Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 631

Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Social Development and Media Communication (SDMC 2021)

The Theoretical Basis and Feasibility of Time Travel

Meining Du
Bachelor of Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 999077, China
* Corresponding author: dl_dmn@[Link]

ABSTRACT
Whether time travel can be achieved in reality is often a matter of debate, and although many scientists have proposed
a number of theoretical ways in which it might be possible, their feasibility remains to be studied. This paper firstly
contrasts the absolute spacetime view and relative spacetime view to reflect the understanding of time and other
physical quantities in relativity. Subsequently, this paper mainly analyzes seven existing methods of time travel, and
introduces them respectively from theoretical principles, related theorems, current development status and
development limitations. On this basis, the current situation and prospects of the overall development of time travel
are outlined. Besides, the main research method of this paper is to collect various theses related to time travel methods
and research data published by some space agencies with integration and analysis as well. This information is
sometimes an in-depth study of part of each method, and sometimes a negation of one. But they all help paper to have
a more comprehensive understanding, and lead to a conclusion that time travel requires not only the correct theories
but also available technology and energy to support the journey to operate and keep astronauts safe.

Keywords: Time travel, Relativity, wormhole, Wrap drive, black hole

1. INTRODUCTION 2. THE BASIC CONCEPT OF TIME AND

Since 1949, when Kurt Godel has found a solution to
SPACE AND THE PRELIMINARY
equations of Einstein in general relativity, which EXPLORATION OF TIME TRAVEL
describe a rotating universe, time travel has been widely
taken seriously by scientists. The idea of time travel not 2.1. Difference between absolute spacetime
only reflects desire of knowledge for human, but also view and relative spacetime view
influences cosmological view and space-time view for
people. Until recently, some of ways in which time Time is an abstract physical quantity, and is often
travel can be achieved, such as through warp drive and used to represent the sequence and continuity of the
wormholes, have been discovered and some institutions movement of objects. In view of time and space from
have even begun to try to implement it such as IXS Newton which is normally used in daily life, motions in
enterprise which is a model produced by National inertial frames of reference do not change space and
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and is time, so time and space are absolute. Moreover, there is
based on Alcubierre Wrap Drive. Moreover, it is no necessary connection between time which passes
important to note that the abstract term time in the field evenly and space which conforms to three-dimensional
of relativity and quantum physics is considered to be Euclidean geometry. But in the theory of relativity from
different from the usual concept in everyday life and Einstein, time and space are not separated but interact
Einstein even thinks that time and space are an illusion with each other to keep the speed of light constant. Here
of human cognition. Due to the variety of methods, it is the motion of objects affects space and time, and the
necessary to organize existing ideas and analyze their time-space coordinates of the different inertial frames
limitations and feasibility. This paper mainly explores are no longer subject to the Galilean transformation but
the research status of time travel and predicts the future to the Lorentz transformation. The time axis was added
development trend by sorting out the views and methods to the three-dimensional space, which later evolved into
on time and time travel put forward by predecessors as Minkowski four-dimensional spacetime.
well as browsing a large number of theoretical articles For gravity, Newton thought it was the attraction
and some technological breakthroughs in real life. between objects due to mass, but the gravitational law of

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Newton cannot calculate the orbit of Mercury exactly Einstein, physicists find that there must be white holes
and it is not correct when considering non-static [6]. In addition to the space-time regions of black hole
gravitational field [4]. By contrast, Einstein thought that and white hole, there are two isolated space-time
gravity was caused by the distortion of space-time due regions which can be considered as our universe and its
to mass, and it was a form of space-time. This can fully parallel universe. These two universes can both emit
explain the motion of Mercury. particles and signals to the black hole and these things
cannot escape from black hole. In the same way, any
2.2. Two inchoate methods of time travel particles from white hole can emit to the two universes
but none of them can return to the white hole.
While working on solutions to equations from Singularities occur in the regions of black holes and
Einstein, Godel guessed that the universe was not white holes and are represented as hyperbolas. And the
expanding and was spinning. Its rotation distorts space point in the middle that connects all four space-times is
to the point where it closes time, so time loops are the Schwarzschild wormhole. This kind of wormhole is
formed. Time travel is possible when spacecraft travel at one-way due to at one end of the wormhole anything
slightly less than the speed of light, but this universe cannot get in, and at the other end anything cannot get
does not apply to reality, and the closed loop creates a out.
paradox namely Grandfather paradox.
Each point in the diagram represents a
After rotating universe, Frank Tippler gave another two-dimensional sphere. I and IV represent two
solution to equations from Einstein namely the Tippler separated universes, with II representing black holes and
Cylinder. It works by twisting a cylinder of infinite III representing white holes.
length and density around at a very high density and
speed and distorting spacetime. Let a spacecraft spiral Schwarzschild wormhole is extremely unstable and
around a cylinder, leaving it to travel into the past. does not exist long enough for any matter, including
However, the cylinder involved in this method is light, to travel through them from one universe to the
difficult to make because it requires a great deal of mass other. Figure 1 shows the evolution of the
and energy to realize the concept of infinity. Schwarzschild wormhole. Two separated black holes
and white holes (I) form a wormhole (II). This is
followed by instantaneous separation (III) and
3. THREE THEORETICAL METHODS OF
re-formation of separated black holes and white holes
TIME TRAVEL AND THEIR FEASIBILITY (IV). In that way, matter cannot get in from one end and
out from the other, but instead hits the singularity after
3.1. Wormhole the wormhole closes. The reason for this phenomenon is
Wormhole or Einstein-Lawson bridge was a tunnel that wormholes have very strong gravity, but this strong
connecting two distant space-times when the space-time field of the wormhole can be neutralized by negative
is curved. It was caused by the gravitational and energy to stabilize the energy field of the wormhole.
rotational motion between stars. If the universe is This negative energy is provided by negative matter,
considered as a sheet of paper, then draw a straight line which not only enables the wormhole to appear more
between two arbitrary points on the paper, and this line stably, but also ensures that the diameter of the
can be regarded as the shortest distance between two wormhole is large enough, more than 100,000
points in the flat universe. When one fold this piece of kilometers, which is the shortest distance for a
paper in half and put the pen through two points, then spacecraft to safely travel. But at the same time, the
can get a shorter distance than the straight line. The hole expanding wormhole will have a "feedback effect" of
one put the pen through can be approximated as a radiation, similar to the shrill sound generated by a
wormhole. Therefore, Wormholes are shortcuts through sound loop when a microphone is too close to a speaker.
time. The same goes for radiation, which goes through the
loop and amplifies into a significant effect that destroys
The concept of wormholes comes from the study of the wormhole.
Schwarzschild metric. When studying equations from

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Figure 1. Evolutionary process of the wormhole (From [Link]

As a result, wormhole is only a solution to equations Physicist Miguel Alcubierre proposed warp drive
of Einstein, which is just based on mathematical which uses undiscovered substance with negative mass
inference. Therefore, it is unknown if there are any and pressure to drive. This would distort space-time and
shortcuts through space, and wormholes have not been provide antigravity. As shown in figure 2, the space ship
observed. As a result, it remains a mystery whether in a wrap bubble, a massive particle in a spacetime
wormholes can be used for time travel. Stabilizing and distortion, compresses the space in front of it and
expanding the wormhole so that a spacecraft can pass stretches the space behind it to achieve global
through it will also be a huge challenge. superluminal velocity, but at the same time it does not
violate the laws of relativity due to local speed is
3.2. Wrap drive subluminal [3]. Moreover, the wrap bubble is
surrounded by flat spacetime, so tidal force and time
delays do not affect the work of warp drive [7].

Figure 2. A simulation of how wrap drive changes the surrounding spacetime (From
[Link]

However, the safety of wrap drive engines is not so calculations are based on only one dimension, where the
reliable. The one evidence is that the team from Gravity situation would not be so terrible [5]. The other thing
Astrophysics Group at the University of Sydney divided must be mentioned is that it would produce a lot of
the situation into three types: constant velocity wrap radiation that would threaten the lives of astronauts.
bubbles, one-way wrap bubbles and double-path warp Last but not least, the astronauts could not send a signal
bubbles [2]. It turns out that a wrap bubble with a to the front of the wrap bubble, so the spacecraft could
constant speed would be destroyed and the energy not be controlled. The target time for time travel may
building up in front of the ship, causing it to be not be reached. Instead, astronauts may be transported to
destroyed midway or at its destination. A two-way warp any time and location. Time travel in this method still
bubble is more dangerous than a one-way warp bubble have a lot problems to be solved.
because it has a more destructive flow of high-energy
In addition to the threat to safety of astronauts, the
particles. Physicist Miguel Alcubierre of the National
feasibility of the method is questionable. First of all,
Autonomous University of Mexico argues that these
there is no evidence for the existence of substance with

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negative mass and pressure. This negative mass will not Despite limitations of warp drive, many scientists
be attracted by the gravitational field, but will be are imagining models or methods to implement it.
repelled. Many people believe that negative matter Mechanical engineer, physicist Harold White from
cannot exist because it violates the assumptions of NASA has begun building a prototype spacecraft called
general relativity. But some scientists believe that as the IXS Enterprise. Although it was designed to travel
long as there is a reasonable way to produce it, it will through space, it could also travel through time. As is
exist. They thought that both positive and negative mass shown in the figure 3, two large rings around the central
existed, and that they would form plasma. In this case, spaceship are used to make the Wrap Bubble, which are
no basic assumptions are broken. In addition, some attached to the main body of the spaceship by sticks. In
experiments have shown that some substances will front of the main body is the place where the operation
behave as negative substances under certain conditions. of the spacecraft is carried out, and behind the main
For example, when the temperature of rubidium atoms body is the cargo area where the substance with
drops to near absolute zero, the spin of rubidium atoms negative mass is stored. Because warp drive was
can be reversed by using laser traps and exhibit negative incapable of teleportation, White designed an artificial
mass properties when released. Although these bubble around the ship that was normal in time and
phenomena reflect the characteristics of negative mass, space. He and his partners are looking for ways to
finding such a material with negative mass and energy reduce the energy required by these bubbles, which they
and even applying it to warp drive engines still requires want to fill between the rings. As a result, reasonable
further research. Furthermore, the realization of the mathematical equations are needed for the conversion
wrap drive requires large amount of negative energy. from concept to feasible design, and in the same way
Specifically, it requires an amount of energy which is transformation from theoretical model into an actual
similar to the mass of the sun [1]. How this amount of spacecraft needs methods to use negative energy
energy can be obtained or how energy needed can be properly and reduce energy requirements.
significantly reduced is also extremely important.

Figure 3. External view of IXS Enterprise (From

[Link]

Figure 4. Partly view of IXS Enterprise (From [Link]

These two pictures (figure 3 and figure 4) are both practice for the search of negative matter, the acquisition
model images of the IXS Enterprise, but are presented of super energy, the maneuverability of spacecraft and
from different perspectives. the safety of astronauts. But in general, it does count as
an important method of time travel, and it has some
According to the working principle, safety,
prospects.
feasibility and current development of Wrap Drive
described above, Wrap Drive is theoretically feasible.
However, there is still a long way to go from theory to

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3.3. Black hole bodies cause the curvature of space-time around them.
Small objects enter the curved space-time and move
Solution to field equations from Einstein which is along the curved spacetime. This is definitely a
calculated by Carl Schwarzschild shows that when the redefinition of gravity, and time is not absolute here. In
actual radius of a static spherically symmetric star is less fact, in places where gravity is strong, such as black
than a certain value, the Schwarzschild radius, there is holes, time passes more slowly. Here the gravitational
an interface around it called the event horizon. If one
enter this interface, not even light can escape. Such red-shift formula can be introduced: . dr
objects in the universe are called black holes. The is the passage of time felt by an object in a strong
reason light cannot escape from the event horizon is that gravitational field, called proper time. dt is the time
the gravity of the black hole and the curvature of perceived by the person outside the gravitational field,
space-time are so strong that the escape velocity within which is coordinate time. It follows that the interval of
the event horizon is greater than the speed of light. proper time is smaller than that of coordinate time. The
Unlike wormholes, white holes, and so on, black holes greater the gravity, the greater the curvature of
exist and have been photographed. Black holes cannot spacetime. As shown in the figure 5, the bending degree
be directly observed, but their existence is known by of the line segment between two points A and B is
X-ray and gamma rays produced by the friction of greater, which can be approximated as T = S/V. As the
objects accelerated by gravity before they are sucked speed of light (V) is constant, the distance traveled (S)
into the black hole. increases, and the time schedule in the gravitational
field shows a trend of slowing down. Therefore, by the
It is necessary to mention here the general relativity
time an astronaut has sailed around a black hole for an
understanding of gravity and time. When there is matter,
hour, it has been a couple of years for people on the
space and time are curved because matter has mass, so
ground.
gravity is the curvature of spacetime. Large celestial

Figure 5. Simulation of spacetime curvature (From [Link]

However, that is not the kind of time travel people The nearest black hole is about a thousand
want. It is only possible to travel into the future and only light-years away, and it would take us an extremely long
be able to linger around a black hole. In fact, relativity time to get there. Whether we could create such a
allows people to travel back in time, but it is just a spacecraft is also a question. Furthermore，a black hole
mathematical consequence. Traveling to the past has a tremendous gravitational pull and it itself is
sometimes means the conflict of cause and effect. As collapsing enough to tear a man apart, so it would be
Grandfather Paradox pointed out, the existence of ones very difficult to keep an astronaut alive.
is against the fact that ones killed their grandfather.
However, it makes sense in the multi-world theory that 3.4. Other ways to achieve time travel
some people actually killed their grandfather in the
parallel universe. Therefore, from this perspective, it is 3.4.1. Cosmic string
possible to travel into the past.
However, all the matter engulfed by the black hole The one example is called cosmic string which is
has been broken down into its most basic quantum one-dimensional and fills the whole universe. Cosmic
units, and could be ejected hundreds of millions of years strings are thought to be long and thin tubes with high
later. From the Quantum DVRS point of view, the black energy and large density created during the Big Bang.
hole does not shatter any information, it just coats it up. Due to its high density, it exerts a strong gravitational
It is possible to look at this information if you are just pull on any nearby object, allowing things on cosmic
traveling back in time as an outsider. But building a strings to travel at high speeds. If someone brings two
machine that can read information about a black hole cosmic strings close or one close to a black hole, they
will be a challenge. will tangle with each other and accelerate, and

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spacetime will be significantly compressed, resulting in conducted to have more kinds of ways due to theoretical
closed time-like curves. Hence, the spacecraft around it perfection, or to solve problems in existing methods.
would be teleported to any time and space. However,
the cosmic string is only a theoretical hypothesis and REFERENCES
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People have always been curious about time travel
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basis of comparing the absolute spacetime view with the 2014.
relative spacetime view, this paper describes seven
theoretical methods of time travel and analyzes their
limitations and feasibility. From the discussion in this
paper, there are many theories are constantly refreshing
our view of spacetime and cosmology. For instance,
speed especially near the speed of light and gravity both
influence the flow of time and gravity is caused by
curvature of spacetime which is due to mass. As a result,
the following conclusion can be drawn from the present
study is that there are more or less some obvious
deficiencies on various kinds of time travel methods.
Precisely, some are highly controversial or have been
considered impossible, some are not supported by
current technology or energy sources, and some are only
theoretical and have not been discovered, such as the
Wormhole. Although all kinds of limitations are
discouraging, these theories and methods give a
different understanding of time and space, and each
method can cause new thinking and exploration. In
addition, it is of great significance to sort out and
summarize the methods mentioned in many papers for
understanding the general picture of development and
further research. However, this paper was limited by
detailed and comprehensive development process and
the reasoning process of some mathematical formulas.
These can be solved by having more detailed and
cutting-edge data and materials. Further study can be

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