying the type of gravitational field that was produced by a ring laser, this could lead to a new way of looking at the possibility of a time machine based on a circulating beam of light.”
Mallett’s prototype shows how lasers could be used to facilitate his idea.
The astrophysicist has admitted that his idea is wholly theoretical right now and has some sever limitations.
He told CNN: “You can send information back but you can only send it back to the point at which you turn the machine on.”
The Physics expert told CNN that he’s already built a prototype to illustrate how the key component of his machine would work.
However, Mallett’s peers are said to be unconvinced by his proposals.
His machine is based around Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity, which says that time accelerates or decelerates according to the speed at which an object is moving.
For example, if you were on a spacecraft traveling at the speed of light then the theory suggests time would be moving slower for you than people back on Earth.
If you were then to return to Earth having travelled in space for less than a week at this speed, Einstein theorizes that 10 years would have passed on Earth while you were gone.
This would technically mean the astronaut had travelled in time as they would be the same age but their loved ones would be older.
Most physicists accept that this form of time travel could be possible.
Time travelling to the past is faced with much more skepticism but Mallett thinks that lasers could be the solution.
His theory relies on an additional Einstein’s theory that states massive objects can bend space-time.
According to Einstein, the stronger the gravity, the slower time passes.
Mallett told CNN: “If you can bend space, there’s a possibility of you twisting space.
“In Einstein’s theory, what we call space also involves time — that’s why it’s called space time, whatever it is you do to space also happens to time.
“By studying the type of gravitational field that was produced by a ring laser, this could lead to a new way of looking at the possibility of a time machine based on a circulating beam of light.”
Mallett’s prototype shows how lasers could be used to facilitate his idea.
The astrophysicist has admitted that his idea is wholly theoretical right now and has some sever limitations.
He told CNN: “You can send information back but you can only send it back to the point at which you turn the machine on.”